Emotiva Audio Precision Cd Player and Transport Home CD Player Black (CD-100)

Well, what I didn't like about EMOTIVA 's ERC 3 CD player has pretty much been eliminated in the CD-100. The layout of the 100 is identical to the ERC 3, but in a smaller profile. The tray and Transport is quick and quiet, unlike the 3, which I did own for awhile before sending it back.The new Remote is a very elegant black plastic thing that doesn't weigh 2 pounds!!Extremely well laid out and easy to use. Others have complained about it not being backlit, but it's so simple that I got the buttons I use memorized pretty quickly. And the buttons are a logical size, their not tiny, so the Remote gets an A from me.Even though there are few buttons on the front panel, the EMOTIVA team engineered them smartly and logically, for example, when playing a disc, it I want to 'scan' forward or reverse I push the appropriate button once and it scans at a fast rate, but I can scan even faster by pressing the scan button up to two more times, the scan speed getting faster with each push. And it will keep scanning until I push the play button, which then puts the CD back into play mode. Very Cool and we'll thought out!The display is beautiful Blue and is big enough to be legible from across my living room, about 10 feet, and it can be set to 4 different levels of brightness, including totally Off.When you load a CD and push the close button, after the player reads the God it automatically starts playing the disc. As another reviewer said he thought this was Stupid and he hated it. But we're all different and personally I find it a Nice Feature as I don't have to wait for a CD to load and then push the play button, I like this! But again, to each his own.Now let's get to the sound quality of the CD-100.Tremendous! Very LP/Analog sounding. Even playing a totally Brickwalled mess of a CD like The Rolling Stones Some Girls, the harshness heard on my other players was not as grating when played on the 100. Impressive.On the Blue Note CD Jimmy Smith Retrospective, disc 3, starting with 'The Sermon' the soundstage and detail and Air around the instruments was at a level, I've never heard before. It amazed me the detail and sheer Fidelity I was heading on a $300 player, unheard of.Let's pause for a moment so I can list the different CD players I've owned:Onkyo 7030- $200Onkyo 7070- $700ERC 3 - $500Marantz CD 6005 - $500Marantz CD 5004 - $349And the list goes on, so that's what my experience is with recent players.On the Jimmy Smith disc, I discovered something no other player brought out......the annoying live mixing of the instruments, especially Jimmy's B3, up down, up down, it comes through so clear in this 3D sound stage that I just marvelled at what the CD-100 was reproducing.Bass is full and fast and tight. Neither bloated or thin.Midrange and treble, again, the most clear and Analog sounding of any CD player I've heard.The Piano and Cymbals on Brubecks 'Blue Rondo' are just stunning, the ringing decay of the cymbals especially are incredibly real.So all in all a very nice Kit at a laughably low price.The build quality is like Oppo, tank comes to mind, no cheap plastic front, hell, even the Feet are big compared to the dinky little pieces of stick on rubber most manufacturers put On their equipment nowadays. All around EMOTIVA nailed it with this one.Gerard Masters

I am a novice audiophile (listening mainly to classical music), and I don't have a high-end set up, but this is a clear upgrade from the sound I received from a good bookshelf system, and from an older Kenwood player. Using the player's own DAC I hear details in the sound that I could not before. It's smooth, clear, refined, with good dynamics. It's very solidly built. If I have a complaint it is that the transport is a little noisy with some CDs, though this is more to do with the CD than the player (and, for me at least, the noise is easy to get used to).Take my review with a pinch of salt - I don't have the experience of, or access to, very many other systems to provide a comparison. But this fulfills my requirement of a reasonably priced, high-quality component.

I found the sound of Emotiva CD100 very warm with great separation of the instruments, very deep bass, powerful midrange and crystal clear trebles. I am playing my entire CD collection again and I am listening new details in every track. By now I have connected only with analogic AUDIOQUEST cables but I am planning to buy an TRIBUTARIES fiber optic cable to find out if there's is some sound difference between the CD100 DAC and my AVR ONKYO TXNR656. The quality build its impressive, rugged. I am very pleased with this product. If you want to really enjoy your CD collection without expense too much buy it. There is an enormous difference in sound between playing audio CDs in a Bluray Player and a high quality dedicated CD player like EMOTIVA CD 100. Five stars!!!!!!!

Engineering and sound are 5 stars worth, but I have some complaints about the human engineering. Because numbers of listeners are a bit older, and some keep their listening rooms a bit darkened, this unit presents some real annoyances. First, it's impossible to see the remote in any low light....It's completely dark. The little lights on the unit itself are just as inadequate. There is no way to draw up specific tracks. When a CD is loaded, it automatically begins to play. I'd like it to just load and let ME be in control of when and where it begins. It's as if the engineers didn't take human considerations into account. I must though compliment Emotiva on going to a conventional loading tray. My more expensive ERC-1 loaded like a car player, and was very clunky and often spit the disc back out or failed to load it at all. I solved the issues my memorizing the location of of all the options. A real disappointment for such a good company. I have also EMOTIVA bas-X separates putting 300 WPC into 4 ohm Dyneaudio A-72 speakers with an MK V-75 subwoofer. I expected more from this fine little performer, but it certainly plays CDs magnificently!

Very fine piece of gear......Great quality & price......Fast shipping

I had 3 cd players in my life and I can honestly say this one is the best. Everything sounds so clear and precise. What made me buy this one was the info that the laser was more powerful. My others units all had skipping problems. One of the 3 I had paid more than double the price and this one sounds much better. The build quality is very good. The remote is just right. If you need a cd player this one is fantastic.