Hello Everyone,
This is a review and detailed measurements of the BARCO-EMT 982 CD Player and Transport.
It was kindly sent to me by @Salt, thanks very much to him!
BARCO-EMT 982 - Presentation
This is an unusual CD Player, and you might have recognized from its look that this a professional device, for broadcasting. We get a small speaker on the front which was certainly appreciated by the operators to control what was playing and/or coming next.
This CD player is from 1993, that is more than 30 years, and could have had a rough life in a studio. The one of @Salt is in very good condition, only the belt of the tray would need to be replaced as it aged. BTW, note the small button on the tray, it is to pull on it, in the event the belt fails. As a pro device, it must resist partial failure.
EMT was a German company, which specialized in turntables, and was bought by BARCO at this time, then sold later to a Swiss company.
This Pro CD Player has plenty of features such as pre-play, variable pitch, search by frame (via the joggle button), auto stop, fader in/out, memories, preview, ... some of witch were practical for me, when testing it.
When discussing about this player, I got attracted by the fact it uses a rare "high-end" digital filter from Philips, the TDA1307. This is a dedicated digital filter with 4th order noise shaper. The DAC is the more classic 1bit TDA1547 usually associated to the filter SAA7350, with a third order noise shaper. So the combination TDA1307 + TDA1547 formed the best D/A conversion offer of Philips at the time.
So, the elements of interest are:
We get only XLR outputs, analogue and digital. Difficult to see on the image, but there a switch to configure the output of the Digital XLR, to AES/EBU or SPDIF.
The 9-Pin serial interface was standard, while the 15-Pin is the remote control optional board (Next/Previous track, Fader Start, Pre-End/Begin, Goto Last).
This is the busy inside:
The poser supply is on the left side, screwed to the left panel. The optional control board and ASRC one are at the back, SERVO and decoding boards are below the drive and next to it. The audio board and optional transformers output are on the top right at the back, and finally the dedicated mini-amplifier for the front speaker and headphones output are on the front right.
Here below are some detailed views about some of these internals, starting with the legend Philips CDM9-Pro, full metal jacket, the last swing-arm mono-Laser:
Next is the analogue audio output board, with the transformers, on top, and yes some OPAmps are on a socket (no, don't touch to replace the 5532)
This is the power supply, that I mentioned earlier:
The AD1891J ASRC converter (for the digital output only):
And the separated mini-amplifier for the speaker and phones out:
This is for monitoring purposes only, of course.
I used the phones out to listen to this player (with Beyer DT770 Pro 32ohms), so far, and I couldn't notice any faults. Only that I had to push far the front knob to get decent volume output, so we shall have to use only easy to drive headphones.
The drive is extremely fast, faster than me, and the joggle button on the front face to FFW/REW happened to be quite agreeable to use with my test tracks were I have multiple tests tone on some of them. And so I could very quickly position the laser exactly where I needed it to be. The auto-stop was extremely practical too. All of this accelerated my measurements, and I guess is a good demonstration that, as a professional device where you need to get to a very precise position, the EMT delivers. I wish all the players I test had the same functionalities!
I must say I love the professional look too, and the big buttons are easy to spot, that is very convenient.
A now time has come to see if it delivers!
BARCO-EMT 982 - Measurements (XLR Analog Outputs)
All measurements performed with a Cosmos E1AD (grade G) and the Cosmos Scaler (100kohms from unbalanced input) for analog outputs, and a Motu UltraLite Mk5 for digital.
I am now consistent with my specific measurements for CD Players, as I described them in the post “More than we hear”, and as I reported them for the Onkyo C-733 review. Over time, this will help comparing the devices I reviewed.
As per its specs, the EMT outputs 12dBu, with only 0.02dB variation, that is 3.08Vrms. The two channels were well balanced (less than 0.08dB), which is very good. The balanced outputs are non-inverting.
----
As usual, let's start with my standard 999.91Hz sine @0dBFS (without dither) from the Test CD (XLR out):
We are missing one bit of resolution, but the THD is still very low. We see a higher than usual random noise floor at the bottom of the fundamental. There are also some spikes unrelated to the signal or the power supplies. All of this suggests a digital processing before conversion, which is a not a surprise as the player offers features to store and replay even when the laser is stopped.
