EMAC 535SE Amplifier Review

Discussion in 'Headphone Amplifiers and Combo (DAC/Amp) Units' started by Hands, Feb 19, 2017.

  1. Hands

    Hands Overzealous Auto Flusher - Measurbator

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    EMAC 535SE Amplifier Review

    EMAC 535SE.jpg

    First off, I'd like to thank @liamstrain and The Audio Guild as a whole for giving me the opportunity to test and review their new 535SE headphone amplifier.

    You can find the original thread on it here, the product page for it here, and a writeup of the overall design of the amp here.

    Looks, Feel, and General Usage Impressions

    I really dig the retro look of this amp, from the front plate design to the wood chassis. It feels solidly built. I'm not sure what else to say about it other than it properly captures a vintage look and feel.

    Best of all, though, is that knob. That giant, humongous knob. It makes me feel dirty, but I love getting my hands all over the giant, black knob on the front...fondling it, twisting it back and forth, playing with it. In all seriousness, though, I never thought I'd give two shits about a volume knob, but somehow I did in this case. (This knob lead to real conversations at a recent micro meet about using door wheels from ships on an amplifier. How often does a volume knob get people talking about volume knobs in a good way?)

    Another feature I liked about this amp was that it offers three inputs and a pre-amp output. While I didn't get a chance to test it as a pre-amp, I did find it handy to flip between inputs with a simple switch on front. Not that this is an uncommon feature, but it's nice to have nonetheless.

    I'm not one to usually care too much about looks or feel with audio equipment, but having had the amp for a few days, it's clear part of the appeal of owning one comes down to its vintage looks and that massive knob. It's a bit unique and charming in its own way because of all this and the amplifier design at hand, but the actual sound it puts out itself is still the most important aspect.

    Sound Impressions

    Despite what some may think or say, I really did feel this amp sounded its best after it had the chance to play for a few hours and warm up. It seemed to respond well to being left on all the time, actually. Whether or not I was a victim of the dreaded placebo, I judged it post-warm up.

    The 535SE occupies a sonic category that sits somewhere in between a solid state and tube amp, often avoiding the downfalls of each without always having the best traits of either. I don't mean that as a negative, but rather I am emphasizing that you can almost never avoid trade offs. In fact, sitting somewhere in the middle can sometimes be the right choice, depending on your wants, needs, and tastes.

    The 535SE has a slightly warm but mostly neutral tone. In that regard, it does more closely match what you'd commonly hear from a decent tube amp. It's not quite as powerful as, say, the Mjolnir 2 or some of the best OPT-coupled tube amps, but it's not lean like the Valhalla 2. It's also not as bright and hard sounding as the Jotunheim. It's a little less thick and colored than the Black Widow v1. The 535SE is fairly middle of the road in this regard and fairly balanced. The HD650 sounded fairly good from the amp, and, thankfully, the amp did not make it sound lean or strained. In fact, with the tonal traits and 1 ohm output impedance, I found about any headphone worked quite well from the amp.

    One upside of the 535SE compared to most tube amps, or even the Black Widow v1, is that it seemed to have tighter and slightly better defined bass, even if not always as slamming in the low end as the best tube amps under the $2K point. In other words, that sense of tube bloom did not exist, yet the slightly warm, but mostly neutral, tone remained. If you're looking to get the most slam and macro-dynamics from your HD650, and that's all you want, even with a bit of tube bloom, the 535SE may not be exactly what you're looking for.

    From a resolution, clarity, speed, and similar technical abilities standpoint, I did not find myself wanting with the 535SE. It was certainly good enough to display even subtle differences between the Metrum Pavane and Adagio DACs. You may get better performance from another solid state amp, but likely at the cost of dealing with prickly or glaring treble. I'm not saying the 535SE is a performance monster like, say, the EC Studio, but it holds its own in its bracket.

    Staging and imaging on the 535SE was not quite as 3D, layered, and airy as a good tube amp, nor was the 535SE expansive sounding, but I would add the 535SE didn't have a sense of stage flatness that is common from solid state amps. Depth was a little lacking, but not like heard on the Jotunheim or Mjolnir 2. Compared to the Black Widow v1, I do think the 535SE has an overall better and less forward/condensed stage. This was one area in particular that stuck out in terms of having neither the strengths or weaknesses of most SS or tube amps. It occupied an area somewhere in between. Staging is one area that keeps me coming back to tubes, so I did find myself nitpicking the 535SE in this regard. It didn't get in the way, but I wish it was just a bit better, if I lived in a perfect world.

