Emotiva CD player a big hit so far

Early B. · May 2009

The Emotiva ERC-1 was shipped out this week to the first few customers. They have been recording their initial impressions on the Emo forum. So far the reviews have been very favorable. If you're looking a for a "reference" CDP, $399 may be a steal of a deal.

http://emotiva.com/erc1.shtm

I wonder how it performs compared to a stock Jolida. Hmmm...

Ricardo · May 2009

I don't believe in magic; you'd have to be very naive to think a $399 CDP can compete with any "reference" player.

Hopefully they won't have any QC issues with this one.

Toolfan66 · May 2009

It seems they have the amp issues they had under control, but i have read they still have issues with the PRE's and Processor's now and then not sure how true this is if so then my guess is this will be the same. But time will tell.

heiney9 · May 2009

There's that word "reference" again. :rolleyes:

apphd · May 2009

TOOLFORLIFEFAN wrote: »

It seems they have the amp issues they had under control, but i have read they still have issues with the PRE's and Processor's now and then not sure how true this is if so then my guess is this will be the same. But time will tell.

What amp issues? I wasn't aware of any common amp issues that were design related. Only quality issues like any other manufacture, as far as I know no more no less.

None of their PRE's and Processors are new releases yet. Again the only design issue I know of is the well documented LMC1 which I think even the Emo folks acknowledge was a problem laden product, which they vow to never repeat.
Yes time will tell on this and any of the new products.

Like you I think I would wait a while before jumping on a new release, just like 90% of the CE products these days. Although some manufactures do better than others.

Toolfan66 · May 2009

apphd wrote: »

What amp issues? I wasn't aware of any common amp issues that were design related. Only quality issues like any other manufacture, as far as I know no more no less.

None of their PRE's and Processors are new releases yet. Again the only design issue I know of is the well documented LMC1 which I think even the Emo folks acknowledge was a problem laden product, which they vow to never repeat.
Yes time will tell on this and any of the new products.

Like you I think I would wait a while before jumping on a new release, just like 90% of the CE products these days. Although some manufactures do better than others.

Like i said not sure how true any of this is, it's just some reading i have read online. i for one have had no issues with my Emotiva XPA-3 i like it very much. and would have no problem in purchasing anything from Emotiva. it does the job quite well in my setup. as far as my HT rig i am done for awhile. sometime down the line i wouldnt mind getting another XPA-3 and try out by/amping my A9's just for experimenting and see for my self if it is worth it. not like i would be out much if i did'nt think so the XPA-3 holds its value right now.

heiney9 · May 2009

Well, from what I've read (and granted it is the internet) it seems they have more QC issue per units sold than many other manufacturer's. But low cost, assembled in China and that's par for the course for any of these types of manufacturer's. Certainly nothing to be alarmed about.......many times there is a trade-off for low prices.

Dawgfish · May 2009

Toolfanforlife,

I highly recommended biamping your A9s. I had great luck doing so with my RTi-12s. I am currently running as set of RTA-12Bs as my front mains, because I love their musicality and have moved the RTi12s to sorround duty, so I'm not currently biamping my RTi12s. When I get a dedicated two channel pre-amp, I'm going to move the RTA-12Bs to a dedicated two channel setup and move my RTi-12s back to my mains in my home theater set-up. I will biamp the RTi-12s agian when I do this. It really brought them to life. I'm just not sure wether the improvement was due to the biamping, or just an increase in wattage, or a combination of both, but I really liked what I heard.

Steve

devani · May 2009

it will only cost around $20 to ship it back at 17.5 lbs unboxed....

Face · May 2009

Emo is to good sound as Audiohaulics is to good information.

F1nut · May 2009

Reference? Let's look at that.

Channel Separation:
Emo - 95dB @ 1kHz
Reference - 98dB @ 10Hz to 20kHz

Frequency Response:
Emo - 20Hz to 20kHz @ +0/-1dB
Reference - 10Hz to 20kHz @ +0/-0.05dB

S/N Ratio:
Emo - 100dB
Reference - 120dB

THD:
Emo - 0.01%
Reference - 0.002%

Linearity:
Emo - 0.2dB
Reference - 0dB

Jitter:
Emo - Unknown
Reference - < 150pS

Weight:
Emo - 17.5 lbs.
Reference - 43 lbs.

