Had the Meridian 566.24 and 500 (equivalent to the 508.24) and bought the EMC-1 to replace them. Never looked back. The EMC-1 is the most analogue-like CD player I have ever heard, I absolutely love it. I mostly listen to jazz, small scale classical, folk/blues/bluegrass/alt.country, some rock too, like you. I think you would love this player. |
I had the Linn Ikemi and the EMC-1 as the final two CDPs I was trying to decide on last year when I was in your situation.I heard the Linn but not the EMC-1 and upon reading a lot about both players I went with the EMC-1 and never look back. A really great CD player for the money. |
The Ikemi is very refined but also very laid back with soft bass. I am a big fan of the player but the 508.24 has a more powerful, controlled bass, a little more up front and overall I found it to be a more exciting player. |
I'm in Joel's position, too, but have had to rule out the EMC as too large. Blackie's comment re the Ikemi's softish bass has me concerned, as I was about to demo it versus perhaps a Naim CD5 or used CDX. More help, please?
Thanks. Ernie |
and bought the 508. The hardness of the EMC (and I've got an expensive CJ tube setup with Guarneris (thanks Soundman!) so it should have been warm. Digititis to the max. Headaches. And worse, stopped listening. Bought the dealers last 508 and took a bath on the EMC1 sold here at Audiogon. My advice, don't buy a digital product from a company that doesn't specialize in it. Meridian, ah, I'm back to listening! (Ugly fit and finish too, I was embarassed when I sold it to 'sic it on anyone else's room!) |
A no brainer. 508 might be the best bargain in audio. Only three players I have heard come close. The Accuphase 75V and the big Linn rig at $12000. I also own the Marantz flagship $7500 sacd bad boy but the Meridian stays on the equipment rack for redbook. What does that tell you? And, by the way, when I went head to head against the Accuphase at my dealer in NYC I had to unplug the Meridian, lug it in the cold to the shop, turn it back on and play it against the Accuphase which had been warmed up for months. STILL the Meridian sounded so close that I kept it and kept my wallet. In sound difference I would say that the Accuphase warmed up remember was silky smooth, but didn't have the jump factor of the Meridian. And less bass too. The sound was concentrated on a very very fine midrange. But we're talking thousands and thousands and thousands more here. And the Meridian was cold. Let Electrocompaniet stay on the Brit mags and Stereophile Class A list for 7 years running and we'll talk. Otherwise, buyer beware. There are as many for sale it seems as have sold since a nice guy I buy cables from in upstate NY carries it mailorder and tells me that no one who has bought from him has kept it more than a year. He has made a good bit of money in trade ins. nuf said. |
I have been tempted many times to the EMC1 here because of the cheap prices almost new. There has to be a reason. Everytime I look there is another one for sale. How many have they sold in the US? 1000, less? My buddies Meridian has a serial number from 1998 in the ten thousand range! That's three years ago, but you can't find the same proportion of them for sale. I've never seen so many buyer remorse stories on this site as people who have sold their Meridians and been bummed out by what they've ended up with. |
A no brainer. 508 might be the best bargain in audio. Only three players I have heard come close. The Accuphase 75V and the big Linn rig at $12000. I also own the Marantz flagship $7500 sacd bad boy but the Meridian stays on the equipment rack for redbook. What does that tell you? And, by the way, when I went head to head against the Accuphase at my dealer in NYC I had to unplug the Meridian, lug it in the cold to the shop, turn it back on and play it against the Accuphase which had been warmed up for months. STILL the Meridian sounded so close that I kept it and kept my wallet. In sound difference I would say that the Accuphase warmed up remember was silky smooth, but didn't have the jump factor of the Meridian. And less bass too. The sound was concentrated on a very very fine midrange. But we're talking thousands and thousands and thousands more here. And the Meridian was cold. Let Electrocompaniet stay on the Brit mags and Stereophile Class A list for 7 years running and we'll talk. Otherwise, buyer beware. There are as many for sale it seems as have sold since a nice guy I buy cables from in upstate NY carries it mailorder and tells me that no one who has bought from him has kept it more than a year. He has made a good bit of money in trade ins. nuf said. |
You've got an all Europe system. Check out Whathifi or HifiNews. Both had great reviews of Meridian. In fact, Meridian made one of the 5 best systems in HiFiNews. They are lukewarm on the EMC in all the European rags except the couple reviews posted on the Electo site. And that was a different machine, I think it was true dual mono with two power plugs and not the single one sold in USA. And listen first by auditioning. There is a thread hear on why so many EMCs for sale, read it and be careful. |