    The other aspect I need to nitpick is that the 535SE has a slightly dry or rough timbre in the upper-midrange to lower-treble area. I did not find it egregious by any means, nor did I find it as bothersome as on the Valhalla 2 or, even worse, the MicroZOTL. This is one area where the Black Widow v1 excelled for a solid state amp. Thankfully, with the overall tone of the 535SE and a lack of a glaring or hard high-end, I didn't find this to bother me too much. I just found it easier to sink into some other tube amps. If you're looking for a perfect blend of liquidity and clarity, you may be better served by a tube amp. Just be careful, because even a good tube amp with the wrong tubes can do worse. If you want great clarity and couldn't care less about bright or hard treble, you have plenty of other solid state options.

    Overall Thoughts and Value

    During my tests, I actually felt quite positive about the 535SE. No, it's not quite perfect for my ears. I think the upper-end timbre could use a bit of refinement, and I wish the stage were a bit airier and more 3D. Despite those two points, I still enjoyed what I heard with about any headphone I threw at it. Even the Utopia, which I very recently learned is a surprisingly picky headphone, sounded quite good from the 535SE (more so than my modded, Mk2 Super 7, believe it or not).

    I do need to give the 535SE high marks for hitting a good overall tone and having solid technical performance in other areas. I never felt like anything was missing in anything other than the two areas I had to nitpick, and even those areas weren't huge setbacks. From that perspective, that I had fairly little to complain about says to me the 535SE is a pretty good, all-rounder amp. Combine that all with the vintage look and that hunk of a volume knob, and the 535SE left me feeling happy overall.

    From a value perspective, I do wish it were priced a bit lower. The pre-order price seems reasonable to me, and I wish that were the permanent rate (mostly so I can snatch one at that rate if and when I have money). I think for a solid state amp that sort of bridges that gap between SS and tubes, the 535SE is a good choice. That's a tough niche to fill, one that few SS amps have done so far (thinking BW1, but I might prefer the 535SE overall, maybe). Sure, I prefer some less expensive amps for just my HD650, but a good all-rounder amp, or SS sidekick for a tube amp if you swing that way, has a place as well. However, I keep circling back to the vintage looks and silly things like the joy of turning a knob, which make me not want to worry so much about the final asking price. I think it's a pretty cool amp. It sounds pretty darn good, even with some minor blemishes, and kills it with style that makes you want to keep it around and enjoy it.

    @MisterRogers, @bixby, and @Effusion heard it at the micro meet, so I hope they'll chime in with their thoughts. It was certainly awesome to use for DAC comparisons!
     
  2. AMW1011

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    A bit anemic on gain and output, but otherwise it seems solid. Certainly good looking. I like the retro look as opposed to the absurd futuristic shit like Auralic or Chord produces. Looking forward to more impressions. I'd much rather see more of this than overly warm Solid State amps like the Carbon or legitimately bad amps that get popular anyway.
     
  3. Hands

    Hands Overzealous Auto Flusher - Measurbator

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    Seemed to have more than enough headroom on about every headphone and didn't seem strained with 650, so to speak. Maybe some inefficient planars will have issues (ignoring HE6 for obvious reasons)? Seems planars have become rather efficient as of late, OTOH.
     
  4. Vtory

    Vtory Audiophile™

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    This is an interesting product. Great write up!

    I think the asking price of this amp ($1,800) is quite comparable with well-received mid price tube amps such as ZDS ($2,450). Ignoring this price difference (I assume these amps targeted almost identical budget groups), what do you think one would get if go for 535se instead of zds? And what will he/she lose? I am considering a new amp these days, so quite curious about your opinion!
     
  5. k1arg

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    Has anyone heard both the 535SE and an ECP DSHA? I guess I'm not the only one who is curious how they compare.
     
  6. Ice-man

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    Thanks @Hands for this very nice write up. I'm seriously considering this amp. I have a few questions. Which amps that you've had personal experience with have bested the emac specifically with the hd800 and why? I'm assuming that you had an hd800 during the testing period.
     
  7. Hands

    Hands Overzealous Auto Flusher - Measurbator

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    I would put them in different price brackets. That's quite the jump. I would also imagine that for most dynamic headphones, the ZDS is probably the better amp overall. The 535SE might work with a broader range of headphones, maybe, and you don't have to deal with tubes either. I'm guessing based on what I've heard of EC amps, but I haven't heard the ZDS myself. Again, the 535SE strikes me less as a specialty amp (i.e. if you only have an HD650, you have better options if you want to wall yourself off) and more of a good all-rounder that has strong appeal due to its looks and such. So, for me, I have my uber HD650 amp, but I would love to have the 535SE around as its sidekick if funds allowed.

