kse
Emo VIPs 
Hello me, meet the real me.
Posts: 1,947
|
Post by kse on Dec 16, 2011 11:19:46 GMT -5
I could not agree more. And it's that nonsense why my last issue was Dec. Garbage. In fact I could renew for like $8, and I almost considered it since 8-bucks is pretty cheap, but ya know what, it's not even worth that. What a joke.
Wonder what Dan and Co. have to say about that review?
**If anyone has a link to this article in coming days, please share it. I have to read this rubbish with my own eyes.
|
|
|
|
Post by jmilton on Dec 16, 2011 11:44:08 GMT -5
|
|
kse
Emo VIPs
Hello me, meet the real me.
Posts: 1,947
|
Post by kse on Dec 16, 2011 12:09:15 GMT -5
I see just a write up on the PS1. Was asking about the lastest on the ERC-2 that mm was referring to. No worries.....  |
|
|
|
Post by monkumonku on Dec 16, 2011 13:58:13 GMT -5
I noticed the measurements of this thing were awful. The reviewer even said so. So it is odd how it could sound so wonderful. What I thought was funny was the lone comment someone had posted on the last page: Attachments:
|
|
|
|
Post by Mischief on Dec 16, 2011 15:47:35 GMT -5
I know it seems wrong in every way but there is a very specific version of the PS1 that is supposedly pretty impressive. By impressive I assume it is better than crap from Best Buy for Cd playback. I don't remember the exact details but more or less, it had the same transport as the top of the line Sony player. They are still highly sought if you can find one with the right serial numbers.
|
|
Pauly
Emo VIPs
Posts: 5,237
|
Post by Pauly on Dec 16, 2011 15:52:43 GMT -5
It seems like the early models also had a much higher quality output stage or something too.
|
|
NorthStar
Seeker Of Truth
"And it stoned me to my soul" - Van Morrison
Posts: 0
|
Post by NorthStar on Dec 16, 2011 16:05:03 GMT -5
I see just a write up on the PS1. Was asking about the lastest on the ERC-2 that mm was referring to. No worries..... That article (ERC-2 vs PS1 Followup) won't appear online for another couple months or so. * Unless Rickie takes a picture of it and post it right here of course.  P.S. Does "post" take an 's' at the end? |
|
|
|
Post by brubacca on Dec 16, 2011 19:02:35 GMT -5
If I remember correctly the very first run of ps1 was the good one i believe that they had rca outputs. Subsequent ps1 had a dongle cord that broke out to rca male cable
|
|
|
|
Post by vthokies on Dec 21, 2011 4:09:39 GMT -5
I see just a write up on the PS1. Was asking about the lastest on the ERC-2 that mm was referring to. No worries..... That article (ERC-2 vs PS1 Followup) won't appear online for another couple months or so. * Unless Rickie takes a picture of it and post it right here of course. P.S. Does "post" take an 's' at the end? Yes it does. ;D It use to be able to trust Stereophile before they started taking advertising $'s. Now it's the same dribble and nonsense like all the other mags. |
|
|
|
Post by ephling on Dec 22, 2011 11:37:16 GMT -5
Have to say I am totally disappointed with Emotiva. I have been buying high end audio for years. From back in the day when you could walk into McIntosh Labs in Binghamton and chat with Frank McIntosh and Dave O'Brian, to the B&K guys on Old Union Road in Buffalo, to JBL when they were headquartered in Woodbury, and most recently with the folks at Krell just down I 95. It has always been fun and music is its' own reward. I remember selling my tube amps to move into something called home theater when the kids were young, and being laughed at for jumping into what audiophiles thought was a passing fad. With two kids in college at 50k a year each and a bad economy I thought I would try the Emotiva model. Audiophile quality at China prices. Design in the US and build overseas works well for Apple and GE so why not. First the UMC-1. It is in stock, it is out of stock, it can be reserved, it is back in stock. It arrives. A quick press of the 3 button secret code and we find despite assurances that all new deliveries have the latest software, it does not. A quick call and I am told by the woman answering the phone that I must be doing it wrong (8 years of college and I am pretty sure that I can tell the difference between 7.4.10 and 7.4.19). After being forced to practically beg to speak to service the real answer is they have no idea what software is shipping and mine has the old version. Fine. Six hours later after endless runtime errors and other glitches, on brand new I7 core hardware, in both regular and safe mode and constant failure at 88% of the verify process I summon up the courage to call again. To paraphrase " well its probably ok if its failing during the verify process, thanks for the call". Seems to work, love the blue lights that remind me of my old Harmon Signature 2.0 so let's buy a ERC-2 to match. I like the name as my favorite Callaway 3 wood (one that I qualified for the US amateur with) was an ERC model and I used to play with Eli Callaway at Darien CC, but I digress. I very carefully complete the purchase online as I sell my Rega Planet on ebay (at less than I should have but I figure the ERC is on sale so it all evens out) at the same time. I don't want to be without a cd player with the kids home for Christmas or to have to tell them that Santa forgot to bring the new player. After a couple days I send a nice email asking when the unit will ship. The response is" I knew when I ordered it that it was out of stock". Of course this is untrue and a cursory glance at the process in buying the UMC-1 tells me their system would not let you buy a unit that it out of stock but would offer a reserve option. I point that out and I get an oops your right, sorry, we don't have any, what your money back. Sure if you can get me my Rega back in time for Christmas. So it seems to be this simple, the business model is design here build there supplemented by in all cases blame the customer for anything that doesn't work and take no responsibility for Emotiva's actions. In simpler terms, the dog ate my homework approach. Now of course I am stuck, can't send back the UMC-1 and wash my hands of Emotiva because it was on clearance (what, can't you read???stupid customer), but can't get the ERC-2 as promised, purchase confirmations and all, because, well because, because, well because whatever the reason is... it's my fault. I had no dog in this hunt before hand and simply expected what was promised in exchange for my US dollars. I do now notice lots of yelling and rules from this company about posting on their site and shipping products and the like. I should have read Big Dan's admonition, "buy what you want it's a big world out there" first. As they say, never again.
