The ASR Emitter II Exclusive Version Blue amplifier review just went live at Positive Feedback Online here. What an amazing amplifier the ASR is, and it truly is in another league musically from anything I've ever experienced. See below for some snippets from the review.
"Friedrich's design goal for the Emitter amplifiers was to combine the harmonically rich and musical sound of vacuum tube amplifiers with the precision and high output power that modern transistor amplifiers are capable of. He wanted the Emitters to sound very "live"—in the sense of the live musical experience – so that the listening room would disappear as "live" music appeared in the listening room. Friedrich also wanted his Emitter amplifiers to be transparent and able to resolve even the finest musically significant details, while at the same time being completely stable into even low efficiency or low impedance loudspeakers."
"As I just mentioned, when you purchase an ASR Emitter II Exclusive Version Blue amplifier it is custom built specially for you according to your needs as a user. For the Tannoy Kingdom Royal and Westminster Royal SE loudspeakers I used in my system during the review period, Friedrich recommended an Emitter II with the Exclusive and outboard battery power supply options ($29,000 USD), the Version Blue option ($880 USD), and the silver WBT connectors option (WBT silver connectors on the 3 inputs of CD 1, phono, and direct, plus speaker binding posts, is $1340 USD). The total for an Emitter II hand-made in Herborn, Germany, with this set of cosmetic and performance-enhancing options came to $31,220 USD as reviewed."
"As you will read about in just a moment, the ASR Emitter II Exclusive Version Blue amplifier Friedrich recommended turned out to be a stunning match for both pairs of the Tannoy loudspeakers, and I was extremely impressed with the result."
"This gives the Emitter II an output of 250, 450, and 800 watts into 8, 4, and 2 Ohms, respectively, from its 20 Toshiba MOSFETs. Friedrich says that the Emitter II Exclusive Version Blue can output 1,150 watts per channel into a 1 Ohm load from 20Hz to 20,000Hz with less than 0.1% distortion—it is extremely stable into difficult loads. The Emitters have a frequency response from 0.1Hz to 500kHz of +/- 3dB, which makes them capable of reproducing ultra-low & -high frequency overtones & harmonics that some instruments are capable of producing that are outside the realm of human hearing (approximately 16Hz to 18kHz), but which Friedrich feels can be important for achieving the most realistic musical reproduction. Because of the Emitters' high output power, ultra stability into difficult loads, and ultra-wide frequency response they open up musical possibilities that many other amplifiers cannot even approach, driving even low efficiency or low impedance loudspeakers with ease."
"Friedrich chose to run the Emitter II in Class A up to 20 watts as a practical consideration, as most music listening is done in the range of 10 to 20 watts, with only momentary loud passages in the music like loud bass notes and crescendos exceeding 20 watts. As Friedrich points out, operating the Emitter II in full Class A at full power all the time would mean "a consumption of 2000 Watts, more than enough to heat a big room." For the two loudspeakers I used during the review period, the Tannoy Kingdom Royal (a sensitivity of 96dB (2.83V @ 1m) and the Tannoy Westminster Royal Special Edition (a sensitivity of 99dB (2.83V @ 1m) this means that at my normal listening levels of 70 to 90 dB the Emitter II loafed along using less than 1 watt the vast majority of the time, so the amplifier was effectively always in Class A."
"I have found Friedrich Schaefer's ASR Emitter II Exclusive Version Blue to be simply the finest musical transducer in an amplifier that I have ever encountered. The ASR Emitter II Exclusive Version Blue is very adept at presenting the music in a true high-fidelity manner with an intense level of musical involvement. The ASR Emitter II Exclusive Version Blue does everything right with musical attributes like timbre, melody, harmonies, rhythm, tempo, dynamics, loudness, and beat. It also does everything right on audiophile sonic parameters like transparency, soundstage, soundspace, and imaging. However, describing its performance in those terms just doesn't begin to capture the mesmerizing musical abilities I have heard from the ASR Emitter II Exclusive Version Blue while playing music through both Tannoy's statement Kingdom Royal loudspeakers or my own reference Westminster Royal SE loudspeakers."
"When I asked Friedrich how he was able to design such intense musical ability into the Emitter II Exclusive Version Blue amplifier, he told me he designed the Emitter with both his heart and head, his head striving to achieve electronic & mechanical perfection in every aspect of the Emitter, but with his heart selecting every single component and design element to "follow the soul of the music.
Friedrich told me, "In the design process I work more like an artist, like a painter, a sculpturist, and use my mind to follow up the impulses of my heart. I get inspirations and ideas about how to make it more harmonic, closer to the music, to follow the soul of the music, and I use my technical experience and knowledge to bring them into my electronic and mechanical design solutions.""
"As I said in the very first paragraph of this article, the ASR Emitter II Exclusive Version Blue amplifier is the most musically satisfying amplifier I've ever had the pleasure of listening to. I enjoyed listening to music with it more than any vacuum tube or solid-state amplifier I have ever heard. If you can afford to purchase it I recommend you do so!"
For information worldwide about where to purchase the ASR Emitter II Version Blue, please contact Dr. Friedrich Schaefer. In North America please contact Mr. Zed Husain of Musical Sounds, LLC, for more information or to arrange for a purchase.
