[Inju]

I have been looking for a portable CD player for a long time. In desperation I even bought a no-name Amtok CD player from Amazon, but no - it sounds worse than Spofify on my phone.

So I decided to try the EC Mini. The sound quality is sufficient, both with wired (Sennheiser 599) and wireless (Bose 700) headphones. The menu is a bit cumbersome, but I do not use it too often.

However, there is one very disappointing problem: audible short cracks between almost every track on the CD. This is especially noticeable with classical music.

I've read the entire thread and no one has mentioned this issue yet. So is this common, or is it a problem with my device?

I don't hear any audible short cracks. Did you update the firmware with gapless?

 

[Shanling]

I have been looking for a portable CD player for a long time. In desperation I even bought a no-name Amtok CD player from Amazon, but no - it sounds worse than Spofify on my phone.

So I decided to try the EC Mini. The sound quality is sufficient, both with wired (Sennheiser 599) and wireless (Bose 700) headphones. The menu is a bit cumbersome, but I do not use it too often.

However, there is one very disappointing problem: audible short cracks between almost every track on the CD. This is especially noticeable with classical music.

I've read the entire thread and no one has mentioned this issue yet. So is this common, or is it a problem with my device?

On ECmini you get gaps between CD tracks, but shouldn't be a audible "crack". Are you getting in both with wired and Bluetooth headphones?

@Shanling

So, gapless CD playback isn't working. The CDs work fine on the ET3, but not the EC mini. Any suggestions?

Thanks

ET3 CD gapless works flawlessly.

Strictly speaking, while ET3 is much better at this than ECmini, there is still a tiny gap during CD playback on ET3. Difference is in their CD drive mechanics.

 

[Daniel Johnston]

On ECmini you get gaps between CD tracks, but shouldn't be a audible "crack". Are you getting in both with wired and Bluetooth headphones?





Strictly speaking, while ET3 is much better at this than ECmini, there is still a tiny gap during CD playback on ET3. Difference is in their CD drive mechanics.

Thanks.

The gap is imperceptible though on the ET3, but not the EC Mini. I wouldn't call the mini gapless by any means. I too get an audible tick between tracks frequently on the Mini.

 

[Vroo]

On ECmini you get gaps between CD tracks, but shouldn't be a audible "crack". Are you getting in both with wired and Bluetooth headphones?

Thanks for all the answers. I am using FW V2.2 with gapless mode enabled.

I checked again with different headphones. And you're right: the wired headphones either have no audible crack or it's a much quieter "tick".

I also tried different BT headphones (soundpeats air3 deluxe hs, connected via LDAC) and yes - no cracks

So it's more a problem with my Bose 700 (I checked both SBC and AAC codecs, no change).

 

[African Audiophile]

I have been looking for a portable CD player for a long time. In desperation I even bought a no-name Amtok CD player from Amazon, but no - it sounds worse than Spofify on my phone.

So I decided to try the EC Mini. The sound quality is sufficient, both with wired (Sennheiser 599) and wireless (Bose 700) headphones. The menu is a bit cumbersome, but I do not use it too often.

However, there is one very disappointing problem: audible short cracks between almost every track on the CD. This is especially noticeable with classical music.

I've read the entire thread and no one has mentioned this issue yet. So is this common, or is it a problem with my device?

Hello. Happy new year. I have not had this issue.

 

[Daniel Johnston]

Thanks for all the answers. I am using FW V2.2 with gapless mode enabled.

I checked again with different headphones. And you're right: the wired headphones either have no audible crack or it's a much quieter "tick".

I also tried different BT headphones (soundpeats air3 deluxe hs, connected via LDAC) and yes - no cracks

So it's more a problem with my Bose 700 (I checked both SBC and AAC codecs, no change).

With mine it's BT and heaphone out. Also, the line out. It's not every track. It's more prominent with classical CDs and gapless CDs.

Is it a deal breaker? No. I will say that the ET3 is tremendously better even though its 2x the EC Mini.

 

[Tooballd]

USB out question. The USB out seems to be controlled with the volume rocker. Is this normal on the ECmini? I've never encountered this on any other device.

 

[Shanling]

USB out question. The USB out seems to be controlled with the volume rocker. Is this normal on the ECmini? I've never encountered this on any other device.

You can go to Playback settings - USB AUDIO Output, there you can switch between fixed and variable.

Variable Volume is important for devices such as USB DAC dongles or USB headphones, as these devices don't have dedicated volume control and must be controlled by player.

 

[Tooballd]

Thanks for your quick reply. This was new to me. DAPs I've had didn't have this option.

 

[moorashj]

For those of you who have this and a DAP…is it overkill? Don’t you need to carry around CD’s? I have a DAP but just wonder if this is just another device. Thanks

 

[Daniel Johnston]

For those of you who have this and a DAP…is it overkill? Don’t you need to carry around CD’s? I have a DAP but just wonder if this is just another device. Thanks

Two entirely different devices. The mini is a CDP that has DAP features. Unless you have or are going to have a CD collection, this would not be a competitive DAP.

 

[moorashj]

Daniel,
I have a pretty decent sized cd collection. I guess I was just thinking “another device to carry around.” I know this player really isn’t portable like a DAP but just was wondering what others thought. Thanks

 

[Daniel Johnston]

Daniel,
I have a pretty decent sized cd collection. I guess I was just thinking “another device to carry around.” I know this player really isn’t portable like a DAP but just was wondering what others thought. Thanks

It's portable. The carry case with strap works well. Clearly the CD collection is less so. I use it in the car and around the house. I find the CD experience superior to streaming because it forces you to listen to the album and not skip around.

Not sure what you are asking. It is another "device to carry around".

 

[moorashj]

It's portable. The carry case with strap works well. Clearly the CD collection is less so. I use it in the car and around the house. I find the CD experience superior to streaming because it forces you to listen to the album and not skip around.

Not sure what you are asking. It is another "device to carry around".

I guess I was just saying we have so many devices out there lol.

 

[yueh]

On ECmini you get gaps between CD tracks, but shouldn't be a audible "crack". Are you getting in both with wired and Bluetooth headphones?

I think the gap on the latest firmware is more noticeable compared to the previous version I got when I bought the unit. previously it was not that noticeable when using wired headphones, but now the gap is a good 1s/1.5s.