It’s not as big news as the EmmLabs brand, but this news is an opportunity for us to wish creator Ed Meitner a happy 80th birthday!
Based on the MA3i, available with the front panel in black or silver on a black chassis, the MA3i SE becomes entirely silver over the entire chassis, obviously still made from high-quality Canadian aluminum using precision machinery. Like the other, this version uses in-house MDAC2™ converters and an MDAT2™ DSP, able to read DSD128 or 2xDSD or DXD media, as well as MQA or PCM files up to 192 kHz / 24-bit rates.
Also a streamer and preamplifier, the MA3i SE uses a similarly proprietary volume control (VControl™) and manages jitter from an MFAST™ system based on an MCLK3™ asynchronous clocking process. Even though it’s very complete, it remains above all a very high-end DAC, offering five digital inputs, including USB audio and a USB port for integrating a hard disk.
Beneath its new, more refined gray exterior, the Meitner MA3i SE still boasts all the musical assets discovered in recent years. However, this comes at a price, with this limited edition priced at 12 500 €, compared with 11 500 € for the standard version.
19/05/2025