Well, by the specs it's clear that the Emo is not reference level. Of course, it doesn't cost anywhere near reference level and I'm sure for some that it'll be good enough, but they shouldn't kid themselves either.

Toolfan66 · May 2009

Agreed, but for someone that has to stay within a budget, i think Emo is just fine. I know they can get used gear as well that would smoke Emo, I my self am looking into that for my 2 channel rig that i am in the works of building i want to get the best i can with what money i have to spend to do these SDA SRS 1.2's justice,I can upgrade from there. at least i will be able to enjoy my SDA's till then, but for my HT setup i am just fine with Emo. I have the house thumping for an hour or two every day.

Hopefully within the next two years after i learn some more and save some more i can move up the ladder a little, but right now i just want to get my rig up and running so i can enjoy it for the time being. I could go out and rack up some credit card debt, but no thanks. i will just wait, and enjoy what i am doing for a little while, and save up for later upgrades.

One can sit and keep woundering how they can do this and do that. Hell i do it all the time, but i want to get everything going and enjoy it for awhile.

Toolfan66 · May 2009

Those are the specs for the CD player Mike

We should pull the specs for their Pre and put them next to the Yamaha.

devani · May 2009

(i am going to get a chair and some food)
yay...round 2

haimoc · May 2009

In addition, the VRMS is kind of low to me. I prefer one with a least 2 VRMS.
Output voltage: 1V rms

F1nut wrote: »

Reference? Let's look at that.

Channel Separation:
Emo - 95dB @ 1kHz
Reference - 98dB @ 10Hz to 20kHz

Frequency Response:
Emo - 20Hz to 20kHz @ +0/-1dB
Reference - 10Hz to 20kHz @ +0/-0.05dB

S/N Ratio:
Emo - 100dB
Reference - 120dB

THD:
Emo - 0.01%
Reference - 0.002%

Linearity:
Emo - 0.2dB
Reference - 0dB

Jitter:
Emo - Unknown
Reference - < 150pS

Weight:
Emo - 17.5 lbs.
Reference - 43 lbs.

Well, by the specs it's clear that the Emo is not reference level. Of course, it doesn't cost anywhere near reference level and I'm sure for some that it'll be good enough, but they shouldn't kid themselves either.

F1nut · May 2009

haimoc wrote: »

In addition, the VRMS is kind of low to me. I prefer one with a least 2 VRMS.
Output voltage: 1V rms

Thanks, you are right. I forgot to point that out.

Toolfan66 · May 2009

Hey F1,

What does VRMS stand for? what is it?

Thanks,

Larry.

Danny Tse · May 2009

Looks cool, but slot loading is a "no no" to me. Still leaning towards the Onkyo DX-7555 ($399 @ J&R). Or that vintage Technics portable CD player.

haimoc · May 2009

TOOLFORLIFEFAN wrote: »

Hey F1,

What does VRMS stand for? what is it?

Thanks,

Larry.

More info on RMS.
http://www.aqdi.com/rms.htm

Toolfan66 · May 2009

I think the BADA is the way to go. would love to have that as my new toy.

Toolfan66 · May 2009

haimoc wrote: »

More info on RMS.
http://www.aqdi.com/rms.htm

Thanks. :cool:

F1nut · May 2009

VRMS = Volts Root Mean Square

In this case, it's basically the strength of the signal feed out of the CDP to the pre amp. 2 VRMS is pretty much the standard.

Ricardo · May 2009

Here are my reference's specs. Poor in terms of content, but what's there is not bad:

SPECIFICATIONS

SACD
Format 1-Bit DSD
Sampling Frequency 2.8224MHz
Dynamic Range 114 dB
Frequency Response (-3 dB) 2Hz - 50kHz
THD 0.0009 %

CD Audio
Format 16-Bit Linear PCM
Sampling Frequency 44.1 kHz
Dynamic Range 100dB
Frequency Response 2Hz - 20kHz
THD 0.0020%

cnh · May 2009

In this price range...which inevitably will draw the 'reference' are you kidding criticism. I like the Pioneer PD-D9J Elite SACD. Less than a 1000 new...but hey, some of us have mortgage payments! And it's nice...not reference, of course. Try it, you'll like it...or you can just wait and tank up to the multi-1000 dollar player class CDP.

