Fosi sent over their Merak CD player for review a little while back, and as a physical media fan, I was pretty excited to check it out. The Merak is a $139.00 CD player, Transport, DAC/Amp, and CD ripper all in one small package. It is not much bigger than the CDs you will be playing in it. Meaning it will fit just about anywhere you want to put it. It packs quite a few features in its small chassis and price tag. In a world where hi-fi CD players can cost 10s of thousands, 140 dollars is a very enticing price point. So is it worth the 140 bucks, or should you save up a little more? Let’s take a listen and find out.

Setup:

Setup is pretty simple: plug in the USB-C power, then either plug it into an external DAC via an Optical Cable or use an analog 3.5mm cable to your preamps via either an AUX or RCA connection, depending on your cable type. Next, pop a CD in and press play. You can also play music off of a USB storage device as well as rip music directly to your flash drive from the Marek If you plan to use headphones, no need to connect it via the outputs on the back; instead, use the front headphone output.

Sound:

I set the Fosi up in two ways: first, connecting it to my Geshelli Labs TORC DAC via its optical output, then directly into my Marantz via a 3.5mm to RCA Cable. I was curious how it would compare as a transport to my much more expensive Rotel CD-11. I was thinking that if I take out the D/A conversion and processing, it may be more comparable in performance. I also listened with my Meze 99 Classics to see how the headphone section performed.

On to the First listening method, having the Merak connected to the TORC DAC. I expected this sound to be quite exceptional, as the TORC DAC itself has sounded incredible with every digital source I have used with it. I was not disappointed in the least. With each CD I played, there was a good deal of detail and clarity. CDs in general sound exceedingly clear so long as they are clean, as they don’t suffer from the artifacts you can get with vinyl, but to have clarity beyond what you would expect is what we are looking for. CDs also offer great dynamic range, more than you can get from vinyl, which certainly adds to the level of detail you can achieve; that said, sample rates and processing can lower detail, so there is a give and take.

One of the first CDs I played was the Gorillaz’ “Demon Days”, which is probably my favorite of their discography; call it nastalgia, I guess. That said, there were parts in just about every song that I just don’t recall hearing before. Little details and transients that help give the music life and dimension. Beyond that, the bass in Feel Good Inc. was incredibly powerful, while remaining clear. While the rest of my system is at play here, the source is so important to achieving good sound, and what I heard out of the Merak into the TORC, was nothing short of wonderful. I don’t mean it’s just good for the money; it’s just downright good. It was what prompted me to listen back with the CD-11 and the TORC DAC as part of this review. Originally, I didn’t plan to do the comparison, as comparing a 600 dollar CD player to a 130 follar CD player seems a bit unfair. That said, with a good DAC, I’m not sure the CD-11 is worth the extra money. That said, I don’t know how many people will buy a give or take 1000 dollar DAC for a 140-dollar CD player, but for those who already have a great system and want to dust off their old CD collection, it is a cheap way to get a lot out of them.

As someone who listened to CDs the least of my options, this is probably what I would do now if I didn’t have a CD player already. When I got my CD-11, I didn’t have a dedicated DAC, so I wanted something that sounded great for the money in one box, and I will say the CD-11 does just that. If you don’t want to add a DAC to your system and have a higher-end system, it may very well be the right thing to get. I didn’t intend to do a head-to-head with the CD-11 and Merak, but I had to know how much heavy lifting the TORC is doing here. We will get into that in a bit.

Back to the Merak and TORC combo. I was genuinely impressed by the sound of every CD I played. How could this little CD player sound so good? Sure, they are rather simple when being used as a transport, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have any work to do. Lasers mater, alignment, speed control, and all the circuits that take those 1s and 0s to the DAC affect the sound in some way. Fosi managed to really pack value into the Merak.

Well, how does it sound as a pull CD player? Honestly, good; it’s not going to compete with the high-end. The Merak isn’t taking down titans, but I would take this over most sub-500 dollar CD players. I think the CD-11 stands out a bit in the sub-1000 dollar realm due to the tuning by Mr. Ishiwata (Rest in Peace). When auditioning CD players for my reference system all those years ago, it had the most analog and rich, lifelike sound in my price range of a 1000 dollars. The Merak, using its onboard DAC, sounds more digital than the CD-11; it has a bit of flatness, is the best way I can say it. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but a tonal preference. The detail levels were more along the line of what I expect from CDs, and dynamic range wasn’t noticeably different from the TORC DAC.

