cpsen
Seeker Of Truth
Posts: 8 
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Post by cpsen on Sept 20, 2016 13:34:38 GMT -5
I'm new to Emotiva and the lounge. I just purchased a PT-100 and an ERC-3. Very happy with the sound quality of both. I'm mostly a tube guy, build my own gear, but I needed a tuner and some flexibility to drive different amps so I tried the PT-100 and am happy to report I'll be keeping it. And since my Rotel RCC-955 CD player is dying, I decided to try the ERC-3. But the ERC-3... First, I LOVE the sound quality from the ERC-3. I also have a Sony s9000es which is a terrific old-school cd and dvd player. I obviously can't compare sound of SACDs, but with redbook CDs, there are many cases where the ERC-3 outshines the Sony. It is fast and articulate, strong with well controlled bass. I couldn't ask for more from this price level. Unfortunately, my ERC-3 has the oft reported transport noise. I've recorded it in case anyone wants to have a listen at youtu.be/0sFL9OfEj2o (I hope I'm not violating any forum rules with this link - I did read some of them and didn't find anything about external links). While the video doesn't represent the level of noise all that well, suffice it to say I can hear noise on every disk and in some cases I can hear it from several feet away. Some disks are quiet enough that it doesn't bother me. I'm in the 30-day trial period and need to decide my next step. I hate to give up the sound quality but the noise bothers me and makes me worried about long-term performance of the deck. I see my options as: 1. keep the player; 2. look into servicing/repairs; 3. return it under the 30-day guarantee. I'll mostly likely contact Service to ask about the problem in any case. At this point I'm curious what others would do. If you have wisdom to help me decide (player durability, noise performance over time, etc.) I'd be grateful to hear it. Thanks! |
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Post by teaman on Sept 20, 2016 14:08:43 GMT -5
Welcome to the forum and to Emotiva gear. I own two ERC-3 players and one is absolutely silent while the other is noisy....like yours. If it bothers you enough, which it seems it does I would call Emotiva and ask about the possibility of an exchange for noisy transport.
My noisy ERC-3 can be heard about five feet away, which at first drove me nuts. My saving grace is that I listen to music quite loud...so unless I am sitting near field I will never hear it.
Tim
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Post by dvbeav on Sept 20, 2016 16:49:36 GMT -5
"I couldn't ask for more at this price level" pretty much sums up why I have kept my ERC-3. I sent my first one back because of the noise and received a second unit that was just as noisy. Emotiva is great with customer service but I didn't want to hear that the noise of my unit was pretty much "normal" and "within specs." I can tell you that the noise doesn't change with age as I've had mine for 2+ years and, based on my experience, I wouldn't count on repair either. You'll get by fine if you stay away from music with quiet passages.
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Post by garbulky on Sept 20, 2016 17:39:00 GMT -5
Send it back. Buy a DC-1. Then use a cheap DVD player as a transport. Or a second hand ERC-2 or ERC-1 as a transport.
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Post by 405x5 on Sept 20, 2016 18:14:21 GMT -5
I own enough problematic discs that COULD make the trans port worth the noise level.
Not every disc that noticeable, am I right about that?
A bit of creativity in the installation could make the sound a non issue.
Bill
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Post by Gary Cook on Sept 20, 2016 22:43:17 GMT -5
I own enough problematic discs that COULD make the trans port worth the noise level. Not every disc that noticeable, am I right about that? A bit of creativity in the installation could make the sound a non issue. Bill This thread explains why the noise can be an issue sometimes. emotivalounge.proboards.com/thread/47891/why-erc-3-sound-goodCheers Gary |
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cpsen
Seeker Of Truth
Posts: 8
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Post by cpsen on Sept 20, 2016 22:51:15 GMT -5
Thanks all. Bill, you're correct, the noise is pretty variable based on the disc, and it can be pretty quiet on some discs. But on some it's quite annoyingly noticeable. It seems the discs with shiny top surfaces with just text (no graphics printed) are pretty quiet and those with lots of graphics are generally noisy. That could be due to thickness or more likely balance issues. But when the Sony is dead quiet vs the ERC-3 with the same discs, it tells me the ERC doesn't NEED to be that noisy. Remember the Sony I tested it against is also a DVD player so the transport SHOULD be similar and spin at a similar rate.
I'm not really interested in using a cheap transport and external DAC (though I am curious about the DC-1). I think transport has a lot to do with sound quality, and if I'm spending $500 on a DAC AND having to purchase a decent player as transport, I'm going to be well beyond my budget.
