THE
EMT927
&
EMT930
TURNTABLES
by Heiner Jakobi
The early version of the EMT 927 (remember that in the studios the 927 was named
R-80!) had no phono EQ built in and no PS
to feed one.An EQ had to be ordered as a
separate unit, called the EMT V-133, or V83 in studios.This was a mono unit. In its
early version it used metal tubes and then
later the venerable ECC-40, an early kind
of 12AU7 but much better and very dear
these days!
There was a “measuring version” of the R80,which has a glass-rubber mat instead of
the standard acrylic platter mat.This mat is
considered the best,and I agree fully that it
is the best choice for the 927. It was later
remanufactured in Japan but with a quality
standard not quite up to the original. T h e
“measuring version” was called the EMT
9 2 7 D. The EMT 927A had an optical
instrument that showed you the exact position of the cartridge on the record grooves.
This was a very useful tool in the studios.
The next generation of the 927 wa s
equipped with an on-board power supply
to power the new EMT 139 phono equaliz-
The 927 (R-80)
Introduced in 1951, the EMT 927 was a
massive turntable with an aluminum chass i s, measuring 67.5 x 52 x 21.5 cm with a
weight of 80 pounds. The platter has a
diameter of 44 cm and sits in an amazing
precision ball bearing.The bearing shaft is
16.6 cm long and has a diameter of 2 cm!
The motor itself is massive. It looks like an
industrial motor, 13.5 cm in diameter and
20 cm long! It is a 3 phase synchronous
type with phase shifter.
A precision manufactured 3-step pulley is
mounted on the motor axis and a precision
idler transfers the power from the motor to
the inside rim of the platter. The idler
wheel can be shifted to the 78, 4 5 , and 33
1/3 rpm positions for speed change. T h e
platter itself is extremely heavy and the
mass is distributed mainly along the outer
r i m .A special motor brake allows for fine
adjustment of the speed. The massive
power supply can be switched for
110/120/220 V inputs.
EMT turntables come with either 50 or 60
hz motors. H o w e v e r, Japanese and Ko r e a n
EMT fans use separate oscillator power
supplies or rely on the braking system
(which allows about +/–10% adjustment).
Some give the pulley to a precision metal
worker to machine it 1mm down in diameter.
The EMT 927
Issue 16 - SOUND PRACTICES 17
e r. For a short time, Pabst motors were
t r i e d , but they were not quiet enough so
they went back to the old design built by
SMB Metalltechnik nearby,the supplier for
most of the metal work for EMT.
M r. S c h u n d e n m e i e r, the former technical
head at EMT died in 1997. I last spoke
with him in 1996 and he told me of plans
to bring the 927 back into production, but
sadly this did not happen.
With the introduction of stereo, the new
versions of the 927 were labeled 927st
with the 139st EQ.The first solid state EQ
was named the 155, with a stereo version
155st.
For a long time, the tonearms used on the
927 turntables were made by Ortofon, a s
well as the cartridges.The early arms were
m o n o, of course. They can be changed to
stereo with some inventiveness (and an old
10” Ortofon or EMT studio arm to use for
p a r t s ) . The early 12” Ortofon-made arm
was called EMT RF-297, the stereo version
RMA-297. Both arms are straight 12”arms
and high mass designs, meant for use with
Ortofon-EMT, Ortofon,and Neumann studio cartridges. There is no provision for
anti-skating since it is not required for
tracking forces above 2.2 grams.
These tonearms were reintroduced some
years ago, as the demand from Japan wa s
very high. The later EMT-built tonearm,
the 997, was a completely different
d e s i g n — l i g h t e r, with different bearings,
and not S–shaped but curved. It is a matter
of taste which of the above-discussed arms
are better, since all of them are excellent.
EMT also built a special version of the 927
turntable,the EMT 927S. It is very rare and
very sought-after since it had a provision to
use a second 12” tonearm on the back.
Some people use, very sensibly, the SME3012A (original) arm as the second tonearm, allowing the use of not only the studio cartridges but ordinary cartridges as
well.
It is also possible to buy empty EMT headshells to fit other cartridges,but the advantage in using the 3012A speaks for itself.
The 3012A is THE tonearm for the SPUGold or the SPU-Meister (Meistro). If no
3012A is ava i l a b l e, then I do not recommend the 3012 versions with the plastic
bearings.Go for the later versions with the
metal bearings. The late model doesn’t
match the 3012A in sonic qualities, but it
is still a very good choice.
The 927 in all its incarnations is one of the
most sought-after turntables in the world.
Authority, authenticity combined with stab i l i t y — t h a t ’s how I can describe this Rolls
Royce (Mercedes) of all turntables.
