I had forgotten why I ever liked CDs until I got the Fosi Audio Merak CD Player and revisited some of my favourite albums. The sound is amazing, and the unit is premium quality with more than enough functionality. Now I'm buying CDs again. Oh, and it looks great on my desk too.

This cd player works very well! Sound is excellent. Like the ability to rip directly to a flash drive. Like the included remote control. A real bargain!

I have had the chance to go back to listening to CDs again thanks to this little CD player. Don't think that because I say "little" it is cheaply made or has mediocre sound quality. I'm using it as a transport, It has gladly impressed me and it's making me forget about the gear and focus more on the enjoyment of listening to music and bringing back good memories. Now I need to grow my CD collection.

OK..I actually ordered the Merak CD Player via the Chinese Fosi site and not Australian Amazon, so that I could jump the queue, and get it a bit earlier.
Fosi China GOOD! Australian freight forwarders BAD. Wow, looks like they were overworked and under-paid students...I was worried my Merak CD Player would never arrive - but it did weeks later and Fosi kindly gave me some credits for the lateness -GOOD Fosi customer service - love you guys!
Anyway to the review.
I checked with Fosi if the Merak CD Player optical out (using it as transport) was compatible with my Fosi Audio K5 Pro DAC, and of course it was.
Then I ran theFosi Audio K5 Pro into my 40+ year old Bose 1800 amp, powering my Krix Equinox Mk3 bookshelf speakers and played my best jazz original cd pressings.
Hours later, I switched out the optical connection, and used my new Fosi Audio 3.5 mm to Dual RCA cable between the Merak CD Player and the Bose 1800 amp instead. I could only discern a slight difference between the two different hook-ups. The K5 Pro uses a Cirrus Logic CS431xx with an OPTICAL INPUT Sampling Rate of up to 24bit/192 kHz where as the Merak CD Player's DAC is a Cirrus Logic CS43131 DAC Optical Output on the Merak which should have a 16bit / 96kHz sampling rate...So who knows.
I actually prefer the line out / line in to amp, and I love the simplicity, as well as sound.
The Merak CD Player remote control has all the functionality needed, and in my overpopulated remote control collection, is my new favourite.
I use a spare Samsung Mobile Phone USB-C 2 amp charger to power the Merak, and have no problems with this power solution.
To power-up my system, I turn the power amp (Bose1800) on with input turned down, use the remote to power on the Merak, after loading a CD, and as it only takes 2 seconds to spin up and load the CD, use that time to turn up the AMP volume...to suit.
Gapless playback, luscious sound and cheecky presence...Fosi LOVE is all around the sound.
AndrewT

I was really excited when I got to see the Merak demo'd at a trade show. So much so, that I went and ordered one right after I saw it! Now that I've had it for a while, I can say I have no regrets.

I've used it both as a standalone CD player, and also as a CD transport. While I liked it as a transport (using optical), I found myself using it more as a CD player because the thing just sounds so dang good with the built in dac chip. Now I have it as part of my larger AV set up, and I often put on a CD and just chill with it.

One nice thing about it is that if you are using it at a desk, you can plug your headphones in directly, and use the volume slider on the side.

You can also rip CDs, but I haven't really played with that feature yet. But everything else works smoothly. Strong recommend for anyone looking for a compact, good sounding CD player.

I just received my new Merak CD Player. Ordering it was easy and the shipping, tracking information was flawless.
This is my second product from Fosi, first time I bought an Amp with Bluetooth for my daughter and it was great.
Now I am enjoying CD's again and the Merak CD player is beautifully built, easy to use and I keep the remote control next to me while working so I don't have to reach for the button in the CD player.
It was a pleasure from the moment I opened the box and the packaging is beautiful. The unit is super easy to use and the sound is awesome.
My installation was to a Sonos system at home. I ordered from Sonos the line-in adapter and I connected a 3.5 mm cable to the CD player (line-out in the back) and the other plug into the Sonos adapter. With the Sonos App I selected line-in to one of my Era 100 speakers and in a couple of minutes I was listening to wonderful recordings. It fits great on my desktop and doesn't take any space.
Great product!

Like most, I have not owned or played a CD since the early 2000s. As soon as Napster came out I was downloading everything like a mad man hahahaha

I remember talking to friends that kept their collection or still owned a DVD and paired CDs from time to time and always laughed.

After getting this, I must say that the nostalgia and genuine joy of going on marketplace and buying a batch of like 150 CDs for $40, the. Coming home to look for what I got in the pack, followed by taking it out and turning this one and playing a CD is something that you will also just appreciate and love.

I did see some sound improvements from streaming, like the music was more full or had more data. It may also just be in my head if I’m honest hahaha regardless it has been amazing and I 110% recommend you get one.

It’s not perfect, that latch is a mess and should really have a magnet or even just a spring with some tension or a clip or something. It just feel loose and I’d it clicked or latched or clipped close, it will feel better.