Let's have a look of the same at a lower level, and that is -6dBFS:
Basically, we get the same view, which is unusual, showing the same unrelated, but correlated spikes. To me, this is typical digital processing effect.
It is not easy to spot, but the SNR improved by 4dB in that view (the dashboard shows 88.3dB, to which you need to add 6dBF of attenuation, and so that makes 94.3dB). That means as the level decreases, the performance increases.
And we can double-check that with the standard AES test for SNR, which is about to send a -60dBFS test tone, I just don't add dither, while the AES says I should, but in that case I would by default limit the analysis to the level of dither, be it 1LSB or 0.5LSB:
The forest of spikes is normal, it is because I don't use dither, and that's the same forest from the test WAV file. So, 37.5dB SNR calculated by the software, to which we add 60dBF attenuation of the signal, means 97.5dB SNR and that is very close to the theoretical maximum of the Audio CD.
With dither, as the AES mandates, we get the below view:
We loosse nearly 1dB of SNR, because of the presence of dither. But this view is interesting because we get to see the presence of some spikes, previously hidden into the digital quantization errors. And I think they are from a digital a digital processing, again.
----
I think you saw the total absence of power supply related spuriae (from 999.91Hz @0dBFS test tone without dither):
We get again only those artefacts that I believe to be from digital processing. We also get a better view of the random low level noise that makes the foot of the fundamental so large, but that is not a real issue.
----
Next is the bandwidth:
We see the 0.08dB channels imbalance, and a -0.25dB at 20khz, which is still very good. There could be some influence of the output transformers here.
And now let's have a look at the job of the oversampling filter, and its noise shaper:
The attenuation is good, and indeed better that the SAA7350 (you can check with in the review of the Teac VRDS-20 which I will need to update, by the way). But Sony did 10dB to 20dB better with their internal one, as you can check in the review of the Sony CDP-X333ES. So we get maximum -80dB attenuation, which is good and slow increase of the noise after 30kHz due to the noise shaper.
----
Let's have a look at the multitone test that a lot of you like very much:
Well, this is not as beautiful as we are used to see from a CD Player. Again, the EMT is never at ease with high level test tones, that is the reason for the increased noise at low frequencies. Like we saw at 0dBFS sine test tone, the EMT struggle to clear more than 15bits free of distorsion and noise at this high output.
----
Let's move on to the jitter test:
We have some issues here too, and this is very similar to what I saw with the Marantz CD5400, which gets a variable pitch too. Would it be related?
The red trace is the digital file, and the blue one taken from the XLR analog outputs. There is jitter and lot's of random noise, but all of it is low enough to stay hidden into music.
----
Started with the Teac VRDS-20 review, and on your request + support to get it done (more here), I'm adding now an "intersample-overs" test which intends to identify the behavior of the digital filtering and DAC when it come to process near clipping signals. Because of the oversampling, there might be interpolated data that go above 0dBFS and would saturate (clip) the DAC and therefore the output. And this effect shows through distorsion (THD+N measurement up to 96kHz):
I kept some references and will keep the same for other reviews, so you can quickly compare. The results of the EMT 982 mean that it has no headroom in the oversampling filter.
----
Let's continue with the good old 3DC measurement that Stereophile was often using as a proof of low noise DAC. It is from an undithered 997Hz sine at -90.31dBFS. With 16bits, the signal should appear (on a scope) as the 3DC levels of the smallest symmetrical sign magnitude digital signal:
This is a very good trace for the era and proof that at low levels, this player offers a very good resolution, and this time much better than the Sony CDP-X333ES.
At this lowest symmetrical level in 16bits PCM, we expect to see a square only, as it is no longer possible to represent a sine. The ringing is due to the Gibbs Phenomenon and the reconstruction filter which is symmetrical in the TDA1307, impulse response below (for once):
Actually, the 3DC trace is only disrupted by what I think to be digital processing artefacts, that are constant. See the view below of a -90dBFS test tone with rectangle dither:
At such a low, with one bit D/A, we should only see the 999.91Hz test tone. But we have other spikes and I can tell you they are constant, always here, what ever the level. And that again screams digital processing, but if someone has an explanation, I take it!
