Why are EMC-1 s being dumped on market?

I didn't mean to imply, having seen a bunch at the show, that it means that they must therefore be wonderful. (And if I gave that impression, which reading back I very well might have, it wasn't my intent). I'd wanted to give one a listen for a while and had never actually seen one in person, so they kept catching my eye. They all sounded fine to me but, in the course of wandering in and out of rooms with all sorts of different gear, I'm not nearly sophisticated enough to even guess what contributaion (or impairment) it may have lent to any given setup. More than anything, I was impressed by how cool they looked. Really nice. Pretty superficial, eh? But, what the heck, I went for eye candy as much as ear candy.

Mezmo, don't apologize for being attracted to the EMC-1's looks! I too did some looking for one simply because it looked beautiful. Then I found one this past January for a good price used and snatched it up. It is the best CD player I have ever owned, absolutely as good as my Marantz SA-1 SACD player, which also sounds good. If you can find an EMC-1 for below $2500, GRAB IT. You will NOT be disappointed. You will be able to upgrade it to the supposed EMC-2 for under $1000, I am told, if you want to upgrade. I a/b'd the EMC-1 with a couple of other CD players and my Linn LP-12 turntable, all playing the same tracks of a Springsteen and Smiths album or CD or dubbed CD and could not believe how much like the LP the EMC-1 sounded, except with tighter bass. I was happy to have gotten mine for what I thought was a good price, $2800, in January. Now I could have saved another $500 on it!!
Find one and smile all the way to your listening chair.

Electrocompaniet is much too small of a company and too low key to supply other manufacturers with $4000 CD players. Also, the stakes are too high at a high profile show like the Home Entertainment Show or CES to use a mediocre source. Rest assured, if a manufacturer is using any Electrocompaniet component at a show, it was purchased with their hard earned dollars because they feel it suits their needs best.

Big mistake, I waited and waited for the digititis to disappear. I posted at different sites and found others who had same problem. We eventually all sold them and regretted the loss of money. BTW, the fit and finish is not good, the blue light on front (no switch like Meridian) cannot be turned off. Tacky VERY BRIGHT and experienced companies know it interferes with sonics. Lost a lot of money. No one with a good system would like this, if you have a soft, rolled off and undynamic system, maybe it's passable. Otherwise, believe me, if you have revealing high end equipment you will be sorry. BTW, the original Stereophile advert had two separate power cords, the release model one. One of the worst aspects is the fit and finish, pebble grain spatter paint job on steel...the latter adds the weight to the machine. Compare to the Meridian in te same price range for quality control and fit and finish. To tell the truth, Muse/Resolution--two other 24/96 chip sets from DVD technology are just as bad. This is not upsampling though the adverts are deceptive on this matter. It's just the same old DVD chip set on my Toshiba DVD...and sounds like it. I had a friend who had that chip put into his Cal Alpha "upgrade"--many threads of disappoint can be found on the web on this botched update. Everyone seemed to want their old Alpha back,reverse engineering, the bloom was gone from the rose. I would generally stay away from the whole 24/96 fiasco. It came too soon,players (BAT< Meridian, and ARC CD2) were reaching their heights of sonic excellence and we took a step backward. The Sony ES9000 the latest bummer, Audioasylum can be searched for reports. Burn in more the advocates say, but how long....forever? They just don't sound right. After 3 months continuous playing I sold the Sony (my third after a late model ES7 series (not as good as earlier ES series, and the 777, also "needing more burnin) and the EMC 1. 2nd tier of good used redbook include anything by Linn and Naim. 3rd tier would be the Arcams and the Regas. Seems the price point retail for a great little redbook was about 4-5 thousand--anything Brit and throw in BAT & ARC at this price and you've got a winner. Surprisingly, the most dynamic of all (read HiFi New, What HIFi or Stereophile) is the little Meridian. Surprisingly detailed (5 stars in Brit mags with special mention for its detailing) yet oddly in US (Stereophile, Planet, etc) it is seen as warm and detailed. Just a winner. A keeper for used $2500 with large remote. Absolutely no digital artifacts. Period. Even beats the wonderful BAT on that. BAT is my second favorite. Best is the expensive Linn.

For what it's worth, I have listened to the Electrocompaniet a fair amount. I find it to be a wonderful CD player. A very smooth sound, nice soundstaging, commendable heft and weight. We all have different tastes and leanings, and should report them. If someone finds this player to sound poor, by all means, share it with us. Just that I cannot fault the player's sonics or build.