CD PLAYER

E-SOUND
CD-E5 EAST WEST AUDIO EDITION

WOJCIECH PACUŁA







The Dutch company East West Audio Shop should be at least known for the HFOL readers. In the issue number 28 (August 2006) of "High Fidelity OnLine" we have tested the distributed by this company, player CD-E5 of the Chinese company E-Sound (test HERE), an outstanding example, for what kind of power is asleep in designed with love and manufactured with care devices from behind the Great Wall. The not to high price, related with outstanding, perfect (OK, maybe - almost perfect) workmanship ended in awarding this construction the Award of the Year 2006 in the category "CD player" (Awards of the Year 2006 HERE). The device did not only captivate with its solidity, but also a readable construction. So it was just a question of time, until somebody would try to "tune up" the player - by adding new feet, or by exchanging the capacitors, and similar. Ron Wevers, the owner of East West, decided to go a step further and financed the work on a completely new "edition" of the CD-E5. As the writing on the top plate, transparent and made from acryl (with the help of the Polish company Audionova, about this company in a moment), behind the edition named East West Audio Edition stands the company Art Speak, with its owner Louis Raatjes, who used a complete, symmetric, working in class A without feedback module of the company MachMat in the output. The work took three months. Ron asked about the changes lists in one breath:

  1. Modification of the drive, including optics and the diode preamplifier
  2. Modification of the power supply, including exchange of the bipolar capacitors
  3. Shielding of (almost) all cables inside the device
  4. Exchange of the RCAs for new ones (nickel plated)
  5. Exchange of the XLRs for new ones, of the company Neutrik.
  6. New, working in class A, transistor based output module (current/voltage conversion, filters, output buffers).
  7. Internal connections with silver cabling from Art Speak.
  8. New fuse of the company Electrocompaniet.
  9. The transformer was turned by a few degrees from the axis, to minimize the influence of the magnetic field on the circuitry. The base of the transformer was screwed by non-magnetic screws.
  10. The player is supplied with an Audionova power cable.
  11. The top cover was exchanged to an acrylic one.

First attention is drawn by the transparent top cover, with engraved writing, telling who what and how (here is also the writing "Powered by AudioNova"). On one hand this was to allow a glance to the inside, as it is beautiful and makes any, at least a bit acquainted audiophile, have a heightened pulse. But more important were the sonic effects. It is nothing new, and this is also not secret knowledge, that most devices sound better with removed top cover. Most of the time the companies do not write about it, because such a move carries the risk of an electric shock, (everybody does it on their own risk!), but it deals with magnetizing the metal, eddy currents, things that have a secondary influence on the signal inside. East West proposed a complete solution: exchange of the top cover (the old metal one is supplied in the set). Obvious is the case of the output stage - MachMat prepared this section using the beautiful, terribly expensive (about 50euro a piece!) and quite rare capacitors NOS of the US company Sprague Vitamin Q. These are oil capacitors, with glass sides, manufactured in the 50-ties, by many people judged as much better than Jensen capacitors. And this is just the begin of the modifications. The case is that we get a completely new player, but with a completely new price - almost 1000 Euro higher than the original. If we take into account the costs of such a modification (the capacitors in the output stage cost 200 Euro!), then this seems to be a bargain.

LISTENING EXPERIENCE

The sound of the CD-E5 EWAE is incredibly smooth and fluent, not to say - noble. And why "not to say", when it is the best quantifier that comes to mind during the first hour of listening. It incredibly reminds, in terms of timbre (and with limitations, but it is three times cheaper) my player Ancient Audio Lektor Prime (test HERE). The events are reproduced quite close. So the voice of Aimee Mann from her disc Lost in Space (Super Ego Records/Mobile Fidelity, UDSACD 2021, SACD/CD) was big, palpable, a bit closer than from the Lektor, similar to other instruments from that disc. The reproduction was ultra-analog, meaning completely deprived from the digital harshness (in what it resembles the Lektor), served without haste, in a somewhat noble way. At first, especially while switching from the universal player Bladelius Freja MkII (test in this edition of the HFOL), one has the feeling, that the upper frequencies are a bit rounded, a bit laid back. This is usual, when we think about the CD: "analog". Absolutely not - already the first piece from the very well recorded Allan Taylor disc Hotels&Dreams (Stockfish, SFR 357.6028.2, CD) showed, that there is a substantial amount of the treble, even a lot of it, but it is splendidly led, without brightening of the upper midrange and without accenting its attack, it has a fantastic timbre, and - what I mentioned before - it is devoid of any digital imprint. In both cases the vocals in themselves are presented quite warm, but despite the sound from the player had a quasi-warm timbre, it did not flow together in a blurb, it was not a dense Mexican soup, from which you have to fish the tasty pieces. Here a characteristic could be spotted, that after the fantastic start of the E-Sound, after which one asks himself why more expensive players exist, returns the faith in those and we know what we pay for while buying them. When we were talking about the treble (while discussing timbre) and midrange, then the E-Sound performs like a genuine hi-end player, with noble timbre and delicate scraping of the whisk or bell like strikes of the furious drummer. This and the very good space must make quite an impression.

