[13D3Mullard]

Quote:

Originally Posted by drarthurwells /img/forum/go_quote.gif I have a standing offer to fix any E5 free of labor charge (Cattylink sends me free parts for units under waranty). I have not had to fix one or supply parts now for over three months - the E5 is totally 100 per cent reliable. The last one that seemed to be bad turned out to be a cable problem (not a cattylink cable) and not an E5 problem.

I have to thank Arthur and Snowy Lane of Cattylink, and many other members of this list for trying to help me with the problem I had with an E-5.
This was a second-hand European model that was just over a year old.

Snowy lane could tell from the series N° that it had the old optical preamp on the transport.

After leaving it on repeat for one night, as it seemed to me that the player, just hadn't opened up yet. I got a "no disc" reading.
Switching off a few times brought the player back to life.

The next day however, the "no disc" reading reappeared. I cleaned the laser moved the transport about, and still no success. The machine was blocked on "no disc" it seemed terminally.

I knew I could try changing the transport, but I had had the machine less than a week. After much hesitation, I decided to post it back to the owner.
The owner on arrival found that the machine was working again!

I am no novice in hifi, I really did try everything to get this player back to life. My impression is that the repeat order for burning-in began to reveal a weakness in the player's optical preamp.

Has anyone had a similar experience. I am very embarassed, and put in a rather rediculous position in relation to the previous owner.

I advised him that he should change the Optical-preamp any way, if he does not want this problem to return.
What is your opininion?
Regards
Anthony

 

[philodox]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 13D3Mullard /img/forum/go_quote.gif I have to thank Arthur and Snowy Lane of Cattylink, and many other members of this list for trying to help me with the problem I had with an E-5.

*cough* That's Snowy Law...

Glad to hear that you worked out your problems.

 

[13D3Mullard]

Quote:

Originally Posted by philodox /img/forum/go_quote.gif *cough* That's Snowy Law... Oh, I wrote to him as Snowy Lane. I rather liked that name, a pity if it is not correct. Glad to hear that you worked out your problems.

Unfortunately, not really. I still don' know why this happened. I sent the machine back, if that is a solution. I never was able to see whether the Esound was as good as it is said to be. Although, it was a year old, it seemed congested as though it had been left unused for a long time. I only had it working for about 5 days, and in that time it did not sound right.

It was lacking brilliance in the top to mid, and also lacking in detail.
I wonder whether this would have developed, or whether a failing optical preamp could have a bad effect on the sound.

There could be a question of compatibility between components.

There are so many good posts about this player, and I had direct contact with some hifi testers for web journals who also told me how good the machine is for the money. I am therefore disappointed that I was not able to reproduce this.

I am left in doubt, and wonder whether I should try something else.

There is one area where I have a feeling that personal taste might come into play, and that is with upsampling.

I think this player uses upsampling. I have been using a very old CD player which is but 16 x 2 (early Sony). It stands on a huge PSU : transformer, schottkky diodes, choke + Caps + choke.

All the records that were good with this player were slightly bloated with the Esound. All the records that were a little thin on the Sony were closer to being right on the Esound. It is as though the upsampling was adding some sort of additional texture.

In fact I cannot state that this is the explanation; but I would very much like to make a systematic comparison, between Upsampling and NOS to see if this is indeed what I am describing.

I am now thinking of looking at NOS players, even if this is not the reason.
I would even consider buying an antique Revox if I was not afraid of the laser failing.

Why oh why can't CD systems be like LP systems? You get a good LP system and you can keep it for ever (almost). You get a reasonable CD player (I don't think there are any really good ones, at least, not up to LP standard) and you can't keep it beyond 5 to 10 years maximum.

I suppose that is progress.

Just listen to a mono LP on a Garrard 301 with a meagre SME 3012 and a Pierre Clément cartridge (all from the 50s) and you will never find any CD player to touch that fantastic combination. The cartridge tracks at 6 gms but singers, in particular, seem to step into your room.

This is not a criticism of the Esound, just my general impression about CD.
It is quite possible that my Esound, never reached its full performance.

 

[bdh]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 13D3Mullard /img/forum/go_quote.gif Has anyone had a similar experience.