Getting back to the CD-11 vs. Merak, when they are competing head-to-head, the differences in sound do become apparent. Most notably is the soundstage and imaging. The CD-11 has a bigger, more defined sound. The space around instruments and notes is more open, allowing you to more easily pick out the tiny details. Building on that, the imaging seems more precise, with placement across the stage not getting as blended. Now, is that worth a nearly 500 dollar premium, or even more for a MKII CD-11? Well, that will depend on the rest of your system and how much CDs play a role in your listening habits. Considering my system is able to pull out the additional performance, I would say for me, again, if I didn’t have a dedicated DAC, yes. If you have a more modest system or you’re only playing CDs every blue moon, probably not.

As a Headphone AMP, the Merak is a great option for CD enthusiasts. You can also use it to play music stored on a USB stick, so it’s a great device for the office. The headphone amp section of the Merak is pretty nice. It, unsurprisingly, drove the 99 Classics very well. They’re warmer, sound also really livened up the sound as well.I really enjoyed this combo as I prefer a warmer sound. I also played it through my harder-to-drive Beyerdynamic DT990 Pros, which are 250Ω headphones, and it did well. I am not sure how well it would push something like the Sennheiser HD600s, but I can’t outright say it wouldn’t do it, as I don’t have a pair to try with. Theoretically, based on the specs, it should drive them without an issue. I will say the sound was a bit too clinical for my tastes with the DT990s, but for those chasing flatness and extracting as much detail as possible, the DT990 would probably be the preferable headphone. The 99 Classics were a little less clear but sounded more lively to me.

Pros and Cons

Specifications

Chipset: SC6137D + CS43131 + TPA6120

Max Sampling Rate

• CD: PCM 16bit / 96kHz
• USB (USB flash drives): PCM 16bit / 96kHz

Headphone Impedance: 16–300Ω

Input: USB-A (USB flash drives), CD

Output: 3.5mm Headphones Jack, LINE, OPT, 12V Trigger

CD Formats: CDDA, CD-R / CD-RW (partially readable). Original pressed discs are recommended

CD-R Formats: FLAC / WAV / WMA / AAC / MP3

SACD Playback: Only SACDs with a CD layer are supported

Formats for USB Drive Playback: MP3 / WAV / FLAC / AAC / APE / WMA

IR Remote Control: Supports a maximum operating distance of up to 7 meters

Input Voltage: DC 5V / 2A

Firmware Upgrade: Firmware can be updated online via a USB-A port using a USB flash drive

3.5mm Output Performance (CD)

Rated Output Power: L+R ≥ 210mW + 210mW (32Ω / THD+N < 1%)

SNR: 121 dB (A-weighted)

THD+N: 0.002% (A-weighted)

Dynamic Range: 121 dB

Noise Floor: ≤ 3µV (A-weighted)

LINE Output Performance (CD)

Output Level: ≥ 2Vrms

SNR: 124 dB (A-weighted)

THD+N: 0.0009% (A-weighted)

Dynamic Range: 124 dB

Noise Floor: ≤ 3µV (A-weighted)

Price: $139.99 U.S.

Associated Equipment

• Marantz SR7009 (preamp)
• Advance Paris X-A160 Evo amp
• Rotel CD-11 Tribute MKI
• Geshelli Labs TORC DAC
• Sonus Faber Sonetto V V1
• Perlisten AT4
• Paradigm Defiance V8 Subwoofer
• Meze 99 Classics
• Beyerdynamic DT990 (250Ω )
• Synergistic Research Powercell 8 SX
• Synergistic Research Foundation XL cables
• AudioQuest Forest Cables

Conclusion

The Merak is one of those products that seems like a no-brainer. It’s incredibly affordable and does a great job. The only thing I would add is a 4.4 Balanced output and a 3.5mm input jack. Being able to plug your computer into it and having a true all-in-one desktop solution would make it perfect in my book. Even without those features, I think it offers a great value proposition. It can make for a very compelling CD transport even in higher-end systems and a great CD player for more modest systems. It works well in a 2-channel system and as a headphone Amp. The size means it won’t take up much real estate on a desk or system rack, so even if you don’t listen to CDs regularly, you aren’t giving up a ton of valuable shelf space for it. I think if you want to add CD playback to your system and don’t want to break the bank, it should be on your radar.

We would like to present Fosi Audio with our Silver Feather Award for the Merak CD Player; it offers incredible value for entry-level audio.

For more information and where to buy, click the link below:

https://fosiaudio.com/products/merak-cd-player?_pos=1&_sid=87551593e&_ss=r

Disclaimer:

Fosi Audio provided Hifi Chicken with a demo Merak CD Player for the purpose of this review. Fosi Audio, nor any affiliate paid in part or in full in exchange for this review.