I just returned from auditioning the Cary and the Electrocompiet. They were both fine units, but I prefer the Electrocompiet. It has a transcendant, smooth sound that floats from the speakers and into a spacious soundstage. It was a bit slower than the Cary, but not sluggish by any means; just not as dynamic. The Electrocompiet sounded unlike any other CD player I've heard. It was fantastic on acoustic music, truly breathing life into the atmosphere. I also sampled some Peter Gabriel and it handled this with respect as well. It is dead quiet too and I fell in love with the space between the music as if I could see the musicians standing there waiting for the next beat. This quiet made it more alive, more real. There was also one song I heard, acoustic guitar from Africa, and the room literally came alive with the talented fingers of the player. Talk about filling a room with music!
The Cary was more dynamic, but sounded much more digital to my ears, at least after hearing the Electrocompiet. The upsampling made a difference on some recordings and not in others, and the difference wasn't necessarily better, just different. The Electrocompiet does not have HDCD and the one HDCD I brought along did sound splendid on the Cary while it sounded slightly less perfect on the Electrocompiet, but I don''t have too many HDCDs anyway (but it did sound really good and I wish the Electrocompiet had HDCD capability). The bass was tighter on the Cary, but the bass on the Electrocompiet felt more real, more balanced with the rest of the music. The drawer on the Cary also felt cheap after using the Electrocompiet's top loading system. It's too bad drawers have to be so cheap these days. I would prefer a front-loading design.
My understanding is that the Electrocompiet upsamples all the time. I also heard they are raising prices as of August 1. Comparisons have been made to the top Linn player... and the rest is history.
The Electrocompiet is a beautiful player. I'm always drawn to these unique black units. It might require top shelf placement though I intend to try one shelf below.
I'm not sure my wife wants something so visible.
This is a player that I intend to live with for a very long time (it will take that long to pay it off anyway). It's a player that makes me feel like music is something more than the sum of its parts and gives us something that satisfies the soul and makes us glad.
The Cary was more dynamic, but sounded much more digital to my ears, at least after hearing the Electrocompiet. The upsampling made a difference on some recordings and not in others, and the difference wasn't necessarily better, just different. The Electrocompiet does not have HDCD and the one HDCD I brought along did sound splendid on the Cary while it sounded slightly less perfect on the Electrocompiet, but I don''t have too many HDCDs anyway (but it did sound really good and I wish the Electrocompiet had HDCD capability). The bass was tighter on the Cary, but the bass on the Electrocompiet felt more real, more balanced with the rest of the music. The drawer on the Cary also felt cheap after using the Electrocompiet's top loading system. It's too bad drawers have to be so cheap these days. I would prefer a front-loading design.
My understanding is that the Electrocompiet upsamples all the time. I also heard they are raising prices as of August 1. Comparisons have been made to the top Linn player... and the rest is history.
The Electrocompiet is a beautiful player. I'm always drawn to these unique black units. It might require top shelf placement though I intend to try one shelf below.
I'm not sure my wife wants something so visible.
This is a player that I intend to live with for a very long time (it will take that long to pay it off anyway). It's a player that makes me feel like music is something more than the sum of its parts and gives us something that satisfies the soul and makes us glad.