I'm likely to call about an exchange. If in the end the noise problem is not something I can resolve with replacement or repair, I'm going to have to wrestle long and hard with the decision.
Thx again!
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Post by brutiarti on Sept 20, 2016 22:55:59 GMT -5
if you don't use the balanced connections, finding alternative players will not be a problem. Finding balanced cd players is gonna be difficult under $500
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Post by 405x5 on Sept 21, 2016 9:46:12 GMT -5
Thanks all. Bill, you're correct, the noise is pretty variable based on the disc, and it can be pretty quiet on some discs. But on some it's quite annoyingly noticeable. It seems the discs with shiny top surfaces with just text (no graphics printed) are pretty quiet and those with lots of graphics are generally noisy. That could be due to thickness or more likely balance issues. But when the Sony is dead quiet vs the ERC-3 with the same discs, it tells me the ERC doesn't NEED to be that noisy. Remember the Sony I tested it against is also a DVD player so the transport SHOULD be similar and spin at a similar rate. I'm not really interested in using a cheap transport and external DAC (though I am curious about the DC-1). I think transport has a lot to do with sound quality, and if I'm spending $500 on a DAC AND having to purchase a decent player as transport, I'm going to be well beyond my budget. I'm likely to call about an exchange. If in the end the noise problem is not something I can resolve with replacement or repair, I'm going to have to wrestle long and hard with the decision. Thx again! At this point I would just share with you how I address this transport issue..... What I do is based on trial and "error" (no pun intended), after going thru quite a few players, over the past 30 years or so. The ERC takes me around full circle, in the sense that error correction was the single biggest issue for me way back then. Next was audio quality and in a short period of time I realized that I could not hear a difference between ANY player, regardless of the price tag and that included bringing in for test purposes, a CD player with a tube analog stage. Anyway, without making a big story here, a good quality player with HDMI out to the DAC of the XMC1, is how I listen to everything. I use (2) 3D blu ray players, averaging around 200 a pop, one from Samsung and the other from Sony. Dead quiet with everything. The Sony is so compact that the two units stacked take up less space than one of their more expensive counterparts. Blu ray players have evolved and improved drastically over the last 8 years or so....good to revisit for streaming improvements and such. Bill |
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stiehl11
Emo VIPs 
Give me available light!
Posts: 7,269
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Post by stiehl11 on Sept 21, 2016 10:20:30 GMT -5
I'm new to Emotiva and the lounge. I just purchased a PT-100 and an ERC-3. Very happy with the sound quality of both. I'm mostly a tube guy, build my own gear, but I needed a tuner and some flexibility to drive different amps so I tried the PT-100 and am happy to report I'll be keeping it. And since my Rotel RCC-955 CD player is dying, I decided to try the ERC-3. But the ERC-3... First, I LOVE the sound quality from the ERC-3. I also have a Sony s9000es which is a terrific old-school cd and dvd player. I obviously can't compare sound of SACDs, but with redbook CDs, there are many cases where the ERC-3 outshines the Sony. It is fast and articulate, strong with well controlled bass. I couldn't ask for more from this price level. Unfortunately, my ERC-3 has the oft reported transport noise. I've recorded it in case anyone wants to have a listen at youtu.be/0sFL9OfEj2o (I hope I'm not violating any forum rules with this link - I did read some of them and didn't find anything about external links). While the video doesn't represent the level of noise all that well, suffice it to say I can hear noise on every disk and in some cases I can hear it from several feet away. Some disks are quiet enough that it doesn't bother me. I'm in the 30-day trial period and need to decide my next step. I hate to give up the sound quality but the noise bothers me and makes me worried about long-term performance of the deck. I see my options as: 1. keep the player; 2. look into servicing/repairs; 3. return it under the 30-day guarantee. I'll mostly likely contact Service to ask about the problem in any case. At this point I'm curious what others would do. If you have wisdom to help me decide (player durability, noise performance over time, etc.) I'd be grateful to hear it. Thanks! I'm not able to access the link; getting a 404 error. |
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Post by 405x5 on Sept 21, 2016 11:43:54 GMT -5
That's one error the ERC-3 can't deal with 🤑
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cpsen
Seeker Of Truth
Posts: 8
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Post by cpsen on Sept 21, 2016 12:04:15 GMT -5
Well, I do notice differences between CDPs, at least at certain levels. Cheap ones all sound similar to me, but above about $400 or so they seem to take a jump in sound quality. I'm sure there are other jumps, and I'm also sure it depends on the resolution of your system. In mine, the ERC-3 is remarkably better than anything else I've tried with the exception of the Sony s9000es (which was $1500 or so in 2001). It even betters the Sony on some discs and tracks, particularly in low end authority. Unless I could find a transport and DAC in my budget (<500) I just don't see going that route. As for the error, I don't know what's up. It worked at first, and now the link gets some tags put into it "%C2%" and "(I" at the end (quote marks only for identifying what i mean). At the end it seems to pick up the next few characters (the space and "(I" that follows the link). I'm guessing the %C2% is indicating the space that was supposed to follow the link. You can get there by going to youtube (dot com) and adding watch?v=0sFL9OfEj2o at the end (after a slash "/"). Maybe I wasn't supposed to link to such things? Here is a slightly different version: www.youtube.com/watch?v=0sFL9OfEj2oOK, thanks all. I'll report back once I take the next step. Hoping to fire up my DIY 6AQ5 (not 6AS7 as I first posted!) tube amp in the next few days to try with the ERC-3. |
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Post by Bonzo on Sept 21, 2016 13:04:08 GMT -5
Video showed me 2 things.
