Emotiva ERC-1

concealer404

Demo is over, get your reviews in!!!!

I will update with mine by the end of the weekend.

DO be honest, please be detailed. (No "awesome cdp!" reviews.) Keep it civil. (No "EW." reviews.)

Let's get it going so everyone who's been asking for the last few months can finally get their answers!

ben62670

The Good
Very solid machine. Even better remote. Build quality is better than gear costing much more. It reads everything I loaded into it.
The Bad.
SQ is too bright on my system and forward. You would not want to use this on a bright system. Something laid back would be happy with this CDP.
The Ugly
I dislike slot loaders. Give me a tray any day.

megasat16

It's nice to be part of the ERC-1 demo group. I am glad I tried the EMOTIVA reference product since there are lots of buzz going on with low cost EMOTIVA Reference Quality Products.

I'll write up the review tonight. Don't hold your breath! If you already own EMOTIVA, just enjoy listening and don't pay too much attention to what I or everyone else said about it. After all, you may not like the reviews but you may like the player.

LessisNevermore

First of all, I want to thank Dane for putting this demo together, and keeping it organized.

Let me say, I had no expectations of this player, one way or another. I need a universal player, and I don't have room for a dedicated CDP in the rack, so a purchase was never in play.

The first thing that stood out to me was the build quality of the unit. It's very solidly put together. The 1/4 aluminum faceplate is pretty standard fare, but it really adds to the rigidity of the box. The player weighs almost 18 lbs.

The remote is really something to behold....can be used as a deadly weapon. It's a combination of an extruded aluminum body, and billet machined endcaps. Extremely solid, and the buttons have a real chrome finish. Now the buttons have a very tactile feel, and an audible 'click' when you press them. This may, or may not be to everyone's liking. It didn't bother me one way or another, but I did appreciate the solid confirmation, every time I hit a button. Another advantage, you probably won't push many buttons on accident......YMMV.

The slot-loader is different. I couldn't help but say a little prayer, that I would get back the first disk I fed it, undamaged. It's not unlike the PS3 slot loader, but there is a much more positive feel to the ERC-1's loader. It took a bit more force than I was used to, but you get used to it. It uses a clamping mechanism, rather than rollers.(which have been known to do damage) Me? I like mechanical gadgets, so I could live with it.

When I first connected the ERC-1, I used a fresh set of Monoprice IC's. Things sounded a bit brash on the highs. Cymbals had a bit of sibilance that was not welcomed by my LSi 9's. After a couple days, the sibilance went away almost completely, then I replaced them with a pair of Signal Analog 1's. Huge improvement. (duh) Once that was sorted, it was "game on". I have seen others say that it was forward sounding, that was my initial impression. (which changed) To those folks, I feel this CDP would be a fantastic match for a quality tube pre.

As I was comparing this to my Pioneer DV563-A universal player, (at this point) still using the Monoprice cables, there was not a huge audible difference between it, and the Emotiva. Once both units were fitted with the Signals, the differences were much more apparent. The ERC-1 did everything better than the Pioneer. Treble, midrange, bass(better controlled) imaging-all of it was better. These differences were very apparent to my non-audio afflicted wife.;)

Another (informal) comparison was made with a Bada HD-22 tube output CDP. After several listens, there weren't a whole lot of differences that were apparent. The imaging and sound stage was very similar. I think we came to the conclusion that the tangible differences that we could hear, were in the differences between the SS output of one, and tubes of the other. Your preference in the players, would be your preference to SS, or tubes.


The good,
Build quality, sound quality, value, very attractive, great remote, no guessing whether the unit is powered on, or not.:D Compares very well to at least 1 CDP that is almost twice it's price.

The bad,
Nothing bad to say, the nit-picky things would be whether you like bright blue lights, and a slot-loading system that was a bit noisy for my tastes. Another possible negative is the price.
At $779, I think the Bada is a good value, at $399 for the ERC-1, people with experience wonder, "what's wrong with it?". That would be a mistake, this is a very good player.

sticknstones

megasat16 wrote: »

It's nice to be part of the ERC-1 demo group. I am glad I tried the EMOTIVA reference product since there are lots of buzz going on with low cost EMOTIVA Reference Quality Products.

I'll write up the review tonight. Don't hold your breath! If you already own EMOTIVA, just enjoy listening and don't pay too much attention to what I or everyone else said about it. After all, you may not like the reviews but you may like the player.

