I used the Emitter 1 exclusive a few years ago. The 1 has lower output power than the 2 -- ~150W iirc. I don't know of any other difference. I never purchased the battery thingy which was an expensive option & added an extra, fourth!, box.
Mostly I used it on a pair of Genesis Vs, a little on B&W 800s (unsuccessful combo) or S Faber somethings; also tried a number of other spkrs.
The short version is, you MUST listen to it before purchasing; listen choosing any two, different design spkrs, and get a feel. It doesn't matter if they're not your spkrs, you will know if you like it or not.
I say listen to it even on other spkrs, because lugging it to your home for an audition isn't easy. Forget "stacking the boxes and lugging under your arm. It ain't going to happen. This is a very cumbersome and heavy product, you need space to set it up, etc...
It's also a very well made product, has a superb confidence-inspiring construction, and is very user-friendly -- plug & play really. (Once you have made space for it, placed it, set it up, plugged it in, waited for a few years until the battery charges, etc;)) It is hassle free and probably built to withstand a nuclear war. I never had any operating problems with it.
Operation: it looks very cool in the dark!
Mine had an "energy-saving" mode which also seemed to save on the sonic quality, so I didn't use it except for background music... Apparently, only part of the amp is working so, you do save on electricity.
The Emitter doesn't have an active pre section -- either that or I missed something: the "pre" part was just a relay based volume control, basically like having a passive pre. Mine also had a "direct" input which bypassed the source selector and which was supposed to sound even better. Maybe.
The overall sonic result on the Genesis was good -- but cool & uninvolved. Which is strange considering that this amp has it all: frequency extension, power, unbelievable power supply, top quality internals, good quality boards, wiring, etc. I played it on some medium sized floor-standing S Faber and the resulting sound was similar. (I also tried a host of other spkrs at home -- it was easier to lug medium sized spkrs than move the Emitter around, believe it or not!) It wasn't a matter of which speakers to use.
To be clear about this, my experience is of an exquisitely made amplifier in the very top class of commercially available products -- but one that I maybe wished to be the end all and it wasn't in my case.
So please don;t be mislead by what I say: the latest unknown, best kept secret in hi-fi "giant killer amp" will be trashed by it.
Or that the "great little amp" at 50% of the price will outperform it. It won't.
But it seemed to play music as if it were solving a mathematical equation... if this makes sense.
And no, it wasn't a matter of the mains (direct line and ridiculously large power supply anyway) nor the power chord (exceptionally mine had huge hard-wire mains cables). Nor the IC -- I used my trusty \Valhalla and my own brew based on Jadem's own design (Jade cable),
For example, the Dart Stereo you see in Mike's system above has an incomparably more "liquid" sound in my system while retaining the dynamic impact we need in classical (in lower volumes, however).