I see no use for the USB and ripping a CD, like come one, I’m getting this so I have and use physical media, not as a device to have digital files and stream them from a home server or something, plus even I did that, with no Meta data, it’s like going back to 1999 and manually adding all this to files.

Small things to fix for next version, but for now it just works and looks amazing next to my entire Fosi Audio setup.

The Fosi Audio Merak is one of those rare pieces that just works—and keeps working the way you expect. Sound quality is clean, detailed, and far more refined than you’d expect at this price. Whether through headphones or a system, it delivers a solid, enjoyable listening experience without fuss.

Where it really stands out is the overall experience around the product. Fosi’s customer service is responsive, helpful, and actually present—something that’s becoming rare. Questions get answered, support feels human, and you’re not left chasing solutions if you need help. That level of follow-through adds real value to the purchase.

The design is simple and well executed -well deserving the Red Dot Award, with the top-loading mechanism adding a tactile, satisfying touch. It’s compact, versatile, and does exactly what it promises without overcomplicating things.

Bottom line: great sound, thoughtful design, and standout customer support. Easy recommendation.

I needed a CD-player to complement my record player in my compact stereo setup. The direct optical output is exactly what I needed to connect into a tube amplifier. Can't wait to try the audio-interface features and CD-ripping.

I've tried a few modern, small-form-factor cd players and have gotten used to disappointment (most recently it was the KM5 which is much more expensive than the Fosi). I always end up going back to my old Pioneer Elite DVD player for cd playback because nothing has been able to compete. I'm happy to report I hooked up the Fosi Merak CD player to my bench system, and I haven't moved it since. It functions perfectly, but most importantly IT SOUNDS GOOD. I had to EQ the heck out of the KM5 just to get it to acceptable, but the Fosi sounds better without the EQ than the KM5 does with it. Compared with my tried-and-true Pioneer Elite DVD player, I would say the Fosi is almost identical in sound quality if not a tiny bit better. Love the remote. I have not used the digital out yet - only the line out. And thank goodness someone at Fosi knows that CD players are supposed to be silver. I will be buying a second one for my office system. Happy to five-star this thing. Golfing panther all the way...

Lo primero decir que viene muy bien presentado en una caja muy bonita, lo he probado con auriculares primero reproduciendo un cd y después con un pendrive con formato flac y suena de maravilla. Después lo he conectado a un amplificador y lo he vuelto a probar con un cd y con el pendrive, decir que este reproductor suena tan bien como otros reproductores mucho mas caros, además es muy silencioso, lo recomiendo.

I tried Coltrane on a known Transport CD player then compared it to the Merak- So did some A/B testing. The Merak was so transparent and I would say out of a score of 5 it was as good as the other “known cd transport player” , the score would be a 4.8 no I would say a 5! I ran both the CD Players through Fosi’s ZA3(Amp) and ZD3(DAC) and the legacy system & I must say I am impressed with the Merak!!! Good job Fosi!! Oh! And btw, the price point is excellent if u are starting out to set up your own system! The likes of Fosi is changing what it means to use Class D amps.

Have a FOSI pre amp that rocks. So when my Yamaha CD player died I just happened to run across an advertisement for the Merak! Well all I can say is WOW! Quality sound and well built! Big Bang for the bucks!!!!!

Excellent sound, easy handling!
Great with Sonos!

Exactly what i was looking for. Quality cd player with multiple output and cd ripper directly on a usb key.

Love everything about this player except one thing - when it starts to play a disc, if the first track has audio right at the beginning, it will cut off the first second or two. If you skip from the last track to the first the audio is not cut off..so it's something to do with the player first initializing. I reached out to fosi and they did get back to me quickly, saying that this is a feature they purposefully incorporated, that the player mutes between tracks to eliminate sound pops, but as the player does gapless playback just fine, this makes no sense. If it muted between all tracks the gapless would not work (gapless works just fine). Currently they have told me there is no software update to fix this but that they are looking into it. I hope this can be patched with a software fix. If they make another player like this I would love for it to have a battery to make it portable. Other than this I really enjoy the unit and am still glad I bought it.

The cd player is great. Works fantastically.

I’ve just been rediscovering my CD collection thanks to my Fosi BT20A Pro and Merak CD combo. I like to keep my audio set-up minimal and unobtrusive and the Merak is perfect for this! I use it primarily in a living room environment as my permanent sound system. The build quality of the Merak is outstanding thanks to the all-metal casing. I’m not a big hi fi fanatic but it sounds better than any other cd player I’ve had. The main thing for me is ease of use and good design. Merak delivers these, but sometimes I wish the control buttons could be slightly bigger and given more space – Perhaps making the player less thin in future models? However, well done Fosi I’m pleased with my set-up!

I was a bit apprehensive but just amazed how go it is. Very reasonable price.

Best cd player for the price and it looks very nice beside my mac 🙂