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EMC-1UP/Modwright Sony 999ES Dilemma

I'd like some feedback from you astute and reasonable Audiogoners. I'm presently using two CD players - an Electrocompaniet EMC-1UP (CD), and a Modwright Sony NS999ES (SACD/CD/DVD) with tube stage. I have to give up one of them and I'm torn betweeen the two. The EMC-1UP is a marginally better redbook player, but better nonetheless. It's able to more acurately distinguish instruments in complex passages, and it is just slightly sweeter than the Sony on redbook. Surprisingly to me, the EMC-1UP is quieter in the "blacks". When I say the EMC-1UP is marginally better, I mean only 5% better. The Modwright Sony is an amazing machine. It reaches deeper into the bass and comes very close to the Electrocompaniet in all regards (and here's the kicker...for a third of the price). The Sony does have the advantage of playing SACD. When comparing redbook DSOM vs. SACD DSOM, to my ears the SACD version is silkier with a softening of otherwise strident redbook highs (all without losing detail. So, guys and gals, which would you keep? Most of my clooection is redbook, but the sound difference between the two players on redbook is very small. I could take the dollars saved in keepinng the Sony and reinvest it to improve other areas of my system, e.g. replacing my Bryston BP-25 with something better. Input please...
tvad
willobandb
28 posts
 
Sounds like you want to keep the EMC-1UP but wonder if it would be more "practical" to keep the Sony. I suppose the best way to find out would be to take the EMC out of the system (take a picture and put it in its box for shipping) and pretend it is gone. If you find you don't miss the 5% within several weeks you can then place your "For Sale" ad on AudiogoN and sell it without "seller's remorse". If, as I suspect, you have to put it back in your system, you can sell the Sony. Or, maybe by then, you can figure how to keep both! :-)

ben_campbell
1,164 posts
 
Tvad-one thing that strikes me is that if you sell the EMC and upgrade other parts of your system then I think you are going to wonder what that 5% better Redbook performance would have sounded like in your new system.
Personally I think better is better but really you have to decide how important the SACD/DVD playback is to you.
I would also be careful if your comparison is reasonably recent and has not been arrived at over a good time living with both players-sometimes it takes a while in my experience to make a balanced judgement for a variety of reasons.
I have made similar comparisons in my system and find that you can change your opinion over time as the differences become more apparent.
tvad OP
9,467 posts
 
Thanks for the input. You're all on the mark with your observations. Careful listening over the past couple days has revealed to me that the EMC-1UP provides subtle details that the Sony misses: the sound of the pick on the strings during fast guitar strumming, the wood-on-metal attack of a drumstick on a ride cymbal. At this point, I'm not so sure I'd miss SACD.
swampwalker's avatar
swampwalker
5,132 posts
 
I've never heard the Sony SACD, but the EMC-1UP with the SE power supply mod sure sounds great in my system. With very little software, I'd certainly hang onto the one that sounds better with redbook.
tvad OP
9,467 posts
 
Swampwalker, the EMC 1UP I purchased was advertised as the SE model, and I have no reason to doubt the seller, but how does one identify the unit as such? As a side note, I notice what seems to be a transformer hum from the player. Is this normal?
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