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Anyone have the Emotiva ERC-1 CDP?

MWalt

MWalt

Super Member
I was looking into buying a better CDP than the one I have currently or even possibly upgrading with a better DAC. Anyone have the Emotiva ERC-1 CDP?

Is it comparable to a say a Rega Apollo or a Cambridge Audio 550C or a NAD 545BEE?

I am currently using an Onkyo DX-C390 CD changer with a Gigalab/moon DAC. Is the Emo a lateral move or a nice upgrade?
 
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Mark,

I think there is an Emotiva forum. But, they may not be unbiased.

Am unfamiliar with your DAC, so can't comment on it what an upgrade might be.

Scott
 
If you can find a used OPPO player, they are universal players that do SACD and DVD-audio too. Have been rated pretty well for the price in recent years.
 
I do own an ERC-1 and love it but have not heard the Rega or Cambridge players so unfortunately I can't answer your question.

I have done listening tests between the ERC-1 and a Pioneer Elite DV-47A dvd/sacd player and cannot hear a difference between them.

I've also compared it to a Pioneer Elite PD-59 cdp and the ERC-1 has a nice warm sound, yet still extremely detailed, compared the PD-59. The PD-59 seems to have a slight harshness that I do not hear with the ERC-1.

Hope this helps.
 
BmWr75 said:
If you can find a used OPPO player, they are universal players that do SACD and DVD-audio too. Have been rated pretty well for the price in recent years.
Click to expand...

Scott, my question is somewhat based on helping me decide whether I am going to buy another CDP or a better DAC. I am looking at that very versatile Grant Fidelity DAC 09.
 
Mark,

Stereophile has recommended two affordable DACs in recent history: Cambridge Audio DacMagic and Music Fidelity VDAC. I bought two DacMagics based on this recommendation. Don't have "golden ears", but they sound good to me.

Here's another option and you get a headphone amp to boot.

Scott
 
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I was looking for a new CDP in 2009. I have a Denon DCD 1560 that I bought new in 1992. I thought it was time to look for a new cdp as the Denon was older technology and I thought I'd check to see what was out there to fit a $1000 budget. Since the Denon build quality was excellent, I decided to chek out DACs too. So I did an extensive in home auditioning of five CDPs/DAC.

The Emotiva ERC-1 $400.00
The Rega Apollo $995.00
Music Hall - DAC 25.3 $595.00
YBA Design YC201 $1500.00/special purchase at Music Direct $850.00
Rotel RCD 1520 $1000.00

All the units but the Emotiva and YBA were new and I broke them in for 100 hours. Other units were display units that the shops lent out.

I used the following music cds:
Kind of Blue, Miles Davis
Tokyo 96 Live, Keith Jarrett
Blue Country Heart, Jorma Kaukonen
Works for Me, John Scofield
Union, Hobgood, Torff, Wertico
Sweet Tea, Buddy Guy

Emotiva ERC-1
Nice heft and build quality. Slot load mechanism with blue halo light is cool looking. On my unit the slot has a tendency to catch sometimes. It is picky on how you load the cd. I let it play 100 hours constantly to break it in just in case that was an issue. Sound is forward on my system. Very detailed. Very poor staging. Found it fatiguing after a short time.

Rega Apollo
Build quality seems ok. Not really something Rega is trying to sell here. I like the top load design. Very detailed. Nice staging. A little fatiguing after awhile.

Music Hall DAC 25.3
Nice Build quality. Very smooth sound. Not fatiguing at all. Not as detailed as he other players. Overall I liked it a lot.

YBA Design YC201
Nice build quality. Hefty player. Beautiful design. Tray unit. Buttons in front look like a potential achilles heal as they are light touch, but a tad wobbly. Very detailed, great soundstage, mids are awesome. Packs some punch. Great to listen to and beautiful to look at.

Rega RCD1520
Looks like it's built in the same factory as the Emotiva with the silver front, slot load mechanism and blue light. Slot loading was flawless. Very musical, great soundstage. Really nice relaxed player.

It came down between the the YBA and Rega. I got to audition them both over a long weekend. My decision was totally based on best sound to me in my current set up(see below). I ended up selecting the YBA Design YC201. There was just more there there, if that makes any sense. Plus the looks of the YBA are a sweet bonus.

I hope this helps. It pays to be able to audition in your own set up. Living in the Chicago area is nice, as all the stores understand auditioning equipment before you buy. I do like the sound of my system to be a little laid back.
 
I recently bought an Emotiva, about 5 months ago. It replaced an old Sony DVP (DVD, SACD, CD). I haven't heard many high end CD players, but the Emotiva was a huge improvement over the Sony. The instruments are more definable and there is much more space in the overall soundstage. The Sony kind of homogenized everything. I don't find it fatiguing at all, and I do have listening sessions that last a couple of hours. The fatigue that Dandd was hearing can also be because of a lack of synergy with his other components. Not to say his components are bad, but just some equipment doesn't match well with other equipment.

Who knows, the higher end CDPs might sound much better, but I'm happy with my purchase for now. I've kind of transitioned to vinyl recently, so the Emotiva is basically for the CDs I already have. It's worth giving it a shot for such a low price. I think Emotiva let's you try it out for 30 days and if you don't like it you can return it.

Hope that helps.
 
I can listen to the ERC-1 all day long, and I have, and I do not experience fatigue. But as we all know, we all hear differently so your mileage may vary.
 
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