WiredState Audio Community

Is there anyone on WS who owns an EMT TT? I was browsing ebay and found that the going rate for the 930 is about $4k! Why?

If you own one, please invite me to your audio room so I can check this out?

Doc Lito yata has one, sir??

setup2 i believe handled a lot of the emts around

yup, Setup 2 repaired a few before

I think Lito Gelano still has his EMT.

I think john martin is selling one for 100-120k. I don't know what model, though. According to my source, it weighs about 50kgs including plinth.

you are correct, Jen. Doc Lito has one but i guess he wont call it expensive. he got it for free. he likes to tell the story of when he got home one day, there was an EMT on his doorway.

Lito "Sensible" Gelano does not have one. he has two (i think). remember the HiFi show two years back? the Sensible room had 2 EMTs on display.

it's not just the broadcast quality table that's a prized possession, the arms are to-die-for also.

Chester(pigdog) too owns one. I think he got if for far less than the going rate.

i remember we used an EMT cart mounted on EMT headshell during last year's HiFi show courtesy of Maddi.

from an ebay seller:

"The EMT studio turntable are built to run 24 hours a day and 365 day a year."

http://cgi.ebay.com/EMT-930-st-RARE-PRO ... 2308399e03

doasmarx wrote:from an ebay seller:

"The EMT studio turntable are built to run 24 hours a day and 365 day a year."

http://cgi.ebay.com/EMT-930-st-RARE-PRO ... 2308399e03

So, this is perfect for Detubo when he forgets to turn off his TT for a week. Puede na mas matagal pa!

Dante,

They're built like tanks, and maybe that's why they're expensive.

I had a first hand brush with this TT, literally, at the 2007 HiFi Show in Mandarin.

The link:

viewtopic.php?f=54&t=17036

dante wrote:Is there anyone on WS who owns an EMT TT? I was browsing ebay and found that the going rate for the 930 is about $4k! Why?

If you own one, please invite me to your audio room so I can check this out?

Go figure... during the time the 930 was in production, a unit cost as much as a bnew VW Beetle! It definitely was not a consumer model. I still have to restore the one I have: FR64 SS has been mounted already. Been sidelined of late by another hobby.

here are a few of my theories:

[1] they are expensive because there are people like you who buys them;
[2] sentimental "value" is valued as such;
[3] "they are built like tanks" - yes they are, and they sure look like one, too
[4] they told me it's "collectible" - so there goes the pricing

i saw 1 in lito's paco HQ
1 in chester's HK pad

...maybe they use titanium?

.e.

should we foresee one in Dante's stable?

I'd seen some EMT's advertised at US12k in audiogon.

-expensive because they were not built for home use but for professional broadcast studios and stations
-they should come with their own emt phonostages which sound glorious
-you can adjust riaa on the fly
-built like german tanks that meant to run forever, and i mean run forever, i dont turn mine off for weeks at a time as i like the phonostage always fired up (when i was listening)


though a mint one abroad is expensive it is worth it, i imported mine all the way from denmark and got a 2nd one just for the 60hz motor, setup 2 was the surgeon who did the motor transplant in the process got to know my emt 930sts quite well. when mint, running properly it really did put my garrard 401 to shame. haven't done one with my garrard 301 gb though stefano passini does an analogy in his book after the emt aptly called deutsche perfektion. luckily chester found me an hk buyer for the emt 50hz. that said owning a emt is like maybe comparable to owning one of those grand complication watches. over engineered and built to perform, looks were secondary.

expensive? here not so, there were a bunch that popped up from old local studios from baguio and bulacan, some that senor snapped up others...? condition of the cosmetics not great, arm less than average. price anywhere from 90 - 120k? for what you get as far as an idler rig is concerned i still think is a bargain. handling the emt is fun, large and heavy, huge buttons and lights that make other tts feel like toys.

they say the ultimate is the emt 927 a beast of a rig with classy looks, think went on ebay for over 40k i forgot, been out of audio, this thread got my interest in a machine that got me into idler rigs.

hope this helps

btw joel if you are reading kindly call re my emt orto arm and headshell would like to use it for the 301. thanks idol, if you have found our magic long cable do let me know, cheers

hi Dante
good question and i am in the position to answer this question as i own an EMT.

