Fosi Merak Review (CD Player)

[Roland68]

I’m still waiting for the SACD version of this. Perhaps even a true Universal Disk Transport:
CD
SACD
DVD-A
Blu-ray Audio

Two outputs:
HDMI for multichannel
Optical / AES for stereo

USB-C power input

No DAC

That’s it. Sign me up.

You'll probably be waiting a long time before something like that comes onto the market again, especially at an affordable price.

Many of the necessary integrated circuits are no longer available, all the good drives are no longer in production, and the last developers who could actually build something like that are retired or doing something else. The worst part is that most manufacturers have lost crucial expertise. Almost all manufacturers and developers are currently failing at something as simple as a flawlessly functioning Red Book CD audio player.

My advice: get a used Oppo player (or an alternative) that meets your needs. I'm afraid that prices will rise sharply again in the next year or two.

 

[Cbdb2]

However, the audio sector has always required different types of drives—or, at the very least, different control mechanisms—meaning that such drives have consistently been significantly more expensive.

That makes no sense. Data is data. Why would a 48 times reader/writer have any trouble reading the data off of CD.

 

[Roland68]

That makes no sense. Data is data. Why would a 48 times reader/writer have any trouble reading the data off of CD.

Where and when did I ever say or claim such a thing? Could you please quote that specifically in the future?

If you had actually read my posts, you would have realized that this isn't what the discussion is about at all.
Of course, any CD drive—including any PC drive (whether DVD or BD)—is capable of reading all audio CDs perfectly. What gave you the idea that this isn't the case?
CD/DVD drives that rank among the top 10 or 20 on the best-of lists for ripping drives can be found on eBay for as little as €10. They are absolutely perfect drives. Add an external USB 2.0 slim enclosure for another €15, and you end up with a drive that reads every CD perfectly for a total cost of just €25—all in a compact package measuring only about 14 x 14 x 1.8 cm.
That would be perfect—were it not for the fact that these drives spin the CD at speeds of 10,000 to 24,000 RPM, making them quite loud and annoying.
I certainly wouldn't want something like that sitting on my desk, nor would I want it anywhere near my audio system.
If that works for you, then that's great. But for me—and for many others—it simply isn't acceptable.

Audio CD drives, on the other hand, spin at a maximum speed of just 200 to 500 RPM, making them whisper-quiet.

 

[Bacchusoo7]

Does anyone know if there is a US based seller? I found Fosi's site which will ship to the US, but as I'm uncertain what the final price will be after all of the tariffs, etc. I'm hesitant to order from them directly. When I searched around I didn't see anything but I may have missed something.

(PS, if my self-editorializing may be forgiven, I miss the old days before all this tariff nonsense. Ugh)

 

[Roland68]

Does anyone know if there is a US based seller? I found Fosi's site which will ship to the US, but as I'm uncertain what the final price will be after all of the tariffs, etc. I'm hesitant to order from them directly. When I searched around I didn't see anything but I may have missed something.

(PS, if my self-editorializing may be forgiven, I miss the old days before all this tariff nonsense. Ugh)

Your best bet is to ask Fosi directly—they are very helpful.
They can also tell you whether duties and taxes are already included in their pricing, or when and at what price the player will be available from a US retailer or Amazon.

 

[jmead]

Your best bet is to ask Fosi directly—they are very helpful.
They can also tell you whether duties and taxes are already included in their pricing, or when and at what price the player will be available from a US retailer or Amazon.

They charged me $114.49 ($139 - various discounts and coupons that were in play at the time. I got to stack them which was cool.) No other fees were levied along the way. OK, actually the price did include a "Worry Free Purchase" service which as a chronic worrier I paid. Totally self-inflicted aothough maybe it provided me with a few worry-free minutes during the (reasonable) time for the unit to arrive. One of these days, I'll actually try the unit.
Jonathan

 

[Bacchusoo7]

They charged me $114.49 ($139 - various discounts and coupons that were in play at the time. I got to stack them which was cool.) No other fees were levied along the way. OK, actually the price did include a "Worry Free Purchase" service which as a chronic worrier I paid. Totally self-inflicted aothough maybe it provided me with a few worry-free minutes during the (reasonable) time for the unit to arrive. One of these days, I'll actually try the unit.
Jonathan

Are you in the states? Did you get hit with any tariffs or other fees from the shipping company?