Hi Everyone! I have been very interested in your project and thought it was an awesome idea, well coordinated and even a drawing to see who keeps the unit. Really cool of you! I spent many weeks composing my report on the ERC with many different test types. I also included configuration diagrams to make sure I was not having my AVR reprocess the signal. I think it is very important to include your configurations as part of the review to retain optimum credibility.

I have been following you all for a while and look forward to seeing your work.

Here was the review that I posted to Emotiva forum and then on AVS.

I continue to be very happy with this unit and will be buying the 2 channel USP-1 pre-processor in another week with an updated review with the addition.

My ERC-1 Review

PS: I think the creator of the new thread should do a short intro on this project so that the continuity makes sense as it will be read for a long time!

LessisNevermore

sticknstones wrote: »

I spent many weeks composing my report on the ERC with many different test types. I also included configuration diagrams to make sure I was not having my AVR reprocess the signal. I think it is very important to include your configurations as part of the review to retain optimum credibility.

I have been following you all for a while and look forward to seeing your work.

Here was the review that I posted to Emotiva forum and then on AVS.

I continue to be very happy with this unit and will be buying the 2 channel USP-1 pre-processor in another week with an updated review with the addition.

My ERC-1 Review

That's quite a review sticksnstones! Welcome.
We aren't concerned about retaining credibility with the AVS'rs, nor will we beat you up for expressing an objective opinion.;)

sticknstones

xcapri79 wrote: »

I would like to know if it is better than a good Blu-Ray player such as the Pioneer BDP-51FD or the Oppo 83, or a general purpose DVD-CD-SACD play such as the Pioneer Elite DV-49AV. In other words, is there still a place for $300-$400 single disc CD player to exist?

I will eventually own the Oppo but not yet. Others on our forum that have evaluated the ERC to Oppo BDP 83 and many other dedicated CD players seem to be amazed in favor of the ERC. I personally cannot speak for it and will share those views once I get the Oppo.:)

ben62670

Not trying to sound like a jerk, but what is with all the exclamation points? Also numbers don't equal SQ. I have an EMO CDP about 10 feet from me. My used $100 Denon 2900 smokes it across the board even when it was stock.
And yes welcome to club Polk!
Ben

sticknstones

LessisNevermore wrote: »

That's quite a review sticksnstones! Welcome.
We aren't concerned about retaining credibility with the AVS'rs, nor will we beat you up for expressing an objective opinion.;)

Thanks for the welcome! It was important to me to make sure that I was isolating the DAC on the ERC and piping it straight to my amp and speakers. With my Denon I could only do that with the External In option. The first time I did the configuration I was using CD and CD Tape inputs and the players sounded the same on AB or certainly were not night and day so out came the Denon manual and a new plan!

megasat16

sticknstones wrote: »

Hi Everyone! I have been very interested in your project and thought it was an awesome idea, well coordinated and even a drawing to see who keeps the unit. Really cool of you! I spent many weeks composing my report on the ERC with many different test types. I also included configuration diagrams to make sure I was not having my AVR reprocess the signal. I think it is very important to include your configurations as part of the review to retain optimum credibility.

I have been following you all for a while and look forward to seeing your work.

Here was the review that I posted to Emotiva forum and then on AVS.

I continue to be very happy with this unit and will be buying the 2 channel USP-1 pre-processor in another week with an updated review with the addition.

My ERC-1 Review

PS: I think the creator of the new thread should do a short intro on this project so that the continuity makes sense as it will be read for a long time!

Welcome to Club Polk! It's very interesting to read your comprehensive review. It's very well thought out, nicely written, and very well formatted.

I don't know how other reviewers in our demo group went in depth reviews but I didn't make any measurement for the frequency response for this demo. It's definitely beyond the scope of the review I am going to write. But I could provide the list of equipments used and the song tracks used in my demo.

Honestly, I have no interest to purchase the EMOTIVA CDP for my own use. I have tried many CDP, SACD and Multi-players before the ERC-1. I neither have an intention to promote the ERC-1 nor to shoot it down from what it is.

So, what I say may makes sense to some but may be utter nonsense to others. FWIW, I would suggest any reader to read the ERC-1 reviews from our demo group with a grain of salt.

Systems

megasat16 wrote: »

Honestly, I have no interest to purchase the EMOTIVA CDP for my own use.