Other measurements (not shown):
All results above are good, you will not hear any distorsion with this player, even if some are 10 or 20dB more than usual.
Note about the pitch error test:
The pitch error test shows a very precise clock with only 0.5ppm deviation, exceptional for the time and the age, and many times better than what our ears need. It is actually at the limit of what I can measure. I suppose an unprecise clock was not an option, for a player to be used in sync with other (video) devices, and that's the reason why there's a clock input, by the way.
This clock takes roughly 15min to stabilize, starting at 3.5ppm, which is already impressive and going down to 0.5ppm.
The pitch can be changed (the feature is called vary speed) by steps of 0.1%, and I played with that. When engaged, and selecting 0, it is 0.5ppm deviation only, so even when engaged, it does not change anything. But the real reason for my note is not this one. Surprisingly, when setting a higher or lower pitch, the noise floor generated by the player, at full scale, decreases by roughly 2dB:
So, I don't know how the variable pitch is implemented, but would it be the culprit of the low level artefacts I've seen and the random it creates with high level test tones? If someone has already seen that, I'm interested.
----
Last and not least, I like to run a THD vs Frequency sweep at -12dBFS as it shows how the conversion has evolved over time. I am currently using the beta version of REW and I discovered that this sweep gives better and more reliable results than before. I overlaid the results of the two channels with one from the Sony CDP-X333ES, as the early 1bit converter from Sony, to compare:
We have 10dB difference (look at the plot at 1kHz, THD in the legend). There is also higher distorsion in bass, as we saw and discussed with the Myryad Z210. So this is not a first, and the Marantz CD5400 had the same high distorsion, using the same D/A CS4392 as the Myryad.
BARCO-EMT 982 - Measurements (Digital AES Out)
I've seen several of you reviewing CD players using their digital outputs, in case the results could be improved from an external DAC.
The output of this player is processed via the ASRC AD1891J, which was the top at the time (20bits). But that means it's not "bit perfect". In this player, it converts the output to 48kHz, which I think is practical in a studio using video too.
So let's go with the 999.91Hz @0dBFS:
I underlined the proof of digital modification, the level is not correct, it must be 0.00dBFS. There is also very low level non-harmonic distorsion, see at 8.5kHz and 10.5kHz for instance.
The AD1891 and its sister AD1893 are notorious for their non-resistance to intersample overs, see with the Teac VRDS-25x. It is documented in the AD1891 datasheet too. In the presence of some hot signals, the interpolateur is saturated. Let me show you, first this is the WAV test file, directly tested, which is a 5512.50Hz test tone @0dBFS, with a phase shift of 67.5°, generating a theoretical over of +0.69dB:
Next is the same played from the XLR Analog outputs, where the AD1891 is bypassed:
We see the clipping with a very third harmonic (@-35dB or so), meaning the interpolator of the TDA1307 has no headroom to prevent clipling.
Now, this is from the digital output of the EMT 982, after processing by the ASRC AD1891:
Yes, the interpolator is completely overloaded.
And of course, that is certainly not the original digital signal, but only the consequences of going through an interpolateur to change the sample rate, interpolator having ne headroom to process too hot signals.
BARCO-EMT 982 - Testing the drive
What would be good measurements if the drive would not properly read a slightly scratched CD, or one that was created at the limits of the norm? The below tests reply to these questions.
The drive was able to consistently continue playing, without generating typical digital clicks, with dropouts of up to 2.4mm. The interpolation effect remained hidden to my ears when it kicked-off (at 2.4mm) and succeeded to maintain a constant flow up to 3mm dropouts (Clicks could be heard). At 4mm dropouts, the EMT skipped few seconds of the track but kept playing.
The EMT had no issue with variable linear velocity and/or track pitch, as well as with HF detection.
These results are among the best I measured, and I think they were very important for the purpose, nothing will stop the EMT from playing music even with little holes into the disc
Conclusion
That was a long review, and thank you if you made it here. Thanks ever so much to @Salt for having sent the player, in no fear of what would be the results. We get to know much more about this rare and expensive player.
