Предусилители — Emm Labs PREi

The PREi is a stereo line preamplifier from EMM Labs, the Canadian company that sells its products together with the Meitner Audio range. It is a discrete, dual-balanced design with a class A analogue output stage, and it sits below the company's PRE model in the EMM preamplifier line. The US price was USD 28,900, and EMM Labs gives three years of warranty cover. The circuit was designed by Ed Meitner, who leads the company.

Key specs that matter

Six stereo inputs are provided - three balanced XLR and three single-ended RCA - alongside three stereo outputs, two on XLR and one on RCA. System gain is 6 dB. Input impedance is 40 kohm on XLR and 20 kohm on RCA, and output impedance is 150 ohm balanced and 75 ohm single-ended. EMM Labs quotes a signal-to-noise ratio better than 118 dB unweighted at 4 V RMS output and THD+N below 0.01 percent at all frequencies. The chassis measures 438 x 381 x 102 mm and weighs 17.6 kg. Finishes are bead-blasted silver with a black insert or all black, and custom metallic plated options can be ordered.

Engineering and use context

Signal paths are fully discrete and dual-balanced, and the class A circuitry is intended to drive loads without degradation. Volume is set by the MVControl3 system, a precision software-driven control that keeps the level adjustment entirely in the analogue domain and moves in 0.5 dB steps. Input switching is contactless, and the ceramic boards carry gold traces. Circuit boards use aerospace-grade MCeraTek ceramic material. Power comes from the proprietary MXPower3 resonant mode supply with high isolation, which is factory set to accept 85 to 260 V AC at 50 or 60 Hz and consumes a maximum of 40 W. A large OLED display has adjustable brightness and an XZoom mode that enlarges the readout. Each input can be programmed with three volume presets. A machined aluminium infrared remote is supplied, an RS232 port supports wired remote and multi-system control, and a Kimber Kable PK14 Base power cord is included.

Pairing

Having two XLR outputs means a power amplifier and one further balanced load, for example an active subwoofer, can be connected simultaneously, and the RCA output covers single-ended amplifiers. With three XLR inputs, balanced sources such as EMM Labs or Meitner converters can connect without adapters.

Alternatives

The EMM Labs PRE2 is another stereo preamplifier in the same company range.