Emax

The Emax II and Emulator IIIX use similar hardware but there are significant differences between 
the two machines. 

The Emax II operating system and features are largely inherited from the Emax I, which in turn 
inherits its design from the Emulator II.

The EIIIX inherits its operating system and features from the Emulator III and is much more 
sophisticated than the Emax II. The later ESI series follows on from the EIIIX and includes even 
more new features, such as extra filter modes.

The sonic differences between the Emax II and EIIIX are mainly due to two things, the sampling 
rates used internally and the lowpass filter order. 

The Emax II uses an internal sampling rate of 39kHz for the transposition chip, the digital filters 
and DACs. This limits the maximum playback frequency response to around 19kHz. 

The EIIIX uses an internal sampling rate of 44.1kHz for the transposition chip, the digital filters, 
DACs and AES/EBU digital output. This means the EIIIX playback frequency response goes up to 
21kHz. So the sound of the EIIIX will tend to have a bit more sparkle and air in the top end 
compared to the Emax II.

The Emax II uses 2 pole lowpass filters in the dynamic processing whereas the EIIIX uses 4 pole 
lowpass filters. When the filters are swept down the 2 pole filters give a brighter sound than 4 pole 
filters. I also feel 2 pole filters are more "electronic/synthetic" sounding, so I often prefer them to 4 
pole filters. I find 4 pole filters tend to be a bit more mellow, but it does depend on the sounds 
being filtered. 

If you are trying to decide between getting one or the other then I suggest downloading the 
manuals from the Emulator Archive and having a read. Both machines are good but I think you 
will  find the Emulator IIIX is easier to use. But if you are looking at the Emulator IIIX then also 
check out the ESI series as they continue on from where the EIIIX leaves off. 

/Tristan 


>anyone know the differences (mainly sonic) between the Emulator IIIx and the
>Emax II?
>
>as far as i know they have the same digital filter, they're both 16 bit,
>etc....
>
>thanks,
>
>Brooks