[cannedheat]

I am having no problems at all, but am curious - what transport should I buy if I need a backup? I see where the optical pickup (VAM 1202) is listed and I will likely purchase a backup, but what transport is required if I need to replace it 10 or 12 years down the road?

Thanks for the help.

 

[nytryder7]

Minding that I have not read this entire thread...Has anyone reached out to Cattylink to see if a rep. from Eastsound is willing to post here to answer the concerns of it's customers? They obivously have an oppourtunity to make sales from those who may be on the fence as to buy or not. Might be worth their time. Just a thought.

 

[philodox]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike FL I had noticed that the transport door on mine would sometimes move very slightly when powering up the CDP.

Yeah, that happens sometimes on mine and has since I got it... I've had it for nearly a year and had zero problems with the transport.

Quote:

Originally Posted by nytryder7 Has anyone reached out to Cattylink to see if a rep. from Eastsound is willing to post here to answer the concerns of it's customers?

I asked Snowy about this once and he explained that their companys policy does not permit them to post in audio forums. They are quite quick to address any issues or concerns through email though. Top notch service, no doubt.

 

[drarthurwells]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cannedheat I am having no problems at all, but am curious - what transport should I buy if I need a backup? I see where the optical pickup (VAM 1202) is listed and I will likely purchase a backup, but what transport is required if I need to replace it 10 or 12 years down the road? Thanks for the help.

Buy the Philips VAM 1202 transport - priced the same as the laser unit. The Philips VAM 1202 laser fits in it, and is the most likely part to fail - true with any CDP. Replacing the whole unit is easier than taking out the laser and replacing it, but either operation is mechanical rather than electrical, no soldering needed. I can take my transport out, take the laser out, put the laser in, and then put the transport in, in a half an hour or less.

The Philips is as reliable as any made.

As far as being shipped from China, it is air shipped, which is far less truama on the unit than truck shipment, and no cause for concern.

 

[dan_can]

I've had my E5 for about 4 months. I leave it on 24/7 and use it on average 3-4 hours a day, so far no problem at all. The only thing I noticed is that the cd drawer closes and opens with a minor jolt at the last moment.

 

[Mike FL]

Quote:

Originally Posted by philodox Yeah, that happens sometimes on mine and has since I got it... I've had it for nearly a year and had zero problems with the transport.

That's good to know. What a relief

 

[JiiEf]

Quote:

Originally Posted by drarthurwells As far as being shipped from China, it is air shipped, which is far less truama on the unit than truck shipment, and no cause for concern.

Unless you're specializing in air transport law and know more about what happens to air freight than you ever wanted to

/JF

 

[Squeek]

I've had mine since July. Zero problems. Just beautiful music!

 

[Mikey01]

Quote:

Originally Posted by philodox I asked Snowy about this once and he explained that their companys policy does not permit them to post in audio forums. They are quite quick to address any issues or concerns through email though. Top notch service, no doubt.

Yeah, I heard that they shoot any assembly line worker that makes a mistake.

 

[drarthurwells]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mikey01 Yeah, I heard that they shoot any assembly line worker that makes a mistake.

Not true. They only cut their wages from $ .25 USD to $ .20 USD.


Then they shoot them after the second mistake.

 

[drarthurwells]

To: Philodox (and others)

What IC cables do you have now on your E5 - the ones you settled on?

 

[philodox]

I'm back to using the DiMarzio M-Paths for convenience, though I am still going to give the Headphile XRS' another chance.

I may try the Oritek X-1 or X-2 in the future...

 

[Mike FL]

Quote:

Originally Posted by drarthurwells To: Philodox (and others) What IC cables do you have now on your E5 - the ones you settled on?

Hi Art, I've got River Cable Audiflex Gold Plus (Canare L-3CFB). Good solid core copper construction, good shielding, flexible and low capacitance. If you ever want to try them you can buy some at Blue Jeans Cable (make a search) for real cheap (about 30.00 USD). The ones they sell are the L-5CFB which use a bigger conductor (18 ga.) compared to the 22 ga. in mine. I'm going to save my money for some Chimera Labs Advantage II. I had some back when I had my NAD system but had to sell them because I needed the money to finance new components. Another one worth a try and not too expensive is the VH Audio Pulsar with Eichmann copper RCA's. I've tried about a dozen different brands in the last 2 years and to me, none sounded exactly the same.

 

[drarthurwells]

My bias is pure copper - less than .009 percent impurities.

The strand pattern and thickness of each strand seem to be important.

I must confess a cable ignorance, only that cheap store cable is very bad and can muddle clairity, etc.

Along these lines, someone recently emailed me about their new E5, and advice on speaker cable. Can you posters offer any advice? Here is excerpts of the email:

"I received the E5 CD Player last night and listened to it for about 3 hours through my Audiolab/Tag Mclaren pre/power amplifier and TDL RTL 3 Speakers. Fantastic machine - great timing, detail, soundstage etc. A big improvement over my Marantz CD-63 SE.

I am considering upgrading my speakers to Merlin TSMs and I wondered if you have any recommendations for good speaker cable. I currently use Nordost Flatline Biwire but I need single runs of cable as I will not be biwiring the Merlins. The manufacturer has recommended Audience Au24 speaker cable but this seems very expensive."

 

[Mike FL]

Quote:

Originally Posted by drarthurwells My bias is pure copper - less than .009 percent impurities. The strand pattern and thickness of each strand seem to be important. I must confess a cable ignorance, only that cheap store cable is very bad and can muddle clairity, etc. Along these lines, someone recently emailed me about their new E5, and advice on speaker cable. Can you posters offer any advice? Here is excerpts of the email: "I received the E5 CD Player last night and listened to it for about 3 hours through my Audiolab/Tag Mclaren pre/power amplifier and TDL RTL 3 Speakers. Fantastic machine - great timing, detail, soundstage etc. A big improvement over my Marantz CD-63 SE. I am considering upgrading my speakers to Merlin TSMs and I wondered if you have any recommendations for good speaker cable. I currently use Nordost Flatline Biwire but I need single runs of cable as I will not be biwiring the Merlins. The manufacturer has recommended Audience Au24 speaker cable but this seems very expensive."

Well the first thing I'd do if I was him would be to make a post on Audioasylum in the cable section asking Merlin owners what they use. It seems as if half the "inmates" there use Merlin or Vandersteen speakers. If he absolutely wants to go with the AU24 he can always buy it used on Audiogon and resell them without loosing anything if he doesn't like them.