With that awesome ML Dac/transport combo sitting in your rack I would think not.;)

megasat16

GV#27 wrote: »

With that awesome ML Dac/transport combo sitting in your rack I would think not.;)

Thanks GV! I wouldn't mind swapping them to Accuphase DP-800 and DC-801 though.

cnh

xcapri79 wrote: »

I would like to know if it is better than a good Blu-Ray player such as the Pioneer BDP-51FD or the Oppo 83, or a general purpose DVD-CD-SACD play such as the Pioneer Elite DV-49AV. In other words, is there still a place for $300-$400 single disc CD player to exist?

My ERC-1 Review

Just did a quick read through this review. It is excellent for a non-professional review.
Lots of work went into it.
Sticknstones will have to take up non-professional movie reviews too.

I would also be interested in such a comparison since I own the Pioneer (51) and, at least, on paper...it has the superior DACs?

cnh

Systems

megasat16 wrote: »

Thanks GV! I wouldn't mind swapping them to Accuphase DP-800 and DC-801 though.

Oh man Accuphase,not only are they solid on the engineering side IMO they build or have built some of the best looking audio components existant.

Systems

cnh wrote: »

I would also be interested in such a comparison since I own the Pioneer (51) and, at least, on paper...it has the superior DACs?

cnh

The dac chip itself is only part of the equation.IMO the analog section following it and the power supplies,circuit board layout etc are of even greater importance.

ben62670

GV#27 wrote: »

The dac chip itself is only part of the equation.IMO the analog section following it and the power supplies,circuit board layout etc are of even greater importance.

Made a huge difference in my Denon 2900. I guess you getter better numbers if you toxify the signal by over filtering the analog stage.

Systems

ben62670 wrote: »

Made a huge difference in my Denon 2900.

DAC or analog stage?

ben62670

Analog; sorry I wasn't very clear.

comfortablycurt

Good to hear that the whole demo process was completed successfully! Thanks again for putting this all together Dane.:)

My review time of the ERC-1 was partially ruined, so I didn't get to spend as much critical time with it as some other people did. Right at the beginning of my second week with it, I developed an ear infection in my left ear, and I was barely able to hear out of it until the end of the week. I still managed to get some good comparisons in with it though.

My associated gear was as follows...

Cambridge Audio DVD89 universal player
Acurus L10 pre-amp
Adcom GFA-545 power amp
AQ Sidewinder IC's
Polk Audio SDA 2A's


To start with, I was very impressed with the ERC-1 immediately upon it's arrival, before I even listened to it. Emotiva does a wonderful job of packing their components. Double boxed, with a secure form fitting styrofoam inserts.

The build quality of the unit is fantastic. A very attractive extruded aluminum faceplate, those dazzling blue LED's(YMMV), very solid feeling inputs/outputs on the rear.

The slot-loader was...interesting. I'm not sure if I liked it or not. It was definitely a well designed slot-loader though. Very secure feeling, and very smooth. After loading the first few CD's into it, I was no longer cringing in fear of scratching my CD's...lol That being said, I think I just prefer a tray-loader.

As others have said, the remote is very well designed, and would make a great weapon in the event of someone breaking into your house while you're doing some listening.:p The buttons are laid out intelligently, and they had a very firm feel to them.


Now...to the sound.

I was using my Cambridge Audio DVD89 universal player as a baseline for my comparisons. It's by no means a high end unit, but it is a pretty solid entry level player.

After hooking the ERC-1 up, I immediately noticed a much improved low end. Bass had a much more solid, realistic feel to it. Notes had a more natural roll off, rather than ending in a dull thump.

I felt that the high end was somewhat unsatisfying. It was a bit too forward sounding for my usual tastes, and had a touch of glare/harshness on it at times.

I felt that the ERC-1 was a pretty well balanced CDP overall. I wouldn't really go so far as to call it warm or bright...I'd say it's fairly neutral, but leans a little closer to bright than warm. It has a pretty detailed presentation...with very nice soundstaging.

It also offers a nice array of connection options. Though I didn't use them, the balanced connections are nice. It also has two pairs of RCA outputs, which is a very nice touch.


All of that being said, I've since upgraded my source. I upgraded to a Denon 2910 a few weeks ago, and it's been pulling CDP duty in my 2 ch. rig ever since. I wish that I'd had the Denon when I was demo'ing the ERC-1.

Just going by memory, I'd have to agree with Ben...the 2910 smokes the ERC-1. It has a different sound overall...it's more on the warm side, and is every bit as detailed...but is MUCH MUCH more musical sounding. It gives everything more of that edge that makes you feel like the musicians are in the room with you. The ERC-1 was somewhat sterile sounding in comparison...it just lacked that vibrance. The ERC-1 costs $400, and I paid $100 for my Denon 2910.

