HERE’S what many Emotiva Audio fans have been waiting for – the ERC-3 CD player, all set to ship from Dec 13. And given the reputation of this Tennessee, US-based hi-fi outfit for turning out audiophile products at ridiculously reasonably prices, the feature-stacked ERC-3 is unsurprisingly tagged at US$499. Actually, make that US$449, if you pre-order the player now.
Now, no need to ask why a CD player, during this period in the evolution of hi-fi. The company reasons that many audiophiles still have hundreds or thousands of CDs each in their music stash, and the brief of the ERC-3 is to elicit the best from these discs.
The fully balanced design uses the famed Analog Devices AD1955 Multi-Segment Delta-Sigma DAC, linked to Emotiva’s new Differential Reference analogue circuitry; the company claims this results in class-leading performance, on paper and in employment. Multiple isolated and well-filtered linear power supplies are used both for the analogue and digital circuitry.
The ERC-3 plays Red Book CD, HDCD, mp3 CDs and the CD layer of hybrid SACDs, and will also work as a transport alone via its digital (optical and digital) outputs. As for analogue outputs, balanced and single-ended connections are accommodated on the rear of the player.
This near-10kg machine has steel dampers on its reinforced steel chassis for additional mass loading to reduce vibration and resonance to negligible levels. A machined solid aluminium faceplate plays host to blue halo lighting on the fascia. There’s also a highly-durable, machined aluminum remote control for convenience and durability.
The ERC-3 has user-selectable universal line voltage operation for 110-120V or 220-240V AC, so no worries when shifting to exotic lands if your job so demands. Now, watch this video presentation by the Emotiva big cheese.
