[BryanP]

Thanks for the review Hatmann! Might definitely look into the Emotiva since the Marantz is quite old and will eventually need replacement soon.

 

[Hatmann]

For those who are interested, here's the the Emotiva Audio user forum site.....I'm not registered, but I've found it useful and entertaining.

The Emotiva Lounge - Home

This company does good work. The products are not just for audiophiles on a budget but for anyone looking for top-notch sound and well-made products at a reasonable price.

I see that the CD player is temporarily out of stock; it seems that consumers have noticed that this is an extraordinarily good product as well as an extraordinarily good deal.

 

[tourmaline]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hatmann /img/forum/go_quote.gif For those who are interested, here's the the Emotiva Audio user forum site.....I'm not registered, but I've found it useful and entertaining. The Emotiva Lounge - Home This company does good work. The products are not just for audiophiles on a budget but for anyone looking for top-notch sound and well-made products at a reasonable price. I see that the CD player is temporarily out of stock; it seems that consumers have noticed that this is an extraordinarily good product as well as an extraordinarily good deal.

It makes me think;

if the emotiva is that close to the oppo, wich is much more expensive and you'd mod the heck out of it for a couple of hundred dollars/euro's, how good would it be.

My consensus is that there isn't really that much of a difference in the digital realm but the huge differences can be made in the analog section, with better caps, resistors etc...I bet it can beat the oppo, for the price + mods!!!

 

[tourmaline]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SoupRKnowva /img/forum/go_quote.gif Yup and will supposedly be using the same AD1955 dac chip that is in the ERC-1, though from what i gathered in the forum, it will be just one chip, not two or four. But as far as sigma delta dac chips go, this one is multibit and supposed to be one of the better ones.

Some older cdplayers with multi sigma dac's still sound very good, especially when modded. If i understand well, these sigma delta dacs are not as sensative as their clocks are under a certain standard value, so not an immediate need for clocks changing and stuff.

 

[Hatmann]

Here's a user review I found pitting the Emotiva vs the regular Oppo 83:

Emotiva ERC-1 CD Player --- Review - Audio & Video Equipment Forums

 

[Fidelity Castro]

Is it possible to use the Emo ERC as DAC like the Cambridge 740c or 840c ?

 

[Keithpgdrb]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fidelity Castro /img/forum/go_quote.gif Is it possible to use the Emo ERC as DAC like the Cambridge 740c or 840c ?

I dont believe there is any usb input to use the dac. so no, I dont believe you can use the dac alone.

 

[Fidelity Castro]

Ah ok, thx. With a DAC feature this piece would be a no brainer because there´s non of such Player on the Market in this pricerange and buildquality. reading in their forum i´ve found out that emotiva will release a dac in july or so, based on their cd player. Buying just an only cd player for me would be senseless, i have my stuff ripped on my media htpc anyway and the only reason i would "need" a cd player would be to hear the discs friends com along with who are not into pc and ripping stuff yet. PC DVD roms are just annoying for playback beeing loud as hell and high end pc audio programs like cMP² just not even feature playback from disc

I think that cd only players in these times are just outdated and the feature will show that there will be mostly dac´s with cd transport capability build in or complete units even with amplifiers like the naim unity beeing usable as a dac...

 

[sokolov91]

Are the outputs "truly balanced"? Say I wanted to start a "budget" balanced setup, is this what I am looking for? Or does it just offer XLR connectivity and not true balance?

 

[tourmaline]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sokolov91 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Are the outputs "truly balanced"? Say I wanted to start a "budget" balanced setup, is this what I am looking for? Or does it just offer XLR connectivity and not true balance?

There are at least 3 or 4 types of balancing, te only correct version would be balancing directly on the powersupply...This is also the most expensive version.

I dunno if the emotiva uses this or another variaty...we ned better pictures for that to see.

 

[Hatmann]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tourmaline /img/forum/go_quote.gif There are at least 3 or 4 types of balancing, te only correct version would be balancing directly on the powersupply...This is also the most expensive version. I dunno if the emotiva uses this or another variaty...we ned better pictures for that to see.

I'm not sure what you want to know about the balanced outputs, but I've had good experiences getting technical information from both the Emotiva and Oppo customer service people. Why not contact them and post the answers to your questions here.

FWIW, I'm using the Emotiva in balanced mode with Emotiva's own X-series balanced cables ($70 a one-meter pair). The cables are very well-made at a decent price. The sound, as noted, is everything you could want.

 

[tourmaline]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hatmann /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm not sure what you want to know about the balanced outputs, but I've had good experiences getting technical information from both the Emotiva and Oppo customer service people. Why not contact them and post the answers to your questions here. FWIW, I'm using the Emotiva in balanced mode with Emotiva's own X-series balanced cables ($70 a one-meter pair). The cables are very well-made at a decent price. The sound, as noted, is everything you could want.

There is a dac comming from emotiva and they want it to be fully differential balanced. Most are, as i said before (by the way not the best method, but often used)transformer coupled, wich means there is one step extra in the balancing stage as opposite to fully differential balancing where you carry 2 opposite signals, canceling out eachother! This is the best method, but unfortunately not very often used...

Some guy from emotiva said in their forum that it should be feasable to make a fully differential balanced amp for 300 quit-ish...So that might be a dac to keep an eye on.

 

[Hatmann]

I believe that guy is their chief engineer.

 

[tourmaline]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hatmann /img/forum/go_quote.gif I believe that guy is their chief engineer.

For that kind of money you'd easally could mod the heck out of it and still save money!

 

[Hatmann]

I guess you could mod just about anything, but why are you already talking about moding the as yet unreleased DAC? The stock Emotiva cd player already is a winner, IMO.

I tried it for 30 days and couldn't bring myself to send it back. And I already had the exceptional Oppo SE as well as the outstanding Arcam FMJ.

If I were looking for a DAC, this would certainly be on my short list.