I spotted some issues, and most will remain largely hidden into music, and even if we'd like to see better, well that's it. And don't forget this is not a hifi device, but one that has a very different purpose, and it delivers when it counts for what it’s designed to do.
Oh yes, and it sounds really good to my ears, like all the others
I hope you enjoyed this review.
This is a review and detailed measurements of the BARCO-EMT 982 CD Player and Transport.
It was kindly sent to me by @Salt, thanks very much to him!
BARCO-EMT 982 - Presentation
This is an unusual CD Player, and you might have recognized from its look that this a professional device, for broadcasting. We get a small speaker on the front which was certainly appreciated by the operators to control what was playing and/or coming next.
This CD player is from 1993, that is more than 30 years, and could have had a rough life in a studio. The one of @Salt is in very good condition, only the belt of the tray would need to be replaced as it aged. BTW, note the small button on the tray, it is to pull on it, in the event the belt fails. As a pro device, it must resist partial failure.
EMT was a German company, which specialized in turntables, and was bought by BARCO at this time, then sold later to a Swiss company.
This Pro CD Player has plenty of features such as pre-play, variable pitch, search by frame (via the joggle button), auto stop, fader in/out, memories, preview, ... some of witch were practical for me, when testing it.
When discussing about this player, I got attracted by the fact it uses a rare "high-end" digital filter from Philips, the TDA1307. This is a dedicated digital filter with 4th order noise shaper. The DAC is the more classic 1bit TDA1547 usually associated to the filter SAA7350, with a third order noise shaper. So the combination TDA1307 + TDA1547 formed the best D/A conversion offer of Philips at the time.
So, the elements of interest are:
- High-End Digital Filtering with TDA1307 from Philips
- First 1bit converter from Philips (TDA1547)
- Philips CDM9-Pro drive, swing arm all metal legend
- Transformers-balanced outputs (Why?)
- Audio Buffer (to store and play few secondes of a track)
- Sampling Frequency Converter (high end Analogue Devices AD1891J 20bits, converting the output to 48kHz, as per my tests, but it should be configurable)
- Production Interface (to remote control it from a console)
We get only XLR outputs, analogue and digital. Difficult to see on the image, but there a switch to configure the output of the Digital XLR, to AES/EBU or SPDIF.
The 9-Pin serial interface was standard, while the 15-Pin is the remote control optional board (Next/Previous track, Fader Start, Pre-End/Begin, Goto Last).
This is the busy inside:
The poser supply is on the left side, screwed to the left panel. The optional control board and ASRC one are at the back, SERVO and decoding boards are below the drive and next to it. The audio board and optional transformers output are on the top right at the back, and finally the dedicated mini-amplifier for the front speaker and headphones output are on the front right.
Here below are some detailed views about some of these internals, starting with the legend Philips CDM9-Pro, full metal jacket, the last swing-arm mono-Laser:
Next is the analogue audio output board, with the transformers, on top, and yes some OPAmps are on a socket (no, don't touch to replace the 5532)
This is the power supply, that I mentioned earlier:
The AD1891J ASRC converter (for the digital output only):
And the separated mini-amplifier for the speaker and phones out:
This is for monitoring purposes only, of course.
I used the phones out to listen to this player (with Beyer DT770 Pro 32ohms), so far, and I couldn't notice any faults. Only that I had to push far the front knob to get decent volume output, so we shall have to use only easy to drive headphones.
The drive is extremely fast, faster than me, and the joggle button on the front face to FFW/REW happened to be quite agreeable to use with my test tracks were I have multiple tests tone on some of them. And so I could very quickly position the laser exactly where I needed it to be. The auto-stop was extremely practical too. All of this accelerated my measurements, and I guess is a good demonstration that, as a professional device where you need to get to a very precise position, the EMT delivers. I wish all the players I test had the same functionalities!
I must say I love the professional look too, and the big buttons are easy to spot, that is very convenient.
A now time has come to see if it delivers!