The Achilles heel of the device from the Netherlands is the bass. The bass guitar on the Taylor disc is registered very low and in a very fleshy, "physically" felt way. In those occasions it can be heard best, that the CD-E5 (EWAE) has o bit rolled, not fully contoured low range. Its timbre is very nice, but in comparison with the Lektor or the Bladelius, where the bass does not go low, but has a more dense attack, this sub-range can, with not enough quick speakers or amplifiers sound a bit lumpy. Also with romantic sounding devices, like the Unison Research the result was not fully satisfactory. It proved itself splendidly in conjunction with quick, clean devices, like Cambridge Audio 840A (test in "Audio" - this is a splendid, inexpensive amplifier) with which it can be connected in a balanced way, it was even better with Model 5 Avantgarde Acoustic and the CS-300 from Leben (test HERE). It resembles in this devices from Arcam, especially the amplifiers, but also CD players, that often have that pleasant bass, but not with full resolution. I have the feeling, that the CD was designed using monitors without low bass, or with a tube amplifier, that did not handle lower bass well, so it was not in scope of attention. Or maybe - I am mistaken... Maybe I am oversensitive and this is the fault of the over detailed, over transparent Harpia, model Marcus (test HERE). Anyway - we have to make sure that in the rest of the sound path such tendencies do not over impose - then it will be fine.

From the Lektor the CD-E5 can be distinguished by lower resolution. But if we compare it with the Bladelius or the Arcam, so devices from comparable price range, then it becomes apparent, that the resolution is at least very good, but is not manifested by cutting the instruments from their background, not accenting of the attack, but by "not mixing" timbres, so every instrument has a characteristic "sound", can be heard different, also in the area of dynamics, so it is presented clear and without fogginess. You have to keep in mind, that the timbre of this device is better than in most devices up to 10000zł, and even 15000zł. The cymbals registered on the phenomenally recorded disc Music from Hearts of the Masters of the duo Jack de Johnette&Foday Musa Suso (Golden Beams Productions, GBP 1112, CD - review in this edition of HFOL, in the division Muzyka) sounded just beautiful on this player. The treble transitions to a similarly tasteful midrange, sonorous and deep, and this in a fleshy and full bass (about its lower range we have said some nasty remarks, so it is time for the positives). Due to the dense midrange, the voices are presented quite close to the listener, and the instruments are surrounded by lots of air, pumped to our room directly from a warm, summer evening.

THE MAKE

The basis for the East West Audio Edition is the player CD-E5 in the Signature Edition version from the company E-Sound. As this player was tested some time ago (test HERE), there you can find the description of make of the basis unit. Let us only remind, that the enclosure is very solid, very well manufactured made from thick aluminum plates. In the EWAE the top plate was exchanged for an acrylic one. So the changes inside are visible from the very beginning. The whole bottom plate is glued with bituminous mat, as well as fragments of the bridge where the disc clamp ring hangs. Behind the drive a large toroidal transformer is placed, swiveled by a few degrees, to minimize the influence of the electromagnetic field that is generated by it on other components. The power supply circuit board, even more expanded, received completely new capacitors. Their provenience is a secret, because they were chosen "by listening", what took some time... To have them look nicer a net was put on them, the same that can be put on connection cables. Cables inside also received that net and were additionally shielded - a shield was added to almost all cables, except the ones from transformer to power supply and the IEC socket to the power switch located on the front panel (I think it would be more elegant to use some kind of relay and not to pull the cables through the whole device). As I mentioned before, the elements in the power supply of the photo optical elements in the pick-up head were bettered, but a true revolution was done to the output stage. Originally placed on the same board as the converter, based on ICs looked superb, and it was difficult to find a second as good as that one in devices of the same price range. The new one shadows everything, even if we take into account the increased price of the CD-E5. The output module was prepared by the Dutch company MachMat and placed on a separate board, screwed on top of the old output board. Directly from the D/A converter - in this role the Crystal CS4390 - by means of silver wires from Art Speak we come to a minimalist transistor circuit, working in class A without feedback. In the SE version the output was coupled by a DC-servo, here it was abandoned in favor of capacitors. The circuitry is fully balanced, so we have four outstanding, oil capacitors NOS (from the fifties) Vitamin Q of the US company Sprague. They are connected to XLR sockets of Neutrik make and RCAs by means of relays (the signal is taken from the positive pin). Important is the fact, that this section has a separate power supply, based among others on splendid Black Gate capacitors. It is also worth to mention, that the nice, temperature compensated and mechanically uncoupled clock was packed in vibration dampening material. The whole is superb. To not to leave any doubts with what version we deal here, on the front panel a plate with the "East West Audio Edition" wording was glued. It does not look nice, and also the exchange of the panel covering the drive drawer was omitted, an element, that due to its finish unmistakably connects this device with China. If this writing could be placed on the mentioned plate, or replace it, then the device would not be distinguished from expensive, hi-end devices form UK or US - both in terms of building quality as well as sound quality.



E-SOUND
CD-E5 EAST WEST AUDIO EDITION

Price: 2200 Euro

Distribution: East West Audio

Conatct:
Ron Wevers, East West Audioshop
Tweede Oude Heselaan 201
6542 VG Nijmegen - Holandia

Tel.: 024-3503220 do 18.00
Tel. kom.: 06-53711938

e-mail: info@eastwestaudioshop.nl




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