A no brainer. 508 might be the best bargain in audio. Only three players I have heard come close. The Accuphase 75V and the big Linn rig at $12000. I also own the Marantz flagship $7500 sacd bad boy but the Meridian stays on the equipment rack for redbook. What does that tell you? And, by the way, when I went head to head against the Accuphase at my dealer in NYC I had to unplug the Meridian, lug it in the cold to the shop, turn it back on and play it against the Accuphase which had been warmed up for months. STILL the Meridian sounded so close that I kept it and kept my wallet. In sound difference I would say that the Accuphase warmed up remember was silky smooth, but didn't have the jump factor of the Meridian. And less bass too. The sound was concentrated on a very very fine midrange. But we're talking thousands and thousands and thousands more here. And the Meridian was cold. Let Electrocompaniet stay on the Brit mags and Stereophile Class A list for 7 years running and we'll talk. Otherwise, buyer beware. There are as many for sale it seems as have sold since a nice guy I buy cables from in upstate NY carries it mailorder and tells me that no one who has bought from him has kept it more than a year. He has made a good bit of money in trade ins. nuf said. |
You are on crack...please only post your opinions once...not multiple times. It seems that you have an agenda.
The EMC1 is the best player in this bunch. The reason so many are for sale (5 at this time) is due to the fact that there is a new version coming soon. The new version will have a 192 Dac.
The EMC1 is the best digital I have ever heard with perhaps the exception of the DCS and other MEGABUCK 24-192 KHZ DACs.
If you can get this player for under 2.5K it is a steal. Buy the player than decide if you want to upgrade it for 1-1.5K when the upgrade kit is made available.
The other two players are fine kit but to my ears the EMC1 is an outstanding player and it looks very cool to boot. |
Thanks a lot Celery, well said.
The Meridian sounded like an old CD player (and it is) compared to the EMC-1. |
Well the Linn is a tinker toy. The Meridian, while a decent unit is a bit bland and soft int he bass and not very extended in the treble. The EMC-1 which I not only bought to replace the 508.24, is leagues ahead of the Meridian. To the fellow who went to Sounds by Singer with his 508.24, please come to the Brooklyn Bridge to my dealership at Audio Visionary (718) 694-9770 with youplayer and we will give you all the time you need to compare the players. You need about 30-45 minutes to warm up a CD player, but the sound changes very little. The EMC-1 has only been in production for 24 months and is of such higher build and sound quality than these other players and those in and above its price point. The Linn CD 12 bests it is some ways, but at 5x the price. There have been players onthe market because soem people erroneously thought that the new upsampling Mk. II version is not going to be achieved through an upgrade. Considering it takes 300 hours for initial break in and 1000 hours for complete break-in of the transport mechanism, why one would swap out an old player and buy a new one I have no idea--call it audio nervousa. We also sell the Sim Eclipse and even there, I prefer the EMC-1. Some may like the Eclipse for its bass slam, but that is a taste issue, not necessarily one of accuracy. The new Mk. II is leagues ahead. please folks if you want to upgrade your EMC-1 give us a call, it is breathtaking. Oh, also to the fellow who said when the EMC-1 is on Stereophile and the British rags top componenets list, um, do you see how much Meridian spends in advertising with them? The EMC-1 has never been review there, but it hasd all over the world and also in the Absolute Sound--in a system review that was poorly written and in Ultimate Audio. The fact is that EC has struggled to produce the players ahead of demand. And EC is a $10-15MM company, not a $50MM company like Meridian. If you ahve not heard the EMC-1 comee listen for a real treat. If you have not heard it then please don't toss an uninformed opinion around. And as for Accuphase, well they have always sounded transparent, but s bit clinical to my ears, and hideously expensive for what they produce in digital and solid state gear. |
The 508.24 is a good cdp that is detailed and has good lows, however the sound is processed in a very clinical (digital) way and the model is outdated. The EMC-1 is a very analog sounding player with extremely good mid's and is a 24/96 player. More work is needed with the EMC-1 since the transport is very sensitive. In my opinion, the EMC-1 is more sophiscated and a superior unit that the Meridian 508.24. I have not heard the Linn Ikemi. |