BARCO-EMT 982 - Measurements (XLR Analog Outputs)
All measurements performed with a Cosmos E1AD (grade G) and the Cosmos Scaler (100kohms from unbalanced input) for analog outputs, and a Motu UltraLite Mk5 for digital.
I am now consistent with my specific measurements for CD Players, as I described them in the post “More than we hear”, and as I reported them for the Onkyo C-733 review. Over time, this will help comparing the devices I reviewed.
As per its specs, the EMT outputs 12dBu, with only 0.02dB variation, that is 3.08Vrms. The two channels were well balanced (less than 0.08dB), which is very good. The balanced outputs are non-inverting.
----
As usual, let's start with my standard 999.91Hz sine @0dBFS (without dither) from the Test CD (XLR out):
We are missing one bit of resolution, but the THD is still very low. We see a higher than usual random noise floor at the bottom of the fundamental. There are also some spikes unrelated to the signal or the power supplies. All of this suggests a digital processing before conversion, which is a not a surprise as the player offers features to store and replay even when the laser is stopped.
Let's have a look of the same at a lower level, and that is -6dBFS:
Basically, we get the same view, which is unusual, showing the same unrelated, but correlated spikes. To me, this is typical digital processing effect.
It is not easy to spot, but the SNR improved by 4dB in that view (the dashboard shows 88.3dB, to which you need to add 6dBF of attenuation, and so that makes 94.3dB). That means as the level decreases, the performance increases.
And we can double-check that with the standard AES test for SNR, which is about to send a -60dBFS test tone, I just don't add dither, while the AES says I should, but in that case I would by default limit the analysis to the level of dither, be it 1LSB or 0.5LSB:
The forest of spikes is normal, it is because I don't use dither, and that's the same forest from the test WAV file. So, 37.5dB SNR calculated by the software, to which we add 60dBF attenuation of the signal, means 97.5dB SNR and that is very close to the theoretical maximum of the Audio CD.
With dither, as the AES mandates, we get the below view:
We loosse nearly 1dB of SNR, because of the presence of dither. But this view is interesting because we get to see the presence of some spikes, previously hidden into the digital quantization errors. And I think they are from a digital a digital processing, again.
----
I think you saw the total absence of power supply related spuriae (from 999.91Hz @0dBFS test tone without dither):
We get again only those artefacts that I believe to be from digital processing. We also get a better view of the random low level noise that makes the foot of the fundamental so large, but that is not a real issue.
----
Next is the bandwidth:
We see the 0.08dB channels imbalance, and a -0.25dB at 20khz, which is still very good. There could be some influence of the output transformers here.
And now let's have a look at the job of the oversampling filter, and its noise shaper:
The attenuation is good, and indeed better that the SAA7350 (you can check with in the review of the Teac VRDS-20 which I will need to update, by the way). But Sony did 10dB to 20dB better with their internal one, as you can check in the review of the Sony CDP-X333ES. So we get maximum -80dB attenuation, which is good and slow increase of the noise after 30kHz due to the noise shaper.
----
Let's have a look at the multitone test that a lot of you like very much:
Well, this is not as beautiful as we are used to see from a CD Player. Again, the EMT is never at ease with high level test tones, that is the reason for the increased noise at low frequencies. Like we saw at 0dBFS sine test tone, the EMT struggle to clear more than 15bits free of distorsion and noise at this high output.
----
Let's move on to the jitter test:
We have some issues here too, and this is very similar to what I saw with the Marantz CD5400, which gets a variable pitch too. Would it be related?
The red trace is the digital file, and the blue one taken from the XLR analog outputs. There is jitter and lot's of random noise, but all of it is low enough to stay hidden into music.
