Post by monkumonku on Jun 6, 2009 22:57:04 GMT -5
I have been thoroughly enjoying my ERC-1. This review is fashioned along the lines of the one posted by Chuckienut in that I compared it to the Oppo BDP-83.
Some prelim stuff: the ERC-1 came double-boxed and cushioned very securely in foam surrounds. Build quality is excellent. When you pick it up it feels very solid and I love its appearance, too. The remote is the most solid and heavy one I have ever used. I was very careful removing the screws to add the batteries after reading about the difficulties encountered by some others - make sure you start off trying a larger head instead of a smaller one so that you don't strip the screws. My batteries, unlike those others received, worked fine.
This review is based on using the following equipment: Onkyo TX-706 for the preamp; XPA-3; ERM 6.2 speakers. And of course the ERC-1 and the Oppo BDP-83.
I assembled two identical test CD's using EAC to extract .wav files off the CD's and Nero to burn them. The tracks:
Sunny Sumter - "Nick of Time." This features female vocals, piano and double bass.
ARC Choir - "Shady Green Pastures." This is a gospel choir.
The above two selections came from Mapleshade's Music Festival sampler disc, a collection of songs with excellent recording quality.
Diana Krall - "I Love Being Here With You" from her Live in Paris CD.
Steely Dan - "Aja" and "Josie" off the Aja CD.
Esperanza Spalding - "Cuerpo y Alma" from her Esperanza CD.
Steely Dan - "Gaslighting Abbey" and "Cousin Dupree" from the Two Against Nature CD.
I initially planned to play the CD's simultaneously and switch back and forth between them. The ERC-1's analog outputs were connected to the CD inputs on the Onkyo, and the BDP-83's analog stereo outputs were connected to Aux1 on the Onkyo. However, the level of the ERC-1 is much higher than that of the Oppo - an 8.5 db difference! This was with the Onkyo set to "Direct" or "Pure Audio" (there is not supposed to be any processing done in either mode). I also switched the ERC-1 to the Aux1 input and the Oppo to the CD input to make sure the inputs didn't have different sensitivities, and I also switched the cables between the two to make sure it wasn't the cable causing the difference in sound levels. It wasn't. The Oppo simply puts out a lower signal, and this was with the Oppo's volume all the way up.
So I played a short section on the track on one player, stopped and adjusted the volume and then played the same short section using the other player in order to compare the two.
One obvious thing - the ERC-1's remote is much more solid than the Oppo. You also have to press the keys fairly hard on the Oppo to make it work, whereas the ERC-1's keys are effortless, plus the unit responds instantly.
Now, comparing the songs: There is not a night and day difference between the two. They both sound great. Upon very careful listening and repeating sections over and over, here are my conclusions:
The ERC-1 has a little wider and deeper soundstage. There is a sense of more spaciousness but the instruments are positioned very precisely. The Oppo feels just a slight bit more compacted. The most noticeable times were when listening to the ARC choir (sounded more spread out with the ERC-1), Diana Krall (again more spaciousness) and the two tracks from Two Against Nature (Donald Fagen's voice had a little more depth and localization).
The Oppo has a slightly warmer, fuller sound. I emphasize the word "slight." I am not sure which is more accurate, the Oppo or the ERC-1 but in some cases that worked in the Oppo's favor - such as the Aja album which to me is recorded quite bright. I think this one is a matter of preference and there is hardly any difference anyway.
I preferred Diana Krall's and Esperanza Spalding's vocals on the ERC-1. They sounded just a tad more natural.
The biggest difference, and even that is not "big" to me was the relative soundstage between the two. That's the most noticeable difference. That one I feel I could detect in a blind test but the others (warmer sound of Oppo, female vocal differences) I would be hard pressed to identify which was which on a consistent basis. Both provide very detailed sound and there weren't details I heard using one that I didn't hear with the other.
The winner for me is the ERC-1 but the Oppo is no slouch. Considering it does blu ray, DVD, SACD and DVD-Audio, it is a great value. The ERC-1 is just that little bit better in sound quality and that, combined with the build quality and the fact that I like having a dedicated CD player, makes it a keeper (they're both keepers - I am like Chuckienut - neither of them are going back, I think they are both excellent).
I did preorder the USP-1 and I plan on doing the same comparison when that arrives. I don't know what the effect is if any that the high output level of the ERC-1 has on my Onkyo's analog CD inputs but I am interested in hearing the same test tracks through an all-Emo system.
