EMM Labs is honored to receive multiple awards at the 2025 SoundStage! Network Awards, including Product of the Year and an Outstanding Achievement Award.
Founded in Canada in 1995, the SoundStage! Network has long been one of the most respected voices in high-end audio journalism. Their annual awards highlight products and individuals that truly stood out to their reviewers over the previous year—drawn exclusively from components that have already earned a Reviewers’ Choice distinction across the SoundStage! family of publications.
We also appreciated seeing Erica Ehm as the official presenter of the 2025 SoundStage! Awards. As one of MuchMusic’s original VJs, Erica has long been part of Canada’s music and media landscape, and it’s a pleasure to see her continuing to work and contribute within the music community today. Her presence added a meaningful and distinctly Canadian touch to this year’s awards. Did we mention we are Canadian?
We are sincerely grateful to the SoundStage! editorial team for their careful listening, thoughtful evaluation, and continued commitment to in-depth, experience-based reviewing.
Outstanding Achievement Award: Edmund Meitner
SoundStage! also recognized Edmund (Ed) Meitner with a 2025 Outstanding Achievement Award, honoring his lasting contributions to the audio industry.
Ed founded EMM Labs in 1998 and Meitner Audio in 2012, both headquartered in Calgary, Alberta. His work in audio, however, began in the early 1970s, including participation in the design of the Olive analog mixing console—the world’s first fully automated recording console—and the development of test and measurement equipment still used today by Canada’s National Research Council.
Over a career spanning more than 55 years, Ed has remained a singular voice in high-end audio design, known for original circuit topologies, patented technologies, and his role in developing single-bit DACs for SACD playback with Sony. His work continues to shape how music is reproduced and experienced worldwide.
2025 Product of the Year: EMM Labs DV2i Streaming DAC-Preamplifier
The EMM Labs DV2i has been awarded SoundStage! Hi-Fi 2025 Product of the Year.
In his review for SoundStage! (April 2025), Phil Gold wrote:
“Products as significant as this do not come along often. It’s a milestone, not only within the world of digital audio, but for audio in general.”
This recognition is especially meaningful to us, as the DV2i represents years of focused engineering—bringing together streaming, digital conversion, and preamplification into a single reference-grade component without compromise.
We would like to extend our sincere thanks to SoundStage! Hi-Fi and the entire SoundStage! Network for these honors and for their continued support of thoughtful, independent audio journalism.
We encourage readers to explore SoundStage!’s reviews and awards coverage and follow their work directly through the SoundStage! Network platforms all over the world.