|
|
cgolf
Emo VIPs
Posts: 4,615
|
Post by cgolf on Dec 22, 2011 11:41:22 GMT -5
ephling,
Not to be rude but your posts are impossible to read. You've got to put some spaces between paragraphs and use punctuation if you want people to read them.
There is probably some good info in what you say but at least for me, I won't read them because it takes too much effort and time... ;D
|
|
|
|
Post by jackfish on Dec 22, 2011 11:48:47 GMT -5
Been there for awhile. Sorry you missed it.
|
|
kse
Emo VIPs
Hello me, meet the real me.
Posts: 1,947
|
Post by kse on Dec 22, 2011 12:44:51 GMT -5
The gripe seems more than legitimate. Sorry to hear this. Can't say if this happened to me I'd be sticking around either.
|
|
Pauly
Emo VIPs
Posts: 5,237
|
Post by Pauly on Dec 22, 2011 12:46:24 GMT -5
Me too, sorry to hear that.
|
|
|
|
Post by ausman on Dec 22, 2011 12:49:10 GMT -5
I take what stereophile say with a a grain of salt when they a snapshot view at any of emo products to the puting emo down when they start illustration of their own snobs paradise not so high end and overpriced gear to the point why bother reviewing emo when they badysit snell and the like all the time.. kind of counter productive..
|
|
|
|
Post by corgidog59 on Dec 22, 2011 13:17:12 GMT -5
From what I can tell Emotiva's customer service is rather bi-polar. Sometimes they are very responsive and "get the job done". Other times, it is as if they are on one long lunch break. When the XDA-1 first came out and everyone had issues with the volune control, I wrote Lonnie and suggested that they prepare a formal response and post on their web site. He was kind enough to respond back rather quickly to me but ignored my suggestion. Sometimes you just want to go "Louis Black" on them. :-)
|
|
|
|
Post by essheil on Dec 24, 2011 11:52:15 GMT -5
A good or REAL reviewer would compare the ERC 2 to NAD, ROTEL, REGA, CAMBRIDGE,OPERA CONSONANCE just to name a few. Sony? give me a break too! stereophile has become a joke. I read absolute sound and sound and vision (stereo review). I don't think anything out there price and quality bargain can outdo the ERC 2. It performs at the level of very expensive manufacturers.
|
|
|
|
Post by ephling on Dec 24, 2011 13:58:11 GMT -5
The ERC-2 should be compared to other products of the same price. It is a myth to think that they have uncovered some kind of magic that permits them to build a $1000 product and sell it for $449. The math is simple; they have a few comparative advantages, foreign labor costs, no middle men, limited advertizing expenses, these are more than offset by their build in disadvantages, no economies of scale in purchasing components, no proprietary technology, and faulty inventory controls (for example it is the best selling period of the year and you can't get an ERC-2 until Feb). First year business school analysis tells you that their $450 is what it appears to be, a $450 cd player, no more no less.
|
|
|
|
Post by majestyk on Dec 27, 2011 3:44:56 GMT -5
Based on the Sony PS1 review, I wouldn't trust anything that Stereophile reviewer has to say. Last summer I bought a near mint condition Sony PS1 SCPH-1001 and it was the worst sounding POS I have ever heard.
I used both the analog jacks and the multi-av out; then I let it warm up for 30 minutes before use. I could not believe how awful it sounded. It was like someone put towels over my speakers. It completely cut the highs off and had a very grainy sound. Anyone who says the player is vinyl like has never heard vinyl.
If anyone wants a nice sounding budget CD player, try a JVC 18-Bit Dual-DA 4x Oversampling CD player, from 1989. Not the PEM ones that came later. I pitted this against a Sony XA5400ES (for Redbook of course) and I couldn't tell the difference. I test these by hooking them up to the same amp and switching the source back and forth. And yes I confirmed that the inputs of the amp sound the same.
I compared several CD players, including an Oppo BDP-83, and they all had a different sound, but I could not tell the difference between the JVC XL-V311...(NOT the 331) and the Sony 5400...They even had the same volume level which made it even easier to test.
The PS1 was the worst sounding CD player of the bunch. And no, I did not have an Emotiva CD player to test.
|
|
|
|
Post by majestyk on Dec 27, 2011 4:00:24 GMT -5
I have not heard the ERC-1 or 2 but it is entirely *possible* that they could sound better than a particular $1000 to $2000 player...And keep in mind, I'm NOT talking about transports...Only the internal DAC's. Just because something is expensive doesn't mean it's better. I bet if some reviewers didn't know the price of the gear they were testing, the outcome would be different.
Build quality isn't everything either. I've heard some really well built/heavy CD players that have an average sound and some light weights that have an amazing sound.
Think about it...All the build quality in the world is pointless if it has a mediocre or average DAC inside...Which it really MOSTLY comes down to.
|
|