The ERC-1 is a very well built CDP, and is definitely a step up from a lower end DVD player/universal player. I really feel like there are much better values out there though. To my ears, my $100 Denon 2910 was a much better sounding unit. The Denon even offers SACD/DVD-A/HDCD playback...plus a plethora of other discs.

Personally, I can't really recommend the ERC-1. Not when a $100 universal player sounds better. This 2910 has managed to thoroughly impress me in the short time I've had it. It's really a well built unit, and is worth checking out for anyone in the market for a CDP in a lower price range.

apphd

Thanks again Dane, had a lot of fun being part of this!

The boring stuff:
Equipment:
Yamaha RX-V 663
Yamaha Specs
Emotiva LPA1 (16M file)
LPA1 Specs
Polk Monitor 50’s (Ran the 663 in PURE direct mode only, so nothing but the 50’s)
Polk Specs
Toshiba SD4980
SD-4980 Specs
Toshiba HD-A2
HD-A2 Specs
Emotiva ERC-1
ERC-1 Specs

CONNECTIONS:
14 gauge Wallyworld speaker wire.
I used Ben's IC’s for AVR to amp for all my demo time.
For the sake of it I also ran Ben's IC's from the Toshiba's to use their DACs as well as HDMI for the Yamaha DACs. Ran the ERC-1 strictly with Ben's IC's

CD’s played:
The Allman Brothers Band…..Hittin’ The Note
B.B. King and Eric Clapton…..Riding With The King
Heart…..Dreamboat Annie
Lynyrd Skynyrd…..Endangered Species
Nickelback…..Silver Side Up
Dan Fogelberg…..The Innocent Age (disc 1 only)
The Doobie Brothers…..Best Of The Doobies
I’m sure some could find fault with my selection of music, but I choose these for my familiarity with them, some variety of instruments, range of vocals and some decent swing in dynamics on some tracks.



This is my first attempt at a review and by no means consider myself an audiophile. So bare with me and my noob effort.
I was expecting to have this blow away what I have, and it did immediately, maybe that takes some impartiality out of this review I don’t know but I tried to keep it honest and fair.
Since I was the first to incorporate Ben’s ICs with this demo I started with those and what I use most of the time for playback the SD4980. Bought this a few years back for the ability to play VCDs my wife brought with her, actually not bad in the video dept. for the price. After a short unimpressive time with this I switched from the analog outs to HDMI. The DAC in the Yamaha spanked the DAC in the SD4980, no surprise there. The HDMI gave me better imaging and a nicer, tight and authoritive bass.

Now it was time to get down to business. Hooked up the ERC-1 with Ben’s ICs and let the fun start.

While this does not weigh in at 50 lbs, it is a solid well built gear. If you want pics of the innards :

http://www.emotivalounge.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=mediareviews&action=display&thread=5235

The slot load worked without issue, but I’m not too fond of it. Maybe over a longer time with it, or if it was mine and I was not as worried about breaking it, I would like it, but not sure on that one.
Ok here are what my impressions were. The better imaging and bass I found with the HDMI cable (Yamaha DAC) over the analog cables (SD4980 DAC) just improved even more so with the ERC-1. So again no surprise the DACs in the ERC-1 walked all over the Yamaha AVR DACs. Remember this was pure direct so no sub or any extra processing were in the equation, nothing but the Polk Monitor 50's. The imaging with the ERC-1 was very detailed, not detailed as in bright, just way better. I was not only able to locate the drums to a certain point of the stage, but each individual drum and cymbal. The sound stage became much deeper and even seemed to gain some height as well.

I can’t say I was hearing things I never heard before in these recordings but everything became cleaner, crisper and more defined and detailed. Things opened up and had more life breathed into them. The sound of fingers sliding up the neck of acoustic guitars had more of a life like sound. Almost like I could “hear” the texture of the strings the player was feeling. The noise floor is LOW I found it to be dead quite.

I am and have been in a total upgrade for a while since my 25 year old Genesis Physics 320s surrounds gave out. Picked up the Monitor 50s to hold me over until I can refoam the 320s then it was like a snowball. I decided to replace my Denon AVR 2000 Pro Logic receiver with the Yamaha and LPA-1. So I have a lot of relatively new gear that I felt wasn’t up to the sound of the Denon and Genesis Physics. I felt the weak link was the Polks, which sounded good, but didn’t expect much out of them for the price.
The ERC-1 had those Polks sounding very impressive and way better than I thought possible.
With the upgrade to the Yamaha I’m left in need of a TT pre-amp to bring my TT back into the mix. Which I wish I had for this go round with the ERC-1 while I can not say the ERC-1 can equal vinyl it closed the gap immensely compared to any other playback of a CD I have heard, which is very limited. I never knew CDs could sound this good. Because of this lack of knowledge of CDs potential I have never pursued CDPs with any big interest.

