Fosi Audio Merak CD player ($149?)

[fuzzy_logic]

I ended up buying one a few weeks back direct from Fosi (thanks to Blieb for the discount code), so here are my initial thoughts/findings on the things I value in a CD player. My use is purely as a desktop player, I've no interest in using as a portable player. Disc operation is very quiet, other than a little noise when the disc initially spins up - it's much quieter than the Fiio DM13. Playback is gapless as far as i can tell. The digital display is good, fine for desktop use, but too small to read from a distance. I have mine connected to a Wiim Amp, and have tried both optical output direct to the Wiim, and analogue output - I can't hear any difference, though you need to switch outputs on the cd player as well as inputs on the amp, so difficult to test properly. I much prefer the design compared to the early prototype, though it would be nice if they released a black version. Overall very happy with the Merak!

 

[Asher]

I ended up buying one a few weeks back direct from Fosi (thanks to Blieb for the discount code), so here are my initial thoughts/findings on the things I value in a CD player. My use is purely as a desktop player, I've no interest in using as a portable player. Disc operation is very quiet, other than a little noise when the disc initially spins up - it's much quieter than the Fiio DM13. Playback is gapless as far as i can tell. The digital display is good, fine for desktop use, but too small to read from a distance. I have mine connected to a Wiim Amp, and have tried both optical output direct to the Wiim, and analogue output - I can't hear any difference, though you need to switch outputs on the cd player as well as inputs on the amp, so difficult to test properly. I much prefer the design compared to the early prototype, though it would be nice if they released a black version. Overall very happy with the Merak!

Where are you located? So far, I've only seen the Merak on Fosi's site (aside from a couple Aliexpress listings at 2x the price), and it looks like they ship from China without import duties included. I'm in the US and very hesitant to order anything from other countries right now unless the import duties are prepaid, since the tariff situation here is still a complete mess.

 

[fuzzy_logic]

Where are you located? So far, I've only seen the Merak on Fosi's site (aside from a couple Aliexpress listings at 2x the price), and it looks like they ship from China without import duties included. I'm in the US and very hesitant to order anything from other countries right now unless the import duties are prepaid, since the tariff situation here is still a complete mess.

I'm in the UK, didn't have to pay any import duties. Total cost with discount was just under £106, so cheaper than the nearest competitor (Fiio DM13).