    I believe @MisterRogers has heard the DSHA extensively? Maybe he could chime in. If the DSHA sounds anything like the Black Diamond, they'll definitely have a different presentation.

    No, I didn't have an HD800, but I have heard it from a variety of amps. Also tried a few dynamics from the 535SE to get a good feel for its performance.

    What I would personally recommend for the HD800 is a really powerful tube amp with great output transformers. You may often want a modified amplifier. That doesn't leave a ton of options, at least not cheap ones. A used Super 7, especially a Mk1 unit, with some mods is an amazing combination. The Elekit TU-8200, with the right tubes (changes a lot based on tubes), could be a good fit. The ZDS might be good too. While the 535SE didn't make the HD650 sound lean, I imagine it doesn't have quite enough oomph for the HD800, and that hint of upper-end dryness won't do the HD800 favors. Of course, I could be wrong...maybe it would pair perfectly! Or you might like how it sounds. I prefer a warmer, very powerful, yet very clear and liquid tube amp to help counter balance the HD800. However, if you enjoyed something like, say, the Jotunheim with the HD800, the 535SE should leave you feeling just fine, I'd guess.

    Besides, you might want to pick one up anyway for that vintage feel and that huge knob. :)
     
  8. eastboundofnowhere

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    Thanks for the impressions, Hands. Really excited to get this. I don't really see this, price-wise, as competition with the ZDS(which I will buy sometime this year when I replenish the ol' disposable income jar). I went out on a limb and ordered because I would like a solid state do it all amp for when I don't feel like messing with tubes…like in the summer…or when I am in and out and don't want to repeatedly power up/down a tube amp. In my mind the competition are really some of the ECP amps or the Black Widow(price disadvantage, I know) and I've always missed the windows on those…just bad luck and timing. When I decided to buy it, the only readily available solid state amp I was considering was the Rag, but I wouldn't get the most out of that because I don't want to go balanced.

    Anyway, probably won't comment further until I get my hands on it because I'll have no way to contribute. Really excited about the pre-amp out as well and can't wait to try it.
     
  9. Vtory

    Vtory Audiophile™

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    Just my arbitrary assumption.

    My logic
    1) Cheap tube amps are defined as ~$1,200
    2) Next level would be for those who have higher willingness to pay. My guess is that these people will look at amps around $2,000 (decent money but not super crazy amount yet)
    3) 535 costs slightly below 2k, and ZDS costs slightly above 2k. So probably a potential buyer (assumed in 2) will compare both more based on performance rather than price.

    Indeed this is my case, folks. I am seriously looking at all the candidates around 2k these days. haha ;)

    Anyway, I will also keep @Hands ' advice in mind. Thanks!
     
  10. jacal01

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    Don't know if you saw my review over on Head-fi, but I audited the amp with HD800s, and to my ears the amp carried the hyperdetailed and analytical headphones with aplomb, never glaring or jarring or fatiguing, even with an extended session. For the HD800, I don't know if you can say better than that of it.
     
  11. Ice-man

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    I had an opportunity to spend some quality time with this amp over the weekend at the Atlanta meet. Cutting right to the chase, this is a very good amp and worthy of the asking price. I was able to listen to the EMAC early before the crowds really formed and the room was still somewhat quiet. I tried the amp first with the hd800 stock with no EQ (yikes). The amp impressed me immediately with beautiful tone, and I mean spot on tone. Subtle details and nuanced sounds were wonderfully portrayed and held my attention as I followed them around the recording. Mids and vocals were a real standout. I could get lost in the vocals with realism when singers were reaching deep to churn out the notes coming from deep in the chest.

    I think it's fair to say that the EMAC has a more romantic sound that doesn't overly emphasize treble and has a slight warm in the bass region. But overall the signature really worked and was very coherent and layered. The amp worked equally as well for ETHER Flow and was just as impressive.

    It was hard not to get drawn in by the retro styling and huge volume knob. Come on, who doesn't like big knobs. :p The EMAC is on my buy list...
     
    Last edited: May 8, 2017
  12. AppleheadMay

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    Sold out already in the few days I was contemplating buying one ...
    Does anyone have info on future runs or other places to buy?
     

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