Just saw an ad for the clamp for $350..........
The "focus" issue is perhaps related to the lack of the latest "UP"status. There's no question that the more-detailed top octave helps solidify soundstage artifacts.
The balanced connections on the analogue output board are soldered right at the outputs! The RCA's are connected almost as an afterthought with a few inches of cheap hook-up wire. I haven't bothered to compare, but wouldn't doubt the widespread comments (inc from EC!) that balanced performance is better. I would doubt that it's just the +6dB, but then again, more headroom and S/N can't hurt! Maybe the lower noisefloor allows perception of smaller dynamic shadings as well top octave air.... |
Of course. I'm not suggesting that the tail wag the dog here, but it's clear that the RCA's wiring was considered secondary when it came to board design and connection layout. If one DOES have the option to use a balanced pre, all other things equal, indeed use it, as the EMC-1 UP is designed for it. For users of great single-ended pres who have a bit of skill I might try replacing the 4 short single-ended output wires with solid silver, using a strong crimp (there is none now) and a better silver-loaded solder.
No big deal, but given what attention we spend on interconnects, it certainly makes sense to treat the final 4" as well. Happy Easter and Passover to all. Ern |
Great! Would love to hear your thoughts...especially if you have a buddy who can help single-blind it. |
Interestingly I bought a beautiful, very lightweight aluminum crank pulley for Subaru engines recently. A gorgeous, single-billet, finely machined work of art that results in a much lower inertia at the crank, thus improving quick-starts. This pulley sells for a hefty (so I thought!) $90. I guess if it were marketed to us audiophools, relative to this skimpy CD clamp I suppose it should be priced over $1k. Maybe that California machine-shop that makes these pulleys can be convinced to knock out a 100-lot of the CD clamps for $50 each? Anybody have any leads to precision aluminum (or brass) machine-shops? Just a thought.... |
Fascinating, Cello. I know it's all relative, but $350 for a $25 product still hits the other side of my brain too hard!
That you're running single-ended instead of taking advantage of the balanced operation is also certainly a factor not easy to dismiss, as the consensus internationally is that balanced running provides more than just the +6dB headroom. There's a 240v orig EMC-1 that started on eBay yesterday, from Denmark (let's not get that started again!), up to $1525. Interesting to see what it does, as current 24/192 power-supply modded new units can be had in the what, low $3k?....
My EMC-1 SE UP or whatever it's called now runs balanced SPMs to an Aleph P, sitting atop a Neuance Beta. Can't imagine a more exquisite stage or natural detail. (My DIY $39 PC helped the rez-focus a bit too.)
Jawdrops frequently preclude my bothering to single-blind system adjustments, too. After all, it's about musical pleasure and life is getting shorter. Nonetheless the ugly reality of expectation bias rears its head. So I'll chase one of these, but only if it's cheaper. Ha! |
Hi guys. Milled steel? Oy. I expected a non-resonant cast anodized alloy "clamp". Now it sounds even cheaper to make! Maybe the steel's required to act as a "spring-clamp" around the periphery of the CD? Still willing to give EC plenty of faith-factor here, but I DO wish the spindle-mod wasn't required so that comparisons could be made without having to have two machines side by side. I'm sorry, but this is one I'd like to see single-blinded, as expectation bias rides at full gallop....
For those of you who do NOT have last year's "power supplies diodes (24) and caps (3)" mod, these are being successfully implemented by good techs around the country in about 2-3 hrs tops. Parts cost $20. The improvement IS REAL, providing a more dynamic, lively presentation with a more forward stage. Those owners for whom RT shipping to the East Coast is challenging can save a bundle of sweat, too. OTOH I've heard from others that one can now get the 128/24 AND PS mods done together negotiated down from $1800 to $1k, + shipping. (And no, it's not from ME!) At a G this is a great deal. The 24/192 DOES give you more THERE there, and the PS mods liven it all up nicely....
But the clamp? Hmmm....forged stainless spring-steel (like a great knife), or cheap stamped stuff (back to the $5 cost)? I know, Cello, it's about the motion, not the meat, but the mech engr in me hates to pay. It's bad enough when Subie charges $60 for a small pigtailed-magnet cam/crank or knock sensor that costs $5 to get out there....
Cello, replacing the cheap uninsulated short RCA out wires with shielded silver or silver/copper just makes sense, once you're in there. The original plain hook-up wires are just soldered on in space, so it's also an opportunity to crimp on as well as adding a drop of solder. I have some nice 16/4 shielded Ag/Cu wire if anyone wants a couple of jumpers for RCA use, but again, the consensus from ALL the dealers and users I'd heard from here, in the UK, France, and Scandinavia is that balanced operation is more than just a free +6 dB, so it's even harder to comment upon the effects of successive mods when single-ended op is required.
Damn...just heard a pipe burst in the basement! Gotta go.... |
Hi guys. Here's a weird corrolary. A Dane end-user posted his seemingly-older (it's hard to tell from the bad English) 240v EMC-1 on eBay, now sitting at $2225. I had thrown out a silly low bid early in the week just to track it automatically (calm down, Mike!). The bidding seems to be from other Europeans, as espected.
However, throughout the week I've received FOUR off-eBay and one "through eBay with commissions paid(??)" side offers to buy "NEW" or "similar" EMC-1s for "low" or "$2000" prices. These have all been from different addresses, each with DIFFERENTLY-flawed English. What the hell's going on here? The EMC-1 UP SE sells for $3k+ new in the EC...probably close to $4k with the low dollar, so I'm further perplexed. I DID delete these offers, so can't offer up the addresses to legitimate EC dealers to track down, if asked. Sorry.
Does anyone else run into this when seeing a high end component on eBay? Are there that many gray marketers out there? |
On second thought I fear that the above-mentioned offers could be cons, as a couple of these emails stated that the seller was a "dealer" represented in many countries, etc., but happened to be in England at the time, blah blah blah, again all in very poorly spelled English. Truly weird....
I dragged my EMC-1 UP SE into a local friendly budget-high dealer (NAD, UNICO, ARCAM, TRIANGLE, ALON, CASTLE). Their VERY good tech uncovered it, remarking that all the decent discrete parts indicated great build design. We all listened to it, as the house guru and the tech's jaws dropped. They had never heard digital sound that good. $5500? Maybe not. But discounted/used $4/3k hard to resist.
There IS a lot of there there....
So am I being too cheap about the Spider? And yes, why isn't it standard now? Hmmm.... Are they hard to get because they work, or did EC make a few to test the high-profit accessory waters as a quasi-joke. Love to hear a pair of pre/post-Spidered EMC-1s side by side....
I have NO idea what Steve Nugent's doing, but $1400 is a LOT to spend on these circuit boards. OTOH replacing all the power diodes ($20 parts) DOES make a significant improvement, so maybe swapping out some caps, etc., is a good idea too. What ARE you doing for all that money, Steve? |
Jm88...haven't heard the BAT, but the vocals in my XLR'd EMC-1 are clearly rendered and spookily real. Tubes do this well, too, of course, but sometimes via a mid-band spectral "bump". The power supplies' diodes mod clearly brought the stage forward a bit, somewhat enhancing vocal "push". Steve's modding the transport suspension? Seeing as that's the EMC-1's raison d'etre I'm a bit surprised. I would have thought he'd concentrate on $$ caps and wire bits.... |
Oneprof...and now a fortnight later? |