----
Started with the Teac VRDS-20 review, and on your request + support to get it done (more here), I'm adding now an "intersample-overs" test which intends to identify the behavior of the digital filtering and DAC when it come to process near clipping signals. Because of the oversampling, there might be interpolated data that go above 0dBFS and would saturate (clip) the DAC and therefore the output. And this effect shows through distorsion (THD+N measurement up to 96kHz):
| Intersample-overs tests Bandwidth of the THD+N measurements is 20Hz - 96kHz | 5512.5 Hz sine, Peak = +0.69dBFS | 7350 Hz sine, Peak = +1.25dBFS | 11025 Hz sine, Peak = +3.0dBFS |
| Teac VRDS-20 | -30.7dB | -26.6dB | -17.6dB |
| Yamaha CD-1 | -84.6dB | -84.9dB | -78.1dB |
| Denon DCD-900NE | -34.2dB | -27.1dB | -19.1dB |
| Denon DCD-SA1 | -33.6dB | -27.6dB | -18.3dB |
| Onkyo C-733 | -88.3dB | -40.4dB | -21.2dB |
| Denon DCD-3560 | -30.2dB | -24.7dB | -17.4dB |
| Myryad Z210 | -70.6dB (noise dominated) | -71.1dB (noise dominated) | -29.4dB (H3 dominated) |
| Sony CDP-x333ES | -30.5dB | -24.8dB | -16.3dB |
| BARCO-EMT 982 | -32.7dB | -24.5dB | -16.3dB |
I kept some references and will keep the same for other reviews, so you can quickly compare. The results of the EMT 982 mean that it has no headroom in the oversampling filter.
----
Let's continue with the good old 3DC measurement that Stereophile was often using as a proof of low noise DAC. It is from an undithered 997Hz sine at -90.31dBFS. With 16bits, the signal should appear (on a scope) as the 3DC levels of the smallest symmetrical sign magnitude digital signal:
This is a very good trace for the era and proof that at low levels, this player offers a very good resolution, and this time much better than the Sony CDP-X333ES.
At this lowest symmetrical level in 16bits PCM, we expect to see a square only, as it is no longer possible to represent a sine. The ringing is due to the Gibbs Phenomenon and the reconstruction filter which is symmetrical in the TDA1307, impulse response below (for once):
Actually, the 3DC trace is only disrupted by what I think to be digital processing artefacts, that are constant. See the view below of a -90dBFS test tone with rectangle dither:
At such a low, with one bit D/A, we should only see the 999.91Hz test tone. But we have other spikes and I can tell you they are constant, always here, what ever the level. And that again screams digital processing, but if someone has an explanation, I take it!
Other measurements (not shown):
- IMD AES-17 DFD "Analog" (18kHz & 20kHz 1:1) : -83.1dB
- IMD AES-17 DFD "Digital" (17'987Hz & 19'997Hz 1:1) : -88.1dB
- IMD AES-17 MD (41Hz & 7993Hz 4:1): -80.6dB
- IMD CCIF (19kHz & 20kHz 1:1) : -88.5dB
- IMD DIN (250Hz & 8kHz 4:1) : -80.3dB
- IMD SMPTE (60Hz & 7kHz 1:4) : -80.6dB
- IMD TDFD Bass (41Hz & 89Hz 1:1) : -87.9dB
- IMD TDFD (13'58Hz & 19841Hz 1:1) : -101.2dB
- Dynamic Range : 97.5dB (without dither @-60dBFS)
- Crosstalk: -112dBr (100Hz), -96dBr (1khz), -94dBr (10kHz)
- Pitch Error : 19'997.01Hz (19'997Hz requested) ie 0.5ppm
- Gapless playback : Yes (without Auto Stop )
All results above are good, you will not hear any distorsion with this player, even if some are 10 or 20dB more than usual.
Note about the pitch error test:
The pitch error test shows a very precise clock with only 0.5ppm deviation, exceptional for the time and the age, and many times better than what our ears need. It is actually at the limit of what I can measure. I suppose an unprecise clock was not an option, for a player to be used in sync with other (video) devices, and that's the reason why there's a clock input, by the way.
This clock takes roughly 15min to stabilize, starting at 3.5ppm, which is already impressive and going down to 0.5ppm.
The pitch can be changed (the feature is called vary speed) by steps of 0.1%, and I played with that. When engaged, and selecting 0, it is 0.5ppm deviation only, so even when engaged, it does not change anything. But the real reason for my note is not this one. Surprisingly, when setting a higher or lower pitch, the noise floor generated by the player, at full scale, decreases by roughly 2dB:
So, I don't know how the variable pitch is implemented, but would it be the culprit of the low level artefacts I've seen and the random it creates with high level test tones? If someone has already seen that, I'm interested.