 

[jmead]

Are you in the states? Did you get hit with any tariffs or other fees from the shipping company?

Yes, I'm Central New York (think Utica, not 57th St.) Sorry not to have mentioned that. No other fees were charged. The invoice says $114.49, no taxes, free shipping. And my ccard shows $114.49.

 

[Asher]

Yes, I'm Central New York (think Utica, not 57th St.) Sorry not to have mentioned that. No other fees were charged. The invoice says $114.49, no taxes, free shipping. And my ccard shows $114.49.

Do you know if they shipped directly to you from China or used some sort of consolidated shipper?

 

[Bacchusoo7]

Yes, I'm Central New York (think Utica, not 57th St.) Sorry not to have mentioned that. No other fees were charged. The invoice says $114.49, no taxes, free shipping. And my ccard shows $114.49.

Good to know. Thank you.

 

[wgh52]

Hi folks,

just bought the Merak CDP, planning to use it as digital CD source (i.e. as transport, leaving the analog out unused, although I'm aware that usage is irrelevant re my question below ).

Looking at the USB C port it sais 5V/2A supply. 10W are not a lot, but I'm asking myself if it would be OK to use the two 5V outputs (specified 1A output each) of a Topping P50 linear supply in parallel (Y-adapter) to power the CDP (not using the P50's 12V output).

What's your take or advice?

Thanks!
Winfried

 

[Joe Smith]

Hi folks,

just bought the Merak CDP, planning to use it as digital CD source (i.e. as transport, leaving the analog out unused, although I'm aware that usage is irrelevant re my question below ).

Looking at the USB C port it sais 5V/2A supply. 10W are not a lot, but I'm asking myself if it would be OK to use the two 5V outputs (specified 1A output each) of a Topping P50 linear supply in parallel (Y-adapter) to power the CDP (not using the P50's 12V output).

What's your take or advice?

Thanks!
Winfried

I’d just get a 5v 2a power jack for it. I use one made by Milwaukee.

 

[wgh52]

Thanks for the hint Joe,

I'm not aware of "Milwaukee" power supplies here in Europe. I may consider to buy a 5V/2A linear supply anyway...

Nevertheless, I'm still interested in the answer to my original question about paralleling the P50's 5V outputs for 2A supply

Regards,
Winfried

 

[FuzzPizza]

Do you guys think they will release a black and orange version to match their other products?

 

[Joe Smith]

Do you guys think they will release a black and orange version to match their other products?

If this initial version sells ok, I bet they will. The S3 they already said they will do a black version.

 

[yuting]

I’m still waiting for the SACD version of this. Perhaps even a true Universal Disk Transport:
CD
SACD
DVD-A
Blu-ray Audio

Two outputs:
HDMI for multichannel
Optical / AES for stereo

USB-C power input

No DAC

That’s it. Sign me up.

Why do you want the SACD feature? SACD should have stopped being published by now, right?

 

[yuting]

请问有人知道美国境内有卖家吗？我找到了Fosi的网站，他们可以发货到美国，但是考虑到关税等费用，我不确定最终价格是多少，所以不敢直接从他们那里订购。我搜索了一下，没找到相关信息，可能是我漏掉了什么。

（附言：如果允许我发表一些个人看法，我怀念没有这些关税乱象的过去。唉。）

您可直接在我们的官方网站上购买，无需支付关税。谢谢！

 

[Bacchusoo7]

您可直接在我们的官方网站上购买，无需支付关税。谢谢！

Thank you.

谢谢 (由 Google 翻译)

 

[FuzzPizza]

Fosi rep, does the Merak play enhanced CDs?

?

 

[yuting]

Fosi rep, does the Merak play enhanced CDs? View attachment 531891?

thanks
The types of CDs supported for playback by the Merak CD player are as follows:
Playable CD formats:
CD-R: Supports playing CD-R discs burned with music in FLAC/WAV/WMA/MP3 formats
。
SACD with CD layer: Supports SACD with CD layer, but does not support pure SACD format
。
Unsupported format: MQA CD is not supported
。
Other supported audio input formats (non-CD):
USB Flash Drive Playback: Supports playing audio files in MP3/WAV/FLAC/AAC/APE/WMA formats via the USB interface