To finish up I used the HD A-2 for some playback using HDMI only. I would have liked to try Ben’s ICs and the analog out here as well, but wanted to wrap it up and get this moving. This mix gave me a slight improvement over the SD4980, but after listening to the ERC-1 it still was pathetic and not enjoyable. I probably should have done this before the ERC-1 as maybe I could have picked out more detail to the difference between the two Toshibas and the A-2 to the ERC-1.

To sum things up the ERC-1 is the best CDP I have heard (which is very limited). It has identified the weakest link in my system for sure.
Is it worth $400? I’m not sure, it seems to fall into the same category as it seems so many of the Emotiva gear does. If you do some research and shopping you could probably find something 4 to 7 years older that retailed for twice as much new, but can now be found at or even much below the cost of the Emotiva which might sound better for you. I’m very interested in what others think (that can compare it to something higher up the food chain than my gear). Especially interested in hearing how this would compare to the Oppo BDP-83 with Red Book playback as I may want to kill two birds with one stone.

pearsall001

I'll keep this short & sweet...the ERC-1 is one fine player. It's build quality including the remote (other manuf. should take note here) were first rate & really weren't expected at the players selling point. Kudo's to EMO here.

Now for the players sound quality...without getting over technical...the player simply conveyed the music in a very convincing manner. It allowed me to simply sit back in my chair & just enjoy what I was listening to. I don't know if it stood out in any one particular area, it just covered the whole audible spectrum very well & without any listening fatigue what so ever. The soundstage & imaging were very convincing. It's overall sound showed no hint of brightness, or being too laid back, it was simply just enjoyable to listen to.

Simply put, the ERC-1 is a well designed product that does exactly what it's supposed to do...get one's toes tapping & bee-bopping to the music. I think one could spend a lot more without obtaining any better results. Highly recommended to anyone looking for a new single disc player.

hearingimpared

pearsall001 wrote: »

I'll keep this short & sweet...the ERC-1 is one fine player. It's build quality including the remote (other manuf. should take note here) were first rate & really weren't expected at the players selling point. Kudo's to EMO here.

Now for the players sound quality...without getting over technical...the player simply conveyed the music in a very convincing manner. It allowed me to simply sit back in my chair & just enjoy what I was listening to. I don't know if it stood out in any one particular area, it just covered the whole audible spectrum very well & without any listening fatigue what so ever. The soundstage & imaging were very convincing. It's overall sound showed no hint of brightness, or being too laid back, it was simply just enjoyable to listen to.

Simply put, the ERC-1 is a well designed product that does exactly what it's supposed to do...get one's toes tapping & bee-bopping to the music. I think one could spend a lot more without obtaining any better results. Highly recommended to anyone looking for a new single disc player.

Phil, how did it compare to the Cambridge?

concealer404

Alright, here's mine:

Associated gear:

Pioneer DV-50A
Adcom GTP-400
Onkyo M-5150
Paradigm Esprit V.3s
Audioquest Sidewinders


I was comparing this unit directly with the DV-50A, which is the same as the DV-563A.

In terms of build quality and the remote, i'll echo everyone else. This was flawless. Heavy, solid, amazing fit and finish. Thumbs up!

The important part: How did it sound? I immediately noticed how detailed it was, very much so. It was forward, the highs were very clear, bass seemed increased, imaging was great. This was all at the lower end of my volume knob. After listening for half an hour or so, i started to reconsider my thoughts... the highs were clear, but just too harsh. I started to get a lot of fatigue, and started to notice sibilance.

I took a break, and came back and listened at higher volume, more what i would listen to if i was the only person around. I immediately started trying to figure out how to tame those highs. Sibilance was out of control, and everything was just too "in your face" for my tastes.

Comparing it directly with the DV-50A, i honestly couldn't see any pluses besides the build quality. In terms of sound? None. It's got a great "wow factor" upon first listen, but it wore off really quick for me with the harsh highs, the pervasive sibilance, and the inferior (in my opinion) soundstage and imaging. The DV-50A was warmer, sounded like it had a flatter response to me.

