EMT 240

Type: Plate reverberation unit
Reverb time: 1–4 s, adjustable
Input: 0 dB, 5 kΩ
Output: 0 dBm, 200 Ω
Noise: 60 dB below full output, unweighted
Ambient tolerance: 80 phons max
Dimensions: 63 × 67 × 30 cm
Weight: 60 kg

Name: EMT 240
Brand: EMT

The EMT 240 is a plate reverberation unit, a compact successor to the EMT 140. EMT says it shrank the format without giving up sound quality. EMT's own advertising in DB-Magazine (June 1973, p.2) claimed the 240 was roughly one-eighth the size of the 140 and offered "a significant, audible reduction in sound coloration." The same ads promised deliveries by Fall 1973. A follow-up in April 1974 ("Last summer we sent you our apologies. Now we can send you our EMT 240") suggests demand or production delays pushed general availability into 1974.

The 240 also differed from the 140 in how it handled external vibration. The ads noted you didn't have to "whisper or tip-toe past" the unit. It was impervious to ambient noise and floor-borne rumble, which is a real advantage in a working studio. A later technical listing in Studio Sound (April 1977, p.27) gave the measurable specs. The plate had a reverberation period adjustable from 1 to 4 seconds and ran in stereo. It accepted a 0 dB input at 5 kΩ and output 0 dBm at 200 Ω. The noise floor sat 60 dB below full output (unweighted), and it could tolerate ambient noise up to 80 phons, which backs up the manufacturer's claims about environmental immunity. The unit measured 63 × 67 × 30 cm and weighed 60 kg. By plate-reverb standards that was light enough to be considered "suitable for mobile use."

Beyond these period sources, little else is documented about the EMT 240. No service manuals, no detailed circuit descriptions, and no production-run numbers appear to survive in the usual archives. It remains a respected but thinly recorded footnote in EMT’s reverb lineage — a smaller, quieter, more portable plate that filled a specific niche between the studio-bound 140 and the digital units that would follow.