Electrocompaniet CDP

Davt,

"I like the unit, it integrates well into my system and looks great but there are many choices out there and this is not a player the graces the american reviewers desk much"

Can i ask which players that you refered to as "many choices out there". Did you compare them with the EMC-1 UP? I also own the EMC-1 UP AND I also like vinyls. I listen to them both. I don't think you can compare the sound of EMC-1 to the vinyl sound although a lot of people claimed that the EMC-1 was one of the most analog sound CDP's. Which CDp are you owning now? Maybe this is the good point to start with.

Dungn, I currently have an Arcam FMJ33. I have heard the FMJ36 in my system, an esoteric, (forget the model, was one of the lower end if that can be applied to esoteric and a universal). These were in my system with the dynaudio special 25's. I have also heard in different system the Naim CDx2, liked it a lot, CDx5, also nice but not the CDx2. I have also listened the an Ayre 7, if forget all the numbers and letters but it was not the newest Ayre upgrade. There are many very good CDP's out there. I tend not to favor the super detailed, airy, sound but prefere a more warm, liquid, detailed sound. Listen to rock once a month or less, chamber music, acoustic jazz, acoustic music, guitar, cello stuff like that. I play the cello as well and want the instrument to sound like a wood cello if it is wood, not a carbon cello. I must say that if the Electro had a strong dealer network, established distributor and a track record of excellent customer service I would probably keep the ECM-1. The dealer network and distributor are changing, and I would not want to be out in the cold with service issues in a few years. I don't know that Electrocompaniet is anything but supportive but I really don't know much about them. Sorry for the long reply. And yes, I did send an e-mail to the new distributor, haven't heard back yet and will discuss the above with my retailer. Thanks.

Your liquid vs. air comment makes me think you might prefer the sound of a non-oversampling(aka NOS, not to be confused with New-Old-Stock tubes) dac. They tend to have less emphasis on leading edges of notes, and more on decay. Translates to less detailed, but often more natural sounding. Many players and dacs are designed this way. Cheers,

Spencer

Thanks for the suggestion of the NOS DAC. I have not considered a new dac as I am very conservative about adding things to the system but this may be the way to go. I did have a conversation with Red Wine Audio on their Isabellina and that may be a great addition to my Arcam. I also got a wonderful e-mail back from World HiFi, the new distributor of Electrocompaniet and it was a complete and sincere address of many of my concerns. I think that for tonight I will just sit back and listen to the Viking sing and worry about spending money tomorrow. Thanks again for your comments and advise. PS, if anyone has experience with the Isabella or Isabellina I would love to hear from you. They really appeal to my 75% Italian blood. (25% Norwegian, probably why I like the Electo?)