ASR Emitter II Exclusive Blue
Power amplifiers
When mankind is eliminated by a gigantic volcano eruption, a tsunami or Godzilla, most parts of the Emitter will remain to exist as this amplifier is dustproof, waterproof and heatproof. The ASR's catalogue is far from complicated - there are only two models, however, with a lot of variables and upgrades.
Function and form
ASR claims that current source components provide enough voltage (2V or more) to exclude a preamplifier from an audio system. Also the sensitivity of the power amplifiers (1.5-2.0V) supports this assumption.Thus the Emitter is basically a power amp with volume control. The mikroprocessors take care of relays (16 per channel) that attenuates down to -75dB. This happens below the mark, indicated as 51 on the Emitter's display. Above this level the ASR adds some gain. The Emitter II Exclusive (this is the configuration I had for this review) is specified as 2x500W into 4 ohms. Inside there are four (!) 700VA EI transformers from Philbert-Mantelschnit, encapsulated in twos in their own subchassis. The joint filtration capacity of the Emitter reaches stunning 1,385,520µF(!) which is enough to equip another five power amplifiers.
To run the Emitter 6 power cables are needed - 3 IEC terminated power leads connect the power supply units and 3 special ones, with Harting locks at the end, that interconnect the power supplies with the amplifier. The locks kind of weld the terminations together, I have never seen something like this before.
The chassis of the ASR Emitter is semi-transparent black acrylate - in dark one sees lots of diodes of different colours inside as ASR uses them to stabilize the circuits.
Bass management
The double basses in Peer Gynt (Herbert von Karajan/Berliner Philharmoniker) were presented as massed strings rather than individual instruments. Not that it is a bad thing - in a concert hall the instrumental groups are rarely dissectible into individual voices and classical players are trained to submit their individualities in favour of the group. The Emitter is not overly detailed amplifier, it favours tonal colours and timbres to spotlighting. A brush is the Emitter's tool, not a pencil as if it wanted create a mood and let the listener's imagination do the rest. As such the ASR is closer to SET amps than to single-ended designs.
Clarity & delicacy
The music is massive, soothing and velvety. It is a very attractive signature until you play the music that should not be massive, soothing and velvety, like crystal clear Dick Hyman's piano on Stereophile's Test CD-3; the Emitter shifts it spectrally towards a grand piano, with grandiose sound and thicker felt on its hammers. Also on Love Deluxe (Sade) some sounds decayed much faster than I was used to, as if they were absorbed by the velvety background.
Tonal accuracy
The listening sessions became soon very dependant on what program was played – if it fits the Emitter's way of doing things then the experience was expanding, walls were removed and I was bathing in the washes sound, like with Sibelius's The Swan of Tuonela. Strings acquired liquid smoothness through the Emitter and the spectacular sound brought me into oblivion.
If the ASR Emitter appears on your shopping list I suggest to consult a dealer first. The configuration of your future Emitter can be really tailor made to your preferences as the amplifiers are built on order. It may be also good to realize that the whole ASR Emitter II Exclusive Blue system weights 140kg.
Spatial resolution
The Emitter allows to choose the power mode. By a knob on its front panel the listener switches between several regimes:
"1" is an economy mode which only uses a part of the power output for late night listening as the amplifiers battery power cells are recharged simultaneously. The indicators (another row of colourful LEDs on the ASR's front panel) show the battery voltage capacity. The amplifier should play for over 100 hours until recharging starts again.
The mode "2" prevents recharging, the Emitter is disconnected and isolated from mains and it runs 100% on battery cells (six 6V/12Ah Panasonic Pb accumulators with 400,000µF capacity). In this mode the Emitter should be totally inert to mains borne noise and voltage fluctuations. No power conditioner is therefore needed.
Recommended resellers
Audiostudio s.r.o., Olomouc, tel. +420 608 752 475
Manufacturer's website: http://www.asraudio.de
Associated components
- Sources: Plinius CD-101, Naim CD5, T+A 1260R
- Amplifiers: Plinius SA-Reference
- Interconnects and speaker cables: Furutech Lineflux a Speakerflux, Kimber Kable Silver Streak
- Loudspeakers: Dynaudio Consequence Ultimate Edition, Dynaudio Evidence Temptation
- Power conditioning: Furutech f-TP61 Special Edition, Furutech Powerflux
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ASR Emitter II Exclusive Blue
When mankind is eliminated by a gigantic volcano eruption, a tsunami or Godzilla, most parts of the Emitter will remain to exist as this amplifier is dustproof, waterproof and heatproof. The ASR's catalogue is far from complicated - ...
Recommended resellers
Audiostudio s.r.o., Olomouc, tel. +420 608 752 475
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