The loading trays have always been so $50 K-Martish to me. With the 5 year warranty on the ERC-1 I don't really worry too much about the reliability.

Mr. Peabody, sorry but a swap wouldn't work for me. However, you might consider testing it on their 30 day satisfaction guarantee. The shipping costs if you don't like it would not be much more than several pairs of Monoprice cables.

Let me mention that I don't jump on bandwagons untill I've done my homework and I mean a lots of homework. I usually do months of research before I send a dime for any purchase. Whether the ERC-1 is up to your sound standards is up to you to determine. But I can assure you this company's business plan is for real and the prices are within reason and not too good to be true. If you have experience in factory to retail operations you will see how one can produce a CD player that might sell for thousands and sell for $399 from an operation like Emotiva.

There are no pro reviews for this ERC-1 CD player yet. Emotiva is a small company and it is unlikely you will see any reviews in the big magazines. Look to Audioholics or Secrets of HT, etc. for reviews.

One user review does not hold much water but there are a number of ERC-1 owner's who have already posted sound comparisons with previous players (far more expensive) that they have owned. Should be enough to at least stir some interest. I list one user review below.

BTW, my wife just got home today, took one look at the ERC-1 and said: "Cool, wow, that is really cool looking." Seems that I might get lucky.

Here is a short review by poster ny1pr2009

"..........If you want to know about comparing expensive players to the ERC-1 here is my list. I have owned the following CD or SACD players and so far the ERC-1 is better player than those.

Sony SCD-1. A $5000 50lbs beast and supposed to be at the time the best SACD/CD player out there. The ERC-1 sounds more detailed and more involving than this player during redbook cd playing. Since the ERC-1 is not a SACD player I will not be able to make a comparison regarding SACD playing.

Marantz SA-1. This was Marantz first state of the art SACD player. At $7000 was supposed to be a true reference player. I think that the SA-1 was slightly better than the Sony SCD-1 in both SACD and CD playing but in Redbook CD playing the Emotiva ERC-1 is a more detailed and natural sounding CD player.

Denon 5910ci. A $3500 Universal player and while it was ok playing CDs or SACD's it does not justified the price. It is a great DVD player. No doubt about that but as a cd player it was just mediocre. The Emotiva ERC-1 will eat this unit for breakfast anytime at playing redbook cds.

Sony SCD-XA777ES. $3000 CD player. Very good player. In fact I founded to be better than the SCD-1 specially in Multichannel SACD playing. In Redbook Cd playing was much better than the Marantz but again the ERC-1 is a more detailed and involving cd player.

Sony SCD-XA9000ES . A $3500 SACD/CD player. Was supposed to be better than the SCD-XA777ES which it replaced,with better dacs but in my personal opinion the SCD-XA777ES was a better sounding unit. The SCD-XA777ES was a more neutral souding with better soundstage but not as good as the Emotiva ERC-1.

I can go on and on with the list of other cd players that I have owned previously and the ERC-1 still is a better cd player.

The only player that I have considered to be the best CD/SACD player so far is the Musical Fidelity Trivista. This player is such a detailed,natural and so involving cd player that I am yet to find a player that can sound this good. Its a $6500 CD player and I think it was worth every penny. It is also a Tube CD player so it will not be fair for me to make a fair comparison to the ERC-1. But the Emotiva ERC-1 is the closest player that has ever come to the Musical Fidelity Trivista while playing Redbook Cds.

The best way that I can described the ERC-1 is an amazing CD player that delivers enhanced linearity, dynamic range and distortion-free response in the most beautiful way possible.

The sound is so unbelievably crisp, so undeniably clear and so completely pristine, it will change the way you listen forever.

For Redbook CD playing I don't think that you will find a more involving and detailed sounding CD player under the $3000 price range..........."