[awhyu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by chillysalsa I recall reading something about others having this problem too, but it was a software issue - a firmware update was available and installed on current ones. Andrew - when was yours purchased? Have you found out about any potential firmware updates? Does it sound more like a mechanical problem when it's loading?

Hi Chilly,
Not sure, but the cd player has now gone to the point that when you load the cd in, it just doesnt want to recognise or spin the cd at all, i have inspected this from the inside by taking of the lid, and cattylink has not provided any responses of late to my problem.

I know the transport is the standard philips one and I am tempted to take it to have it serviced but it can be costly approaching 350 USD.


regards,

Andrew

 

[philodox]

Still no word from Cattylink Andrew, I'll let you know as soon as they write back. Quote:

Originally Posted by awhyu I know the transport is the standard philips one and I am tempted to take it to have it serviced but it can be costly approaching 350 USD.

This is why I would suggest getting a local DIY'er to look at it. Even if the transport needs to be replaced it should be a lot cheaper. Have you tried using a lens cleaner disc by the way?

 

[chillysalsa]

Have you tried to contact EastSound directly? Maybe they will send you a spare transport. If you lived near me, I would be glad to try looking at it for you.

philodox- do you know what the new transport version is? Have you opened yours up to check ever?

 

[philodox]

Quote:

Originally Posted by chillysalsa Do you know what the new transport version is? Have you opened yours up to check ever?

No, I am leaving it closed for now as I would like to at least have someone who knows what the hell they are talking about there when I do crack it open.

 

[awhyu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by chillysalsa Have you tried to contact EastSound directly? Maybe they will send you a spare transport. If you lived near me, I would be glad to try looking at it for you. philodox- do you know what the new transport version is? Have you opened yours up to check ever?

Noy yet, do you have any contact details for eastsound at all? Yep Phil,
I have done the clean the lens bit and at first I thought that helped but not really, the machine is totally random but now the symptons are a bit different,
if and when the machine finally detects the cd, it will then play but lets say after 1 minute and 32 seconds, the player apparently stops playing altogether and does nothing.

 

[philodox]

Sounds like something has crapped out in the transport... that sucks. I don't have an email address for Eastsound support, but I'll have a look at their website later today and see if I can find anything.

 

[chesebert]

Does eastsound support anything else besides regular cd?
SACD? HDCD decoding? I am deciding between this and Shanling S300 SACD machine. which one should I get?

 

[philodox]

The CD-E5 only reads normal redbook CD, but it does that very well. From what I've been reading, most SACD players don't play CD's all that well... but I have no personal experience with that Shanling player. I am not bothering with SACD or DVD-A myself as I have tons of CD's and there are maybe 5 SACD's that I would bother getting... might as well just get them in redbook.

 

[cris.rodrigo]

Philo,

Do you see any need for a DAC? I'm under the impression that the Eastsound has an onboard DAC and I don't know if it will allow a masterclock to slave it.

Would the cost-benefit ratio be negligble? Thanks in advance.

 

[philodox]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cris.rodrigo Do you see any need for a DAC? I'm under the impression that the Eastsound has an onboard DAC and I don't know if it will allow a masterclock to slave it. Would the cost-benefit ratio be negligble? Thanks in advance.

First you would have to find a DAC that is better than the internal one.

At the Detroit meet, I compaired the Eastsound to the Meridian's that were there [all 588's I believe] and the CD-E5 was clearly superior IMO. I did not hear it, but a bunch of guys hooked up an upgraded $800 Ack Dack to the E.Sound and everyone that listened prefered the analog outs of the E.Sound to the output from the Ack Dack. The only source that I heard at the meet that was better than mine was the $8500 Wadia CDP. But that is to be expected.

 

[CD44hi]

Quote:

Originally Posted by philodox First you would have to find a DAC that is better than the internal one. At the Detroit meet, I compaired the Eastsound to the Meridian's that were there [all 588's I believe] and the CD-E5 was clearly superior IMO. I did not hear it, but a bunch of guys hooked up an upgraded $800 Ack Dack to the E.Sound and everyone that listened prefered the analog outs of the E.Sound to the output from the Ack Dack. The only source that I heard at the meet that was better than mine was the $8500 Wadia CDP. But that is to be expected.

Whao, clearly superior to the Meridian 588? That is a major statement...

I am going to need to check that cd-e5...

Anyone here in the US has a unit??

 

[cris.rodrigo]

Not that I'm a aware of CD. I just asked Cattylink for a local distributor and I was told "not at the moment." They did quote me a price of yesterday of $798.00 shipped from overseas.

 

[MaxxC]

Thats too bad about the player. I don't have any trouble reading discs over 74 minutes. Had mine since last August and no problems. Your not going to find any dealers if you live in the states. You may want to contact Andy at Sekei. Even though you didn't get the player from him he has a service tech available that works on Chinese equipment. Another possibility is looking for ads by "Fritz the Tuner guy" over at Audiogon. He dealt with Eastsound until they pulled out of North America.

I believe the tread about the software, update may be mixing up the Eastsound with the Xindack CDP. There were some issues with the Xindack not reading discs that were resolved with updated software. The isssue with the Eastsound was trasformer failures in Europe due to slight variances between courtries on voltage. This was resolved in late 2003. Despite what Cattylink says all Eastsounds built for export since September 2003 have the upgraded transformer. Still Cattylink looks to be the best source for the E5.

The internal DAC apparantly is very good. Crystal CS4390. Same chip that is used in the Gamut CD1 MKII ($4000) and the Meridian 508.24. I'm sure Phillox remembers the thread on AA reviewing the E5. The guy ran it both with and without the Musical Fidelity Trivista DAC ($2500). The only difference he found was a little more air using the Trivista.

Phillox did you report the results of the 'shootout' on any threads?

BW Maxx

 

[philodox]

Quote:

Originally Posted by CD44hi Whao, clearly superior to the Meridian 588? That is a major statement...

Well, the Meridian was hooked up to a Headroom Desktop [with most of the Home upgrades] and my Eastsound was hooked up to my Dynahi so it may not have been the best test. However I would say that those two amps are very close and definately around the same level of performance. The Meridian sounded quite dry and did not pull you into the music in the same way that the Eastsound does. This could just be thier different presentation and sound though and I would need more side by side listening to say for sure. I do know what I like though.

 

[philodox]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MaxxC I'm sure Philodox remembers the thread on AA reviewing the E5. The guy ran it both with and without the Musical Fidelity Trivista DAC ($2500). The only difference he found was a little more air using the Trivista.

Yep, that was one of the things that motivated me to buy this player.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MaxxC Philodox did you report the results of the 'shootout' on any threads?

What shootout?