I heard a pretty pricey McIntosh--that sounded didn't even sound as good as the Pioneer...so take the cable, and synergy thing into consideration.

cnh

Ricardo · May 2009

Ha. The Denon 2910 that I recently got for $140:

Frequency Response:
SACD: 2Hz to 100kHz
CD: 2 Hz to 20 kHz
S/N Ratio: 118 dB
THD: 0.001%
Dynamic Range: 106 dB
Output Level: 2 Vrms

Of course specs don't mean anything.

apphd · May 2009

heiney9 wrote: »

Well, from what I've read (and granted it is the internet) it seems they have more QC issue per units sold than many other manufacturer's. But low cost, assembled in China and that's par for the course for any of these types of manufacturer's. Certainly nothing to be alarmed about.......many times there is a trade-off for low prices.

Exactly. Not sure if their QC per units sold is much different than most others since so much is manufactured in China. I don't think many companies publish those numbers. But like you said there are trade offs for low prices. Could be in the CS dept., the sound quality, the build qual. or a combination of all. It's just personal decisions on what you are willing to risk for the cheaper prices. I think most Emo customers have been happy with their purchase. Is there better out there? Yes many and much better. For the price new? The list becomes much shorter.

As far as "reference", well most companies dump a good amount of coin into marketing, which for some reason is not very up front with info.

As with all marketing take it for what it is, not what it says.

BlueFox · May 2009

Early B. wrote: »

If you're looking a for a "reference" CDP, $399 may be a steal of a deal.

I have left lower case equipment behind, and am now looking for "Reference" equipment. If I ever win the lotto I will skip "Reference", and go straight to "REFERENCE" equipment.

Toolfan66 · May 2009

I guess i just don't understand what you guys mean by REFERENCE.

Face · May 2009

Channel Separation:
Emo - 95dB @ 1kHz
DacMagic - Crosstalk @ 1kHz: < -100dB, @ 20kHz: < -90dB
840C - Crosstalk @ 1kHz: > -130dB, @ 20kHz: > -114dB

Frequency Response:
Emo - 20Hz to 20kHz @ +0/-1dB
Dacmagic - 20Hz to 20kHz (±0.1dB) - steep filter disabled
840C - 20Hz - 20kHz +/- 0.1dB

S/N Ratio:
Emo - 100dB
DacMagic - -112dBr
840C - > 113dB

THD:
Emo - 0.01%
DacMagic - THD @ 1Khz 0dBFs: <0.001% 24bit
THD @ 1kHz -10dBFs: <0.001%
THD @ 20kHz 0dBFs: <0.002%
840C - THD @ 1Khz 0dBFs: <0.0008%
THD @ 1kHz -10dBFs: <0.0004%
THD @ 20kHz 0dBFs: <0.0007%
THD @ (19/20kHz) 0dBFs: <0.0002%

Linearity:
Emo - 0.2dB
DacMagic - Not Rated
840C - @ -90dBFs: +/-0.5dB

Jitter:
Emo - Unknown
DacMagic - 130pS
840C - 130pS

Early B. wrote: »

Hell, no! I'm sure the ERC-1 will be fantastic, but haven't you heard -- tubes rule!! I expect it to be as good or better than the Cambridge Audio 840C.

Sure... Plus with 1V RMS, good luck driving a passive or any low gain components.

acsubie · May 2009

Here we go again!....i dont even have to be a psychic to already know one of these threads will pop up every time a new Emo product is released

BlueFox · May 2009

Early B. wrote: »

The Emotiva ERC-1 was shipped out this week to the first few customers.
http://emotiva.com/erc1.shtm

That is kind of neat it uses the same method as a car CD player for getting a disk in or out. Maybe that is common in home equipment, but that is the first I have noticed it. I have wondered if that method is better/worse than a tray. I do know in my car I am always getting the CD crooked or whatever trying to insert it. On the other hand, there have been times I have accidentally run the CD or DVD along the front edge of the tray drawer while inserting or removing. Fortunately, I haven't yet damaged a CD/DVD.

One point though. The web-page says it uses a "Analog Devices 1955 DAC".

A 1955 DAC!!! This is 2009. At the least, they should be using a Analog Devices 2008 DAC. :rolleyes:

Emotiva CD player a big hit so far

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