EMM Labs MTRX monoblock amplifiers Review

Are we there yet?

After approximately two weeks, the EMM Labs MTRX were finally delivering the energy of the electric bass guitar and drum more to my satisfaction. Electric bass continued to lack the palpability that I so love and at times the upper bass and lower midrange seemed a hair muddy, though this could be an artefact of my listening room. The reverse side of this particular coin is that the EMM Labs were very kind to massed strings (Vanska, Beethoven 1^st, BIS), were very extended at the frequency extremes, and were capable of extracting significantly more detail than any other amps with which I am familiar. BIS digital can be edgy, but the Beethoven was very easy to listen to and very emotionally involving with good presence.

Another night, I listened to P. J. Harvey’s Stories from the City, in particular Cut 7, “The Mess we’re In,” Cut 11 “Horses in My Dreams” and Cut 12 “We Float.” Guitars and keyboards on the EMM Labs MTRX had wonderfully rich timbres throughout, with Thom Yorke’s voice in particular (on “The Mess We’re In”) floating above them with almost breath-taking purity. I also listened to parts of David Sylvian’s “Everything and Nothing.” These artists (and they are most definitely that) are, at least in these recordings, deeply interested in the quality and variety of sounds and timbres they can combine, move around and use as expressive devices, as well as sensuous tickles to the ears. I have heard and enjoyed these discs enormously on many different systems. That night with the MTRX, the results bested them all. I heard everything and I didn’t want to stop. The end result was not clinical in any way. The sounds were all just there in a wide, wide sound field, perhaps as wide as I have heard. Of course, like any audiophile, I spent a few moments wondering, well, could perhaps the voice be a tad warmer, more present, as I know only the best tubes seem to be able to do? But then, I became lost in the sensuous embrace. This was as good a listening experience as I have ever had, as good as I can recall it ever getting.

As you might guess, the Labor Day weekend provided any number of opportunities to listen with friends. A reissue on 180 gram vinyl of an early Julie Christy mono release was terrifically satisfying, capturing Julie’s husky, silvery voice with a “right there,” “reach out and touch” presentation on the EMM Labs MTRX. This is the CISCO repressing of the first mono only version of the album, and this is one of those monos’s that on a great system can fool you. You feel as if you can tell where the various instrumental voices are on a narrower-than-usual soundstage, such that you really do not miss the stereo. The EMM Labs pulled this off flawlessly, so much so that it would have been so easy to put down the pen in favor of just listening to the music. The next record was a Louisville LP of Roger Sessions’ Symphony No. 7 which was issued in the 1970’s. This is a less common label that one might expect would be: a) not so pleasant sounding, and, b) relatively poor quality vinyl. Both prejudgments would, in this case, be mistaken. It is a minimally miked performance which was well mastered. The EMM Labs brought out the best in this challenging, thorny score. The soundstage was very wide, there was no hint of brightness or brittleness in the strings, instrument placement was reasonably well defined, and the bass drum and tympani whacks were full of punch. With the best tubes, one might hear a bit more velvet in the strings, and perhaps a slightly deeper soundstage, but with perhaps a bit less air and presence in the lower percussion.

At this point, I wanted to hear something less challenging and a bit more melodic, so I turned to an early EMI version of Delius’ “In Country Gardens.” I have seen pictures of the soundstage where this was recorded, a small church as I recall. The EMM Labs capture the close chamber ensemble sense very accurately. The soundstage was nevertheless of wonderful width as presented. This is a first pressing and has some pops and ticks, though the sound was terrific, far superior to the CD reissue. The EMM Labs MTRX did a superb job of sorting out the noise from the music in such a way that the former was quite easy to ignore. There are many solo wind passages, which were delineated with great clarity. This LP is highly regarded for its lush string tone.

The last two selections, at least for that evening, were the Michael Tilson Thomas Mahler Symphony No. 4 and Honneger’s Symphony No. 2 on a London recording, both on vinyl. I am among a (probably) small minority of listeners that find the Tilson Thomas Mahler recordings to suffer from a bit of digititis; by this I mean a bleaching/diminution of harmonics and overtones in conjunction with a subtle hardening at some frequencies. With the EMM Labs MTRX, the upper strings could get a bit grainy when pushed and the lower strings lacked a bit of richness and warmth; however, the detail was phenomenal.

The Honneger, which is a strings-only symphony, is one of Ansermet’s less flattering recordings of an otherwise generally illustrious body of work, regardless of what you may think of Ansermet as an interpreter. I thought that I would try my luck with this one. Some of the edge was less obvious, but it was still not a perfect experience. The strings were generally less shrill in the climaxes than I had heard before and the lower strings moved along in a rather satisfactory manner. The separation was excellent and the soundstage fairly wide. The second movement in particular contained some lovely moments. All in all, this was a very nice job by the EMM’s.

Final thoughts

Having the EMM Labs MTRX amps in my system for an extended period of time has helped me better understand the strengths and weaknesses of two very different approaches to design, namely single ended, direct heated triodes on the one hand, and ultra-high bandwidth, low distortion, extreme accuracy solid-state on the other. Each approach when taken to its extreme yields a sound that while different from the other, is highly musical and highly compelling. There is little doubt, at least in my mind, that the Meitner approach in almost all respects is the more neutral and accurate, certainly the more detailed, particularly in the topmost octaves. It also offers the lowest noise and distortion, the best extension at each frequency extreme, and the ability to drive almost any speaker regardless of how difficult a load it represents or how inefficient it may be. It also is the most dynamic at the loud end of the spectrum, so much so that you get a feeling of almost limitless power reserves, which, in turn, translate as a dynamic ease that lesser powered amps cannot approach. Perhaps as a further consequence, the EMM’s are able to exert a degree of control over dynamic drivers that must be heard to be fully appreciated. Should you choose the EMM Labs MTRX mono blocks, you can be assured that you have what I consider to be the finest solid-state amp made.The highest praise that a reviewer can give a product, is after having lived with it for an extended period to buy the review sample, which in this instance, I did.