The EMT 930
Introduced in 1956, the EMT 930 was not
intended to replace the 927, rather it wa s
built to meet the requirement of studios
that did not need to work with the big plat-
ter of the 927. It had a smaller but very
clever chassis made out of bakelite with a
30 cm platter and 10”tonearm.It was built
in much larger quantities and is easier to
find but nearly as expensive as its bigger
brother. It weighs 45 pounds and measures
50 cm x 39cm x 17.5cm. The motor and
bearing are a bit smaller than those of the
9 2 7 , but of similar quality. The 930 motor
18 SOUND PRACTICES - Issue 16
EMT 930: Exploded View
Issue 16 - SOUND PRACTICES 19
still looks like something out of an industrial vacuum cleaner rather than a
turntable.The bakelite chassis is extremely
d e a d , but here I must warn anyone who
ever ships a 930 to take the bearing and
platter assembly completely off of the
turntable.Otherwise,the three arms of the
bakelite chassis might break off! If this
h a p p e n s, the only answer is super glue, s o
this is something to be avoided!
The 930 has one of the best bearings I
have ever come across and you can still get
spares from EMT! The 930 was equipped
with the same phono equalizers as the
9 2 7 , and here it is time to speak about
their quality. They are not all on par with
the turntables.
The 139s are very sought after and fetch
high prices,but sonically they do not compete with good modern tube designs.T h e
E M T- 1 3 3 / V-83 is the best, if the curve is
m o d i fied to RIAA. A pair of mono 139As
come second, then the 139st. Forget the
155s! The 153s and the Swiss Eymann are
b e t t e r, but still not worth the money. I f
you find a 927 or 930 with the tube EQ,
then sell the EQ. If you find one with a
155 or 153, use the chassis to build your
own phono preamp inside. I often used a
simple Neumann design with modern
parts and first-class Neumann MC tra n sformers (which outperform all tra n s f o r mers I know of) or our own Phonogen
d e s i g n . With the EMT preamps, you can-
not even get close to how these tables perform.
The early Ortofon 10” arm was the RF229 (mono,can be modified to stereo) and
the RMA-229 (stereo). The late EMTmade arm is called EMT-929 and is still
ava i l a b l e.The stereo version of the EMT930 is the 930st. Most 930s were eventually fitted with a stereo tonearm.
Be careful with the power supplies! If you
h ave the early model for the 139eq, t h e n
you can plug in the 155 as well,but if you
want to use the 153, then you will have to
EMT139 Mono EQ for the 927 Turntable
change the pin layout! Same for the
Eymann equalizer, which is pretty ra r e.
But again,these equalizers do not give you
the full pleasure you can have with these
wonderful turntables.
The 930 sounds very similar to the 927,
with a little less authority and a bit more
s p e e d . The difference is a matter of taste.
Of course, the 927 is more sought-after
and worth every penny of its higher price.
It is the question of whether you prefer to
drive a top Mercedes or a top BMW! A
Garrard 301 is a good Austin Minicooper.
20 SOUND PRACTICES - Issue 16
As mentioned before, the first EMT cartridges we re all built by Ort o fo n . I n
G e r m a n ,t h ey are called “ To n d o s e n ” ,i . e.
“ h e a d s ,” because they are built into a
headshell ready to be plugged into the
a r m .T h e re is no need for alignment—
the correct overhang and angle is give n
a u t o m a t i c a l ly! We have the OF-series
and the T- s e r i e s . The O-series are all
mono heads.
When EMT started to manufacture their
own cart r i d g e s , t h ey kept the same
names as when they we re built by
O rt o fo n . H oweve r, t h ey changed fro m
bakelite to a special magnesium alloy for
the headshell material. For 78s, it is re commended to use the sap p h i re tip
because it sounds much better.It doesn’t
last as long as the diamond tip, but it is
much cheaper.
T h e re are several other ve ry famous
c a rtridges built by EMT listed in the
table to right. Also turntables: T h e
T h o rens TD-125 was built for T h o re n s
by EMT.The EMT-928 is a modified T D 125, but these are not at all comparable
with the 927 and 930 units. It would be
better to go for a Garrard 301/401 with
a SME 3012A or FR-64s.
The EMT Cartridges and Tonearms
TYPE
OF-25
OFD-25
OFS-65
OFD-65
TSD-12
TSD-15
TMD-25
TND-65
Other Cartridges manufactured by EMT
v.d.Hul MC-1a/b No longer available
Roksan Shiraz EMT TSD-15 in Roksan body
Tubafon TU-2 Naked TSD-15
Tubafon TU-2S Special version of TU-2, the best available
EMT and one of the world’s best cartridges for a
Thorens TMC-63 Head/armtube only for Thorens TP-16 mkIII
Thorens MCH-63 Head/armtube only for Thorens TP-16
Thorens MCH-1/2 90% of a TSD-15, but with a softer suspension
TIP
sapphire 25
diamond 25
sapphire 65
diamond 65
diamond 12
diamond 15
diamond 25
diamond 65
good price
for Thorens/EMT tonearm
RECORDS
monomicrogroove
monomicrogroove
monomicrogroove
TRACKING
78s
78s
stereo
stereo
78s
5 gr
5 gr
9 gr
9 gr
2-3 gr
2-3 gr
2-3 gr
2-3 gr
The EMT-Ortofon arm for the EMT 927 shown with arm lift mechanism
Other tonearms that work well on the EMT-927:
SME-3012A,Stax UA-70N and 90N,FR-66s, Ortofon RMG-309
For the EMT-930:
O rt o fon RMG-212, Stax UA - 7 N / c f N ,FR-64s—but not the so-called FR-64
shown in SP# 5,page 18!! Please since this is an Audio Technica AT-1503,a very
cheap arm,not a FR-64!! The AT-1503 may be OK for a Garrard,but the FR-64
is of a different class.