----
Last and not least, I like to run a THD vs Frequency sweep at -12dBFS as it shows how the conversion has evolved over time. I am currently using the beta version of REW and I discovered that this sweep gives better and more reliable results than before. I overlaid the results of the two channels with one from the Sony CDP-X333ES, as the early 1bit converter from Sony, to compare:
We have 10dB difference (look at the plot at 1kHz, THD in the legend). There is also higher distorsion in bass, as we saw and discussed with the Myryad Z210. So this is not a first, and the Marantz CD5400 had the same high distorsion, using the same D/A CS4392 as the Myryad.
BARCO-EMT 982 - Measurements (Digital AES Out)
I've seen several of you reviewing CD players using their digital outputs, in case the results could be improved from an external DAC.
The output of this player is processed via the ASRC AD1891J, which was the top at the time (20bits). But that means it's not "bit perfect". In this player, it converts the output to 48kHz, which I think is practical in a studio using video too.
So let's go with the 999.91Hz @0dBFS:
I underlined the proof of digital modification, the level is not correct, it must be 0.00dBFS. There is also very low level non-harmonic distorsion, see at 8.5kHz and 10.5kHz for instance.
The AD1891 and its sister AD1893 are notorious for their non-resistance to intersample overs, see with the Teac VRDS-25x. It is documented in the AD1891 datasheet too. In the presence of some hot signals, the interpolateur is saturated. Let me show you, first this is the WAV test file, directly tested, which is a 5512.50Hz test tone @0dBFS, with a phase shift of 67.5°, generating a theoretical over of +0.69dB:
Next is the same played from the XLR Analog outputs, where the AD1891 is bypassed:
We see the clipping with a very third harmonic (@-35dB or so), meaning the interpolator of the TDA1307 has no headroom to prevent clipling.
Now, this is from the digital output of the EMT 982, after processing by the ASRC AD1891:
Yes, the interpolator is completely overloaded.
And of course, that is certainly not the original digital signal, but only the consequences of going through an interpolateur to change the sample rate, interpolator having ne headroom to process too hot signals.
BARCO-EMT 982 - Testing the drive
What would be good measurements if the drive would not properly read a slightly scratched CD, or one that was created at the limits of the norm? The below tests reply to these questions.
| Test type | Technical test | Results |
| Variation of linear cutting velocity | From 1.20m/s to 1.40m/s | Pass |
| Variation of track pitch | From 1.5µm to 1.7µm | Pass |
| Combined variations of track pitch and velocity | From 1.20m/s & 1.5µm to 1.40m/s & 1.7µm | Pass |
| HF detection (asymmetry pitch/flat ratio) | Variation from 2% to 18% | Pass |
| Dropouts resistance | From 0.05mm (0.038ms) to 4mm (3.080ms) | Up to 2.4mm. |
| Combined dropouts and smallest pitch | From 1.5µm & 1mm to 1.5µm & 2.4mm | Pass |
| Successive dropouts | From 2x0.1mm to 2x3mm | Up to 2.4mm. |
The drive was able to consistently continue playing, without generating typical digital clicks, with dropouts of up to 2.4mm. The interpolation effect remained hidden to my ears when it kicked-off (at 2.4mm) and succeeded to maintain a constant flow up to 3mm dropouts (Clicks could be heard). At 4mm dropouts, the EMT skipped few seconds of the track but kept playing.
The EMT had no issue with variable linear velocity and/or track pitch, as well as with HF detection.
These results are among the best I measured, and I think they were very important for the purpose, nothing will stop the EMT from playing music even with little holes into the disc
Conclusion
That was a long review, and thank you if you made it here. Thanks ever so much to @Salt for having sent the player, in no fear of what would be the results. We get to know much more about this rare and expensive player.
I spotted some issues, and most will remain largely hidden into music, and even if we'd like to see better, well that's it. And don't forget this is not a hifi device, but one that has a very different purpose, and it delivers when it counts for what it’s designed to do.
Oh yes, and it sounds really good to my ears, like all the others
I hope you enjoyed this review.
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