Post by sparkz on May 27, 2011 22:28:37 GMT -5
I've been a lurker for the past few weeks as I've been looking for a replacement CD player. I know. CD's are dead for most anyone under 21. But, I'm pretty "old school" when it comes to hi-fidelity. I have a classic Carver THX AV with an equally classic Carver pre-amp with hologram powering a set of Advents and a set of JBL's. I have a more recent Carver with 5 channel powering a back set of Advents, sub and center channel - also Advents.
So, a few weeks back my Sony CD player gave up. Hey, it was 15 years plus. I play MP3's like most, but I love my CD's.
I work with computers and my general inclination is that once music goes digital - 0 & 1's - it should not make a big difference in overall sound quality from a digital source. Other factors, like pre-amp, amp, speakers, cable should make more difference than a digital sound source. A pretty good debate on this exists. forums.audioreview.com/showthread.php?t=9589
As I shopped for a new CD player, I was really surprised at how few hi-fidelity CD players are in stores. Makes sense as the market is becoming mostly digital downloads. On the advice of a great guy at BB, I walked out with a $40 Toshiba DVD player. It's plays CD's. Big mistake. My ears are still bleeding from that beating. Really harsh overtones. No depth. Hi ends seemed cut-off & muffled. Disappointed would be an understatement.
To the web I went looking for something affordable with classic styling. I found Emotiva. Never heard of the company and to be honest, Emotiva reviews are kinda scant. Nothing bad. Just not a lot of information. This is particularly true of the ERC 2. I guess shipping began on 5/17. The styling did catch my eye. It definitely would fit with my system. $450 for a CD player is pretty rich for me. I know, serious home audio CD players can easily be $800+. But, $450 is a huge investment for me. I read all of the ERC 1 reviews. With a 30 day trial, it seemed like a reasonable gamble.
I purchased my ERC 2 online on 5/27. Received the unit on Tuesday 5/28 via Fed-X. Clearly fast and packed extremely well. No manual or other papers, which seemed odd. But, the manual is online. Frankly, you need to recognize a power cable and RCA cables. No big deal. The unit is as solid as a rock. Very heavy at 18 pounds or so. Looks awesome right out of the box. Same with the remote. Piece of advice, don't drop the remote. It's seriously a work of art. Same metal as the unit with stainless steel buttons and end caps. Heavy. You will need a smaller phillips screwdriver to open the remote to remove a battery strip. Otherwise, set-up is as easy as it gets.
I pulled some favorite CDs aside the first night. I've been running through them since Tuesday. I started with Springsteen Live 1975-85. Wow! Kinda like that first kiss. Not sure what it's all about, but you like it.
It most certainly sounded better than the Toshiba I just unplugged. But, the ERC 2 sounded better than my previous Sony CD player. By a huge difference. No idea what I was missing. The highs are really clear. The bass is perfect. I'm hearing subtle aspects of my music that I've not heard before. I believe I have a great sound system, but it has never sounded like this. On I went this week from Tom Petty to Tom Cochrane to the demo CD that came with the unit. Not a dull moment so far.
There is no doubt that the ERC 2 has earned a spot next to my Carvers'. The blue light really sets off my entire system. It is the thing most people comment on. Until they hear the system. While friends can't compare my previous CD player to the ERC 2, they have commented that they are hearing sounds in my music that they have not heard before in my system or other music systems they are familiar with. I'm sold on the ERC 2 for sure and if my happiness continues with Emotiva, I will be looking at a pre-amp and power amp, should my Carvers' ever die. Which is doubtful. ;D
sparkz
So, a few weeks back my Sony CD player gave up. Hey, it was 15 years plus. I play MP3's like most, but I love my CD's.
I work with computers and my general inclination is that once music goes digital - 0 & 1's - it should not make a big difference in overall sound quality from a digital source. Other factors, like pre-amp, amp, speakers, cable should make more difference than a digital sound source. A pretty good debate on this exists. forums.audioreview.com/showthread.php?t=9589As I shopped for a new CD player, I was really surprised at how few hi-fidelity CD players are in stores. Makes sense as the market is becoming mostly digital downloads. On the advice of a great guy at BB, I walked out with a $40 Toshiba DVD player. It's plays CD's. Big mistake. My ears are still bleeding from that beating. Really harsh overtones. No depth. Hi ends seemed cut-off & muffled. Disappointed would be an understatement.
To the web I went looking for something affordable with classic styling. I found Emotiva. Never heard of the company and to be honest, Emotiva reviews are kinda scant. Nothing bad. Just not a lot of information. This is particularly true of the ERC 2. I guess shipping began on 5/17. The styling did catch my eye. It definitely would fit with my system. $450 for a CD player is pretty rich for me. I know, serious home audio CD players can easily be $800+. But, $450 is a huge investment for me. I read all of the ERC 1 reviews. With a 30 day trial, it seemed like a reasonable gamble.
I purchased my ERC 2 online on 5/27. Received the unit on Tuesday 5/28 via Fed-X. Clearly fast and packed extremely well. No manual or other papers, which seemed odd. But, the manual is online. Frankly, you need to recognize a power cable and RCA cables. No big deal. The unit is as solid as a rock. Very heavy at 18 pounds or so. Looks awesome right out of the box. Same with the remote. Piece of advice, don't drop the remote. It's seriously a work of art. Same metal as the unit with stainless steel buttons and end caps. Heavy. You will need a smaller phillips screwdriver to open the remote to remove a battery strip. Otherwise, set-up is as easy as it gets.
I pulled some favorite CDs aside the first night. I've been running through them since Tuesday. I started with Springsteen Live 1975-85. Wow! Kinda like that first kiss. Not sure what it's all about, but you like it.
It most certainly sounded better than the Toshiba I just unplugged. But, the ERC 2 sounded better than my previous Sony CD player. By a huge difference. No idea what I was missing. The highs are really clear. The bass is perfect. I'm hearing subtle aspects of my music that I've not heard before. I believe I have a great sound system, but it has never sounded like this. On I went this week from Tom Petty to Tom Cochrane to the demo CD that came with the unit. Not a dull moment so far.There is no doubt that the ERC 2 has earned a spot next to my Carvers'. The blue light really sets off my entire system. It is the thing most people comment on. Until they hear the system. While friends can't compare my previous CD player to the ERC 2, they have commented that they are hearing sounds in my music that they have not heard before in my system or other music systems they are familiar with. I'm sold on the ERC 2 for sure and if my happiness continues with Emotiva, I will be looking at a pre-amp and power amp, should my Carvers' ever die. Which is doubtful. ;D
sparkz