firstly they were made in limited numbers, and were sold primarily for broadcast use
EMT also used very expensive parts to build this ttable, it was meant to be able to withstand 24 hours of constant usage at very harsh climates
EMTs acquired a certain Mystique amongst collectors particularly the 927 which is even more rare, to date i have seen only one which is owned by a friend in italy
a good well restored EMT will cost at around EURO 4,000 as only a few qualified personnel can actually do a decent restoration for these tables


however EMTs have a drawback, choice of tonearms are limited, there are two models and the last model is a basic arm that is best used with the original EMT design cart. and these carts costs a lot of money. the alternative it to use FR64s arm by doing a permanent mod. am not sure if that is a good idea!
EMTs headshell pinout is not the same as the standard one use din say, SME. it has it s own proprietary design.

the turntable is meant primarily for collectors, and is meant to be use with the arm and carts designed specifically for it, hence to those who are not used to it, it may not sound as nice as the other turntable as its main purpose is for broadcast use. these are essentially more like venerable Land Rovers than ferraris.
i love my EMT, it was beautifully restored, though i did not care much for the built in phono stage, the option to adjust the RIAA is a unique option that one cant find with other ttables. i wont even consider selling my emt. just like any beat up old Landrovers, this one is for keeps

along with the EMT, there are other ttables that are worth looking into such as the Rusco, Westrex, Rek O kut etc.
are you looking into getting one?>

egay wrote:here are a few of my theories:

[1] they are expensive because there are people like you who buys them;
[2] sentimental "value" is valued as such;
[3] "they are built like tanks" - yes they are, and they sure look like one, too
[4] they told me it's "collectible" - so there goes the pricing

i saw 1 in lito's paco HQ
1 in chester's HK pad

...maybe they use titanium?

.e.

Well put, egay. However, it is not titanium, but rather unobtanium used!

Don't panic guys. I'm not going to start a price war on EMTs by snapping them up on ebay. I was just wondering why they seemed so expensive. Now that I know who has what, I might request invites to listen to their preciouses. Raffy, Chester, may I wangle an invitation to your audio dens to check out your working EMTs? Senor Sensible, if you read this, kindly consider my request also?

Squirrelnutzipper wrote:

egay wrote:here are a few of my theories:

[1] they are expensive because there are people like you who buys them;
[2] sentimental "value" is valued as such;
[3] "they are built like tanks" - yes they are, and they sure look like one, too
[4] they told me it's "collectible" - so there goes the pricing

i saw 1 in lito's paco HQ
1 in chester's HK pad

...maybe they use titanium?

.e.

Well put, egay. However, it is not titanium, but rather unobtanium used!

aha, that's it dana! the same materials used by oakley and only mined in Pandora where they had to kill the natives

chet, i am with you: only collectors like yourselves are really going to go for these TTs...or maybe those planning to setup a broadcast station, playing vinyls 24x7x365

and i guess, just like anything collectible to "someone", there is a certain mystique that only yourselves could know 'what' or 'why'

enjoy!

.e.

egay wrote:

Squirrelnutzipper wrote:

egay wrote:here are a few of my theories:

[1] they are expensive because there are people like you who buys them;
[2] sentimental "value" is valued as such;
[3] "they are built like tanks" - yes they are, and they sure look like one, too
[4] they told me it's "collectible" - so there goes the pricing

i saw 1 in lito's paco HQ
1 in chester's HK pad

...maybe they use titanium?

.e.

Well put, egay. However, it is not titanium, but rather unobtanium used!

aha, that's it dana! the same materials used by oakley and only mined in Pandora where they had to kill the natives

chet, i am with you: only collectors like yourselves are really going to go for these TTs...or maybe those planning to setup a broadcast station, playing vinyls 24x7x365

and i guess, just like anything collectible to "someone", there is a certain mystique that only yourselves could know 'what' or 'why'

enjoy!

.e.

I think that Chester's comments are spot on. There is really nothing like German engineering that is simply amazing. Are there real world benefits to it over modern technology? Perhaps not. Case in point, I used to race and have owned various older Porsche 911 models. In some respects they were elegantly simple but very well engineered. I really love the sound and sense of a Porsche air cooled motor with mechanical fuel injection, but in reality, the newer Porsches are technically better. Along the same lines as Chester is talking, to me the newer Porsches and truck like vehicles lose something and are more like mainstream vehicles posing as something special. I own a 1973 Porsche 911S Targa that I built up with a 2.7 litre twin ignition mechanical injection motor. It is so much fun to drive; light, nimble, powerful and visceral. To me, the new water cooled line and plebian Suburban Assault Vehicles are just not real Porsches. I think that the same philosophy might apply to to turntables like the EMT. I do have a rather rare Russco Mark 5 turntable and really love the massive engineering of it. So, I get what Chester is saying entirely.