The Norwegian company Electrocompaniet released the fifth version of the EMC 1 MKV CD player. It features an improved circuit and a more compact and rigid body. The EMC 1 Mk V features a new optical transport engine, high-quality sample rate converter, fully balanced DACs and discrete analog circuitry.
Serious measures have been taken to protect the optical assembly from vibrations that can cause degradation of the fine structure of the music signal. The company itself is proud of its Electromechanical cancellation system, emphasizing its great and positive contribution to high-quality sound. The vibration isolation of the entire structure is facilitated by the special design of the legs – modified SoundCare Superspikes are used as supports.
The designers provided five different sub-casings to shield the transport, transformer, digital, analog and control circuits from external radio frequency and electromagnetic interference, as well as to minimize the mutual influence of parts of the structure on each other. Digital and analog circuits are powered by separate toroidal power transformers – a normal solution for a high-end device. The significant weight of the player (18 kg) is noteworthy – the EMC 1 Mk V is heavier than many integrated amplifiers of the same class on the market.
The device looks solid; the original and strict design of Electrocompaniet is instantly recognizable. On the left side of the front panel of the player we see a convenient information display with large blue symbols that are easily readable from afar – on the display of the previous version of the player the symbols were not so large and, therefore, less visible. The device as a whole has become more ergonomic.
On the right is a group of four buttons for controlling sound reproduction; The Power button is located in the center. The four corner screws have the same gold finish as the buttons. Compared to a player with a non-standard design, the included remote control looks simple: a plastic case, nothing remarkable… Discs in the EMC 1 Mk V are loaded from the top. You need to manually move the door back (its movement is impeccably smooth), install the plate on the spindle and press it with a nice magnetic clamp. After closing the bootloader, Loading appears on the display for a few seconds, after which the device is ready to produce music.
The presence of coaxial electrical and optical outputs indicates the player’s readiness to function as a transport, in conjunction with an external converter. There is a 12-volt trigger input for centralized power management and an RS-232 port for software updates and integration of the player into a home system. Analog outputs are implemented on RCA and XLR connectors.
Characteristics of Electrocompaniet EMC 1 MK V
Supported disc types CD, CD-R, CD-RW
DAC bit depth 24 bit/192 kHz
Upsampler up to 24 bit/192 kHz
Output voltage 2.3 V (RCA), 4.6 V (XLR)
Ratio signal/noise 130 dB
Frequency range 20 Hz – 20 kHz (± 0.05 dB)
Channel separation more than 110 dB
Harmonic coefficient less than 0.003%
Dynamic range 120 dB
Outputs unbalanced RCA, balanced XLR, optical, coaxial
Other switching interface RS-232, 3.5 mm trigger input (12 V)
Remote control
available Power consumption 25 W, in standby mode: 0.5 W
Dimensions (WxHxD) 470 x 118 x 422 mm
Weight 18 kg