Some prelim stuff: the ERC-1 came double-boxed and cushioned very securely in foam surrounds. Build quality is excellent. When you pick it up it feels very solid and I love its appearance, too. The remote is the most solid and heavy one I have ever used. I was very careful removing the screws to add the batteries after reading about the difficulties encountered by some others - make sure you start off trying a larger head instead of a smaller one so that you don't strip the screws. My batteries, unlike those others received, worked fine.
This review is based on using the following equipment: Onkyo TX-706 for the preamp; XPA-3; ERM 6.2 speakers. And of course the ERC-1 and the Oppo BDP-83.
I assembled two identical test CD's using EAC to extract .wav files off the CD's and Nero to burn them. The tracks:
Sunny Sumter - "Nick of Time." This features female vocals, piano and double bass.
ARC Choir - "Shady Green Pastures." This is a gospel choir.
The above two selections came from Mapleshade's Music Festival sampler disc, a collection of songs with excellent recording quality.
Diana Krall - "I Love Being Here With You" from her Live in Paris CD.
Steely Dan - "Aja" and "Josie" off the Aja CD.
Esperanza Spalding - "Cuerpo y Alma" from her Esperanza CD.
Steely Dan - "Gaslighting Abbey" and "Cousin Dupree" from the Two Against Nature CD.
I initially planned to play the CD's simultaneously and switch back and forth between them. The ERC-1's analog outputs were connected to the CD inputs on the Onkyo, and the BDP-83's analog stereo outputs were connected to Aux1 on the Onkyo. However, the level of the ERC-1 is much higher than that of the Oppo - an 8.5 db difference! This was with the Onkyo set to "Direct" or "Pure Audio" (there is not supposed to be any processing done in either mode). I also switched the ERC-1 to the Aux1 input and the Oppo to the CD input to make sure the inputs didn't have different sensitivities, and I also switched the cables between the two to make sure it wasn't the cable causing the difference in sound levels. It wasn't. The Oppo simply puts out a lower signal, and this was with the Oppo's volume all the way up.
So I played a short section on the track on one player, stopped and adjusted the volume and then played the same short section using the other player in order to compare the two.
One obvious thing - the ERC-1's remote is much more solid than the Oppo. You also have to press the keys fairly hard on the Oppo to make it work, whereas the ERC-1's keys are effortless, plus the unit responds instantly.
Now, comparing the songs: There is not a night and day difference between the two. They both sound great. Upon very careful listening and repeating sections over and over, here are my conclusions:
The ERC-1 has a little wider and deeper soundstage. There is a sense of more spaciousness but the instruments are positioned very precisely. The Oppo feels just a slight bit more compacted. The most noticeable times were when listening to the ARC choir (sounded more spread out with the ERC-1), Diana Krall (again more spaciousness) and the two tracks from Two Against Nature (Donald Fagen's voice had a little more depth and localization).
The Oppo has a slightly warmer, fuller sound. I emphasize the word "slight." I am not sure which is more accurate, the Oppo or the ERC-1 but in some cases that worked in the Oppo's favor - such as the Aja album which to me is recorded quite bright. I think this one is a matter of preference and there is hardly any difference anyway.
I preferred Diana Krall's and Esperanza Spalding's vocals on the ERC-1. They sounded just a tad more natural.
The biggest difference, and even that is not "big" to me was the relative soundstage between the two. That's the most noticeable difference. That one I feel I could detect in a blind test but the others (warmer sound of Oppo, female vocal differences) I would be hard pressed to identify which was which on a consistent basis. Both provide very detailed sound and there weren't details I heard using one that I didn't hear with the other.
The winner for me is the ERC-1 but the Oppo is no slouch. Considering it does blu ray, DVD, SACD and DVD-Audio, it is a great value. The ERC-1 is just that little bit better in sound quality and that, combined with the build quality and the fact that I like having a dedicated CD player, makes it a keeper (they're both keepers - I am like Chuckienut - neither of them are going back, I think they are both excellent).
I did preorder the USP-1 and I plan on doing the same comparison when that arrives. I don't know what the effect is if any that the high output level of the ERC-1 has on my Onkyo's analog CD inputs but I am interested in hearing the same test tracks through an all-Emo system.