Verdict? No thanks, i couldn't pay $400 for it. I paid somewhat under $100 for my DV-50A and to my ears, the DV-50A walked on it. The fact that the DV-50A is a universal player is icing on the cake. I wanted to like the ERC-1, i really did... it was beautiful, looked GREAT in my rig, and even my girlfriend, who HATES this hobby was excited about me putting it in the rig. Unfortunately, she noticed the harshness as well, and was no longer happy about having it.


I'm very glad i was a part of this demo, and i appreciate Dane's work in setting this up, without this demo, i probably would have gone out and bought one of these based on looks and previous reviews seen elsewhere, and i would not have been happy with it.

pearsall001

Joe, The ERC-1 compared very, very, favorably to the 840C. Now bear in mind that the 840C cost over 1K more than the ERC-1 & is one hell of a player! At that price variance you would expect a hugh difference but it just wasn't there. I really believe that EMO spent a lot of time in the R&D of the ERC-1 to perform at such a hi-end level yet keep the cost down. They succeeded on both accounts. If I had to do it over again, I'd have a hard time justifying digging so deep into my wallet for any player at that price point when the ERC-1 is available at such a price/performance point.

Hilbert

Is it normal for the same player to get such wildly varying reviews? Or maybe does this player depend heavily on what else is in the rig?

concealer404

Hilbert wrote: »

Is it normal for the same player to get such wildly varying reviews? Or maybe does this player depend heavily on what else is in the rig?

Depends on synergy, what the rest of the rig is, and personal preferences of each reviewer. We don't all have the same ears, you know.

BlueFox

I think I was next to last on the demo, so by the time I got the unit it had been shipped all over and who knows how many times it had been thrown, dropped, etc. before I got it. Anyway, it was in one piece and showed no obvious damage. I decided to only test the player, so I skipped the cables that came with it. I did not use the remote either.

I set the ERC-1 on top of my rack over my CD player, and moved the XLR cables and power cord from my player to the ERC-1. Thus, the player was the only unknown item in the test. After futzing around I was finally able to get a disk into the slot loader, and it started playing. I listened to Bach The Art of Fugue by The Emerson String Quartet. This is a good sounding DDD recording that I also like. Since I was in a rush this is all I listened to.

I was impressed by the sound. It certainly sounded clear and accurate. I played the CD through, and then went back to the first ‘song’ and played it again. I then immediately swapped my CD player back into the system, and replayed the disk. This time the sound seemed wider, more detailed, and more pristine with my CD player.

However, my CD player retails for $1299, so maybe I ‘placeboed’ myself into thinking it sounded better.

Anyway, I cannot fault the Emo. It is a solid unit, at a modest price, that sounds great.

I can understand having a slot loader CDP in a car since some fool would use a CD tray as a Big Gulp cup holder, and complain when it broke, but I did not like it in the Emo. I always feel I am not going to get my CD back with those things.

Rest of stuff

Cambridge-Audio 840E pre-amp
Cambridge-Audio 840W amp (2)
Sony XA5400ES SACD/CD
PSB Synchrony One towers
Kimber Kable Hero XLR between all components
Mapleshade Clearview Double Helix with Plus speaker cables
Stock power cords
Panamax M5300EX power conditioner

apphd

Hilbert wrote: »

Is it normal for the same player to get such wildly varying reviews? Or maybe does this player depend heavily on what else is in the rig?

concealer404 wrote: »

Depends on synergy, what the rest of the rig is, and personal preferences of each reviewer. We don't all have the same ears, you know.

I don't think this could be stressed enough. This includes pro reviews as well. You use a collection of reviews to help narrow down the choices, but there is no substitute for in home demos with your gear and your ears. Hard to do, time consuming, and some added cost, but not impossible. Then you change something, and ..................



pearsall001, noticed you have the Oppo bdb-83, have you ever checked out what that can do with Red Book CD?

Ern Dog

Please comment on how the ERC-1 compares to the Oppo 83.

pearsall001

Ern Dog wrote: »

Please comment on how the ERC-1 compares to the Oppo 83.

I didn't have the Oppo BDP-83 when I was evaluating the ERC-1. But if my audio memory serves me well...the ERC-1 would be my choice by a long shot.

megasat16

Still writing up my review. But meanwhile, you can enjoy some slide shows.

I need help from anyone fluent in Chinese to translate the label seen in photo ERC1PIC7. In English, it said "Have not the warrant yet, not to dismantle the pack". I didn't dismantle anything but why do I need the warrant to dismantle it anyway?