I am selling a fantastic sounding Elmaformer passive preamp made by EMIA using Dave Slagle copper autoformers. $2100 + shipping + 4% PayPal fees. No fees with Venmo or Zelle.
Many people consider this one of the best preamps available, irrespective of price. I count myself among them. I am a professional musician. This preamp is natural and clean without sounding sterile. It sounds right, for lack of a better word, and, once you hear it, it will make you hear the colorations of other preamps.
I liked this so much that I had to get a similar unit using the much more expensive silver autoformers, to try it out. The differences are not night and day, and they sound similarly "right" to me. I ended up preferring the silver version, but I could see others making the opposite choice. To my ears, the silver has a bit more detail, the copper a bit more weight. They are both great. It's the kind of thing that might really be system dependent. In fact, reviewer Alex Halbertstadt, who wrote about this very comparison for Stereophile, preferred the copper. His piece is here and will also give an idea of what these sound like:
https://www.stereophile.com/content/brilliant-corners-13-emia-remote-autoformer-and-listening-master-jazzman-jerome-sabbagh I have been using this with digital and a tube phono stage alike. No issues at all. I had plenty of gain in my system. The steps for gain feel just right to me. I never wished for a step in between the ones that are there.
I am selling the regular version, without a remote. The volume knob feels great, and I really like the look of the unit. It has three RCA inputs and two RCA outputs. It comes in a study pelican type case lined with foam, and I will pack carefully.
Auditions welcome in Brooklyn, but final sale, no returns.
Any questions, please let me know.
Specs are below:
Single-ended -51.25 to +5 dB in 1.25 dB steps
150 Henries of inductance
Permalloy (80% Nickel) autoformer cores Brass channel frames
Elma volume switch
Silver plated selector switch Three inputs
Two parallel outputs
Chassis
5.5” x 5.5” x 6.5” [14 cm x 14 cm x 16.5 cm]
Shipping weight - 11 lbs. [5 k]