I got the "No Disc" error three times. The first time I sent the player to Mr. Wells and it worked fine for him. I had him send it back and it soon stopped working for me again. I sent it again and he sent me his player in return. A month later his developed the same problem. He sent me a replacement transport mechanism. A couple of months later that one failed also and I exchanged it for another transport. That one has worked now for about 10 months or so just fine. I'm still crossing my fingers.

 

[philodox]

12D3Mullard - That will teach me not to read the whole post.

Strange that it would be working again when recieved by the original owner. I wonder what could cause such an inconsistancy?

Quote:

Originally Posted by bdh /img/forum/go_quote.gif I got the "No Disc" error three times. The first time I sent the player to Mr. Wells and it worked fine for him. I had him send it back and it soon stopped working for me again. I sent it again and he sent me his player in return. A month later his developed the same problem. He sent me a replacement transport mechanism. A couple of months later that one failed also and I exchanged it for another transport. That one has worked now for about 10 months or so just fine. I'm still crossing my fingers.

Wow, talk about bad luck.

 

[drarthurwells]

One guy had his E5 not work right - worked fine for me.

He then discovered something faulty in the AC wiring in the room he had been using it in - discovered this when it worked for him in another room. He had the wiring in the bad room redone.

Sometimes they get out of sequence - the tray opens when it should close, etc. Leave tray open, turn it off, then manually close the tray, then turn it on and the tray should open by remote command and then close on command. Some have noted that the tray moves slightly sometimes when you turn the E5 on. I think ths is re-sequencing itself correctly.

Many no disc reading problems are caused by a rubbing faceplate as the tray closes into the body of the E5. This rubbing can prevent the tray from fully seating even though visually it appears seated. The laser is not positioned correctly to read unless the tray is fully seated.

If you have a reading problem remove the face plate (it can be pulled up from the tray end)) and if it now reads correctly then the face plate is rubbing (sand the rubbing edge).

Finally, talk to your E5 at times. Tell it what a great job it is doing and how much you love it.

If your are sincere, positve wave forms will emanate from your brain and envelop your E5 in a protective light that will prevent malfunction.

The granite slab also does this and should be kept on top of your E5.

 

[13D3Mullard]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bdh /img/forum/go_quote.gif I got the "No Disc" error three times. The first time I sent the player to Mr. Wells and it worked fine for him. I had him send it back and it soon stopped working for me again. I sent it again and he sent me his player in return. A month later his developed the same problem. He sent me a replacement transport mechanism. A couple of months later that one failed also and I exchanged it for another transport. That one has worked now for about 10 months or so just fine. I'm still crossing my fingers.

Thank you for this message. I was really beginning to feel I had been imagining things. The seller was someone on my lute playing-list with whom I had communicated frequently and very pleasantly, so I was also very embarassed to have to send the machine back; and for it be working again when he finally received it, made me look a complete fool.

 

[Mike FL]

Quote:

Originally Posted by drarthurwells /img/forum/go_quote.gif Finally, talk to your E5 at times. Tell it what a great job it is doing and how much you love it. If your are sincere, positve wave forms will emanate from your brain and envelop your E5 in a protective light that will prevent malfunction. The granite slab also does this and should be kept on top of your E5.

LOL.

Forget the granite slab though. The E5 prefers a soft pillow to a heavy piece of rock.

 

[Mike FL]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 13D3Mullard /img/forum/go_quote.gif I am left in doubt, and wonder whether I should try something else.

Your E5 sounds like it definitely had a problem. I would never say this machine is lacking in detail retrieval. In fact, to me it's the exact opposite. It's only as good as the other components in the system. After having swapped amplifiers 3 times with this machine, I can tell you that the sound is totally different from one amp to the other when using the same CD player. I'm using a Cayin 265Ai now and it sounds nothing like it used to with the Portal Panache I used to have or the NAD C370. I used to think the E5 was recessed in the midrange until I paired it with the Cayin. I didn't believe in dedicated power lines either until I tried it myself. I would never go back to a shared line again.

Still, if you think the E5 is not your cup of tea you could try the Rega Appollo which is in the same price range (used) or perhaps a Music Hall CD25 modified by Underwood for about a grand. Good luck in your search.