When purchasing a used arm, it is alw ay s
wise to check the bearing quality. If the
bearings are no good,then you will only get
20% of what is possible! The EMT tonearms will only allow the use of studio cartridges from EMT, N e u m a n n ,or Ort o fo n .
H oweve r, you can use an empty head to
install any cartridge.
If you wish to go for a diffe rent tonearm,
then the Fidelity Research is the best
choice for the 930.You will have to raise
the bearing a bit (easily done),o t h e r w i s e
you can’t adjust the height of the tonearm
as well.
For the 927, go for the FR-66s, the EMT
3 0 1 2 A , or any 3012 with metal bearings.
But re m e m b e r...the old Ort o fon arms are
being reissued for Japan and sell for high
prices there—and there is a good re a s o n
for this! The Ort o fon heads are wo n d e r f u l
also— as are the EMTs!
Issue 16 - SOUND PRACTICES 21
Installation
There is an EMT shock absorber frame,the
E M T- 9 0 0 , which was designed for the
EMT 930.This heavy unit decouples the
EMT from any acoustic feedback and resonates at about 7.5 hz. It was designed by
M r. S c h u n d e n m e i e r, and it is still ava i l a b l e
since an ex-employee of SMBMetalltechnik started to manufacture them
again.The author can offer them at a price
of $1500, which is the price EMT charged
for them back in the 80s! The 927 never
had a shock absorber frame but it is ava i lable now for $2000. These frames completely isolate the turntables from vibrations and they are very heavy and built in a
sophisticated way. If no isolation is needed,
i.e.good floors and stands,then a good console (Studer made very good ones) or
homemade console will do with no problems.
A homemade console should be constructed with marine grade plywood with a 25.4”
x 20.5” cutout for the 927 and 18.5” x
1 5 . 3 5 ” for the 927. Make sure the 930 sits
on the rubber pieces supplied. If they are
m i s s i n g , use round rubber with a diameter
of about 7mm between the underside of
the chassis and the console. A very useful
support for a small custom-made console is
the Seismic Sink by Townshend Au d i o.
Never place the 927/930s on the metal
f ra m e. It must be sunk into a console or
similar setup,or else it will not sound good!
Service of the EMT turntables
All EMT studio turntables are built to run
24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a
y e a r. EMTs service instructions are based
on this kind of continuous use. For the normal user, it is necessary to oil the motor and
idler bearings every year,and to change the
oil and clean the main bearing every 5
y e a r s. EMT oil is still ava i l a b l e. Of utmost
importance is to align the motor, the idler,
and the bearing so that they are all parallel
in their axis. EMT sold special tools to
make this easier, but they are not ava i l a b l e
a n y m o r e, but it is possible to do without
them.
Modifications
I only recommend two modifications. First,
I do not like the fine speed adjustment and
I removed it from my 930, resulting in
more subjective clarity and “ s p e e d ” — s a m e
rpm,of course! Then,I do not like the original platter mat. This unit only serves two
f u n c t i o n s : to read accurate speed with the
built-in stroboscope and to stop the record
immediately with the platter brake for studio use. This is not usually necessary at
home.
EMT 929 arm on 930 turntable fitted with a TSD15 tonehead
I had best results with an acrylic mat from
Sumiko made with a sandwich construct i o n . Both work extremely well and I am
sure that some experimenting would bring
desired results. I wish somebody would
produce a teflon mat like the one on the
Well Tempered Signature! If the tonearm
sits too high due to removal of the stock
mat,then just raise the main bearing.There
is 1cm of adjustment available and no disa d vantage in doing this.The same goes for
the EMT 927 but there the “ m e a s u r i n g ”
glass rubber mat is the best choice.I tried a
pure glass mat once but this was terrible.A
simple felt mat is not enough.This is not a
Linn or whatever baby turntable.
And, lastly, there are more modern designs
built by EMT, but they are direct drive and
I never heard one yet that satisfied me! I
would prefer a nice modern heavy mass
t u r n t a b l e. The good thing about EMT is
that you do not lose money! The keep their
value or climb up like old WE or McIntosh
gear and they are built for a lifetime!
22 SOUND PRACTICES - Issue 16
Loading...