Why will no other turntable beat the EMT 927?

And yea i have personally owned the Technics SP-10 MK2 and Mk3. Good but, please! It is not even close to 927. The Mk3 is in the league of a nicely done Lenco but with higher resolution and a drier sound. Mk2, one step below. The humble EMT 938 beats Mk2 easily and approaches the Mk3 dangerously close. Infact for all those who love DD, you owe it to yourself to get a fully serviced 938 and see if the Technics is still in your rear view mirror.

 

By the way, i don’t like DD and I am not a EMT guy but i have had all these TTs in my own system.

Thank you Thuchan for bringing up this amazing topic which is far less discussed on this forum than typical modern products. I have been researching on the EMT tables off late. It is really nice to see someone with so much analog experience still not being able to get over the big EMT. Can you please help me answer two things:

1. How does the 927 compared to 930 which is also an Idler drive ? Or for that matter how is the 950 in comparison ? Is there big gap between 927 and all other EMTs ?

2. Have you ever heard a nicely setup Platine Verdier ? It is not a modern design but is a classic belt drive. How does it compare to the EMT sound ?

Regards
Pani

Thanks bydlo.

Thanks Thuchan for the description. Just to add more information, J.C Verdier is now making an even bigger TT called the Verdier Magnum. It is massive and is made to order only. You can read about it here:
http://www.jcverdier.com/ADSL/Platine_Magnum.html

My first cousin who stays in the same city as me had a EMT 927, Jean Nantais Reference Lenco Mk2 and Dr.Feickert Firebird at the same time.

Phonostage: EMT JPA66 Mk2

Speakers: ATC SCM 100ASL active

Cartridges: EMT JSD Platinum, Phasemation PP-2000

 

On this setup, the Lenco is clearly superior to Feickert Firebird. Equal in resolution, and better in terms of dynamics and pitch stability, and more life to music. And the Feickert is a really good $10k turntable. A very well engineered and good sounding unit. I will highly recommend it to anyone considering a modern TT under 10k. Just don’t tell me idler can’t sound tops.

 

The 927 is just hilariously ahead of all this. Way way way more resolution and dynamics. It is a proper full range, accurate, limitless sound. I don’t know which TT can better it, yet. May be a Kondo Ginga? Cousin has just bought a Micro Seki SX-8000. Lets see if that can measure up to the 927.

We can call a Technics anything. It is a good DD. But it is not a end of the story sound. An EMT 950 is totally another level, a proper end of the story DD. 927 is a final TT for the most discerning ears with unlimited resources. Bringing in Technics to this discussion is like bringing in a 3 way floorstander in the party of 5 way full range horn speakers.

@rauliruegas I will answer all your question. But your questions have an underlying tone of disrespect if things doesnt match your beliefs. Believe me there are many ears better than yours and mine, only if we have an open mind to accept other's experiences, we stand to gain something.

Anyway here are some details from my memory.

The 927, Nantais Lenco and Feickert Firebird were placed on the same BOX Furniture rack. 927 had 2 tonearms, 997 and Acoustic Systems Axiom. Cartridge were a combination of TSD-15, JSD Platinum & Phasemation PP-2000. The Axiom was swapped between 927, Nantais Lenco & Feickert and we also swapped the EMT and Phasemation carts various times to get the feel. The phasemation and EMT ultimately are not very different in terms of tone but phasemation seems to make things more refined and hifi, more pin-point. EMT carts are a little more flamboyant and raw, more studio like.

 

When I had the Technics SP10-Mk2, Mk3, Nantais Reference Lenco and Loricraft Garrard 301, the tonearm was a 47 Labs RS-A1 with Audio Technica ART-9, rack was a Hutter Rack from Austria. Later I also had EMT HSD-006 cartridge to replace the ART-9

@lewm the system in which we compared the 927, Feickert and Nantais Lencowe used an EMT JPA66 Mk2 phono. It was not the 927 internal phono. So we had a common ground to compare the the three TT

950 is owned by 2 of my other buddies. They don't have a 927. But both of them aspire to have one some day. The 950 is being used with internal phono.

Sonically, 950 is the best DD I have heard. No one i know prefers a 950 over 927. Not even in the same ball park. As I said, 927 feels like there is nothing more to ask for.

 

 

 

Very very interesting @dover , a video with the TT playing would be lovely :-)

@lewm couple of things to clarify first.

1. The 927 is owned by my cousin and there we also compared it to Nantais Reference Lenco and Dr.Feickert Firebird. There was no DD in that room.

2. I had in my room, Technics SP10Mk2, Mk3, Nantais Reference Lenco & Loricraft Garrard 301 side by side for some time. Recently I had a EMT 938 (DD) in my room for a month.

3. I don’t like DDs. I am neutral towards EMT brand (unlilke fanboys). But in this hobby I always keep an open and honest mind to accept what is good about even things I hate.

 

So, a quick recap of what I said earlier. The Sp10 Mk2 is not in the same league as any of the other TTs in this discussion, simply because it doesnt have the macro dynamic range of others. It sounds small. The SP10 Mk3 approaches the idlers in dynamics and overall grandeur, has more resolution than Lenco and Garrard but sounds drier. I chose Nantais Lenco as the best of the lot. Quieter and more resolved than Garrard, More fluid, and approaches resolution of good DDs. The 938 which I heard recently is at SP10 Mk3 level, but less dry. If I have to choose a DD among all these, it will be 938.

 

Coming back to 927. In my cousin's room, it made the Lenco and Feickert sound ordinary, basic, nice but portable players. It had much more resolution than the $10k Feickert, much better micro dynamics than any TT under 30k I have till this date. Macro dynamics is final level, you cannot expect anything more. It live size, full range sound, like the best horn speakers give you. Tone is perfect, no coloration, PRAT is exact, no distortion, soundstage width and depth is panoromic. These things are not easy to explain. One may think many TTs do it. But when you hear it all put together with the most natural high resolution balance, you know it is the END.

 

BTW, I am using Nantais Lenco as my primary TT.

 

@dover I had heard about Final Audio TT but didnt know Kondo Ginga is a copy. Cheap copy? I can’t say. There was nothing cheap about it. It was the only other TT apart from 927 for which I felt I should earn more. Unfortunately Kondo made only 30 of them because the cost of production was too high and its $120k price tag, they didnt have the sales team to move it. And what Karmeli said about Sp10Mk3 compared to this other TTs is very similar to what I am trying to say indirectly.

@lewm 2 of my close buddies own EMT 950. One of them infact has all the EMT models, TD124, SP10 Mk2, Garrard 401 in the same setup.

The tonearm and cart on the 950 is a EMT 929 + TSD 15 SFL on both my friends systems. Phonostage is internal with matching SUT. One of them uses JBL 4343 and the other uses 4 way Altec horn system