 

[Black Duck]

Apropos of nothing in particular, I just came back to this thread while looking for upgrades.
I have had my E5 signature (love that black case) for a little over 6 months now and had no problems with it whatsoever.
Probably just as well, as the closest I get to Florida is a Jimmy Buffet album

I would definitely not say it was lean in the midrange.
It is a little lower in detail resolution than my heavily modded Marantz CD52SE MkII - this I put down to the clock (Marantz is reclocked)
Bass is fuller and deeper and it exhibits less sibilance.
Having just listened to Von Karajans Mahler 9th I find the soundstaging and dynamics pretty darn good and playing back through a valve amp and single driver transmission line speakers it exhibits very little of the digital harshness that this system reveals quite mercilessly.
FWIW I rarely turn it off, usually only to change I/C's or rearrange equipment.
If anything, it seems to be improving still.
Not quite up to my analogue front end, but more than acceptable.
I do think I will re-clock it and perhaps some hexfreds in the PS.
The granite slabs are on the floor in front of the TL vents and seem to improve their bass a little.
Think I would need to spend 3 times the price to gain much noticeable improvement.
Thanks to all in this thread for all the info and Cattylink for excellent service.

 

[Rameish]

Has anyone compared the signature version vs the stock version? Other then the colour and some parts used what are the sonic differences via RCA outputs.

Am thinking about geting the signature version now. Have the non-signature version and it's quite a good CDP.

 

[Mike FL]

I found this recently while browsing the audiocostruzioni website. It's a review of the Signature Edition in TNT. It's recent (February 2007). They loved it (and that's an understatement). By the description and layout, there doesn't seem to be much difference with the E5 regular edition. They mention analog research silver cabling (Analog Research silver SE).

The sound is probably very similar if not equal. I'm not sure I share the writer's review about the sound signature of the CDP concerning the midrange. Maybe it's the Electrocompaniet amplifier it was paired with. The midrange on mine sounded "understated" until I swapped my amplifier. Anyway, it's a good read.

Also, apparently the CD player is High-Fidelity online product of the year 2006.

http://www.audiocostruzioni.com/r_s/...-signature.htm

http://www.tnt-audio.com/sorgenti/esound_e5se_e.html

 

[Asterduc]

Esound European version for sale. Unit as new, fully functional.

If somebody is looking for a slightly used second hand European version.
I put mine for sale.

I have been very happy with it, but switched it for a much more expensive Primare CD31 because of the tighter bass, which I love more.
I must admit that the midrange, the top end and the sound depth aren't better than the Esound, but it is the bass that let me decide to go that way.

My Esound is a silver version.
It has a modified Tent Clock inside, but that can be taken out and replaced by the original clock as I modified it through a DIP socket, so this is plug & play to switch the Clock. Honestly said, this Clock improved the sound with no doubt. This is the best tuning investment for your Esound.

the unit is in working condition, no problems whatsoever. And to be honest, I don't expect any in the near future.

What I offer is:
- the Esound E5 European Edition , standard with Remote and original box and silver fuse: 600 Euro
- Tent Clock (installed) with the original added seperately: 100 Euro
- Tent Power Supply (I never installed it, still in box): 50 Euro
- Spare Philips VAM 1202 Transport with additional second Laser unit: 100 Euro
- Plexi cover plate: 20 Euro


The unit is available from Belgium.
Shipment Prepaid (at cost) can be arranged through courrier (UPS, DHL, Postpackage).

For Germany and the Netherland, I could deliver it myself during a business trip. Contact me for details.

The unit is in top condition, no damage, no errors, no scratches.

asterduc@scarlet.be

 

[fajimr]

hi everyone.... first post here- I hang out at audiocircles but this thread seems to be the definitive one for the Eastsound.

I've been enjoying mine for sometime now (Esound--> BelCanto Dac2 -->AKSA Lifeforce 55 --> Ellis 1801b... soon to have an AKSA Gk1 tube preamp in there too once I get it built)....

my question- I notice that there is a definite hum from the Esound. I can only hear it from close up and it doesn't seem to permeate the music... I've heard of this issue before in a search but no remedies. Anyone have insights for me?

I have the NorthAmerican model, a little over a year old now.

thanks
jim

 

[maxous]

Hello ,

I have mine for more than a year now and no hum at all , but my transport failed last month ... a quick change with the first class help of Drarthurwells
and everything is ok now.
Could you tell me : How much is the Bel Canto dac2 better than the E5 ?
( I have an opportunity on a used one ) .