#1. The noise.
#2. And that I'm right, and all previous posts I've made about this player being made backwards are correct. By backwards I mean it's made for left handers. For right handers the tray and buttons should be reversed.
Back to the noise......sounds kind of like my DirecTV DVR on a bad day.
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Post by teaman on Sept 21, 2016 13:17:43 GMT -5
Once again as I stated above, not all of the ERC-3 players are noisy. I own two. One is noisy as sh*t and one is dead silent. They both play the same discs, one noisy and one silent. It is not the issue with the cd played, although in some cases it may be. With the noisy ERC-3 transports that is not the case. There is somehow an inconsistency in the drive itself.
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Post by mountain on Sept 21, 2016 13:41:36 GMT -5
I personally would not keep it. The noise would drive me crazy.
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Post by garbulky on Sept 21, 2016 13:43:56 GMT -5
Yeah what I would do is send it back and tell them you need a replacement without the noise.
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Post by Soup on Sept 21, 2016 14:34:19 GMT -5
Agree 1,000%.
I had a hum in my surround speakers that used to drive me crazy...Replace it and never look back.
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Post by novisnick on Sept 21, 2016 14:40:27 GMT -5
I personally would not keep it. The noise would drive me crazy.
Yeh! Short drive!!  |
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cpsen
Seeker Of Truth
Posts: 8
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Post by cpsen on Sept 21, 2016 17:46:20 GMT -5
Video showed me 2 things. #1. The noise. #2. And that I'm right, and all previous posts I've made about this player being made backwards are correct. By backwards I mean it's made for left handers. For right handers the tray and buttons should be reversed. Back to the noise......sounds kind of like my DirecTV DVR on a bad day. LOL! That was mostly b/c I was holding the phone for the video and wasn't able to watch what I was doing. But you're right, it's kinda easier for lefties. In my case I can usually predict which CDs are going to make the deck noisy, and it's almost always those with heavy printing on the label side. It's driving me crazy in part b/c it's a huge part of my audio budget (I have young kids...) and given the quality of the music it produces, it just shouldn't be so noisy. Cheers all. |
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cpsen
Seeker Of Truth
Posts: 8
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Post by cpsen on Sept 27, 2016 22:17:15 GMT -5
I called about my ERC-3 and was told, essentially, that the noise is due to the fast spindle speed of the DVD drive used in this player (I've heard that before). The techie told me (perhaps truthfully to a degree) that the faster spindle speed allows for faster reading of the data from the disc so that multiple reads can be done quickly to avoid read errors. I've also read that this machine caches a ton of data before converting it, which suggests that perhaps it is more immune to read errors and jitter than slower CD drives. I, for one, can't say...
After the call, I did some testing. In fact, the cheap DVD player I have for movies does, in fact, make as much noise as the Emo unit, possibly a little more. Trouble is, I paid less than $100 for it. I expect more from a nearly $500 unit. AND, the Sony CDP (s9000ES) is virtually silent (I'm not yet sure if I've EVER heard a noise with that player even with my ear up close).
In short, I'm giving it another week or so before I decide. I haven't heard any of the really loud noises for a while now so maybe some of the noise was due to break-in issues. They DID give me an RMA so I can return it. More once I decide what to do.
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