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Review Videos
$140 Gets You More Than You Think
Matt Coykendall
Finally, a Cheap CD Player that Makes Sense!
Forever Analog
Prezzi Umani per l'Hi-Fi
Riccardo Palombo
CDs sind zurück?! Macht der Merak sie wieder spannend?
andisolo
$140 Gets You More Than You Think
Matt Coykendall
Finally, a Cheap CD Player that Makes Sense!
Forever Analog
Prezzi Umani per l'Hi-Fi
Riccardo Palombo
CDs sind zurück?! Macht der Merak sie wieder spannend?
andisolo
Wake Your CD Collection Again
Fosi Audio Merak CD Player
Merak takes its name from Beta Ursae Majoris, a star in the constellation Ursa Major. It has often been used as a reference point for locating the North Star, symbolizing guidance and direction. Inspired by this meaning, we hope Merak becomes a point of reference in your listening journey—bringing more precise imaging and a more immersive experience.
Seamless System Integration
With optical and line outputs, it connects easily to DACs, amplifiers, or active speakers. The included remote control allows convenient input/output switching and track selection. A 12V Trigger output enables synchronized power with Fosi devices like ZD3 and ZA3.
Precision mechanism and servo system ensure accurate disc reading, stable tracking, and smooth playback with reduced disc wear.
Precision Mech & Servo System
Gapless Playback
Gapless playback eliminates track gaps, making it ideal for live recordings and symphonic music.
Built for Daily Use
Four Playback Modes
Easily switch between Play Once, Repeat One, Repeat All, and Shuffle using the front panel controls or the remote.
Flexible Playback Control
Lid-Open Auto Stop
Automatically stops playback when the lid is opened, preventing disc rotation and reducing mechanical stress during operation.
Playback Stops When Opened
ESP Anti-Skip
ESP minimizes playback interruptions from vibration, ensuring stable performance during movement or external disturbances.
Electronic Shock Protection
Plug and Play
Equipped with a 3.5mm headphone jack delivering up to 210mW ×2 of output power. Simply plug in your headphones and enjoy your own private listening moment. Its compact design fits easily on a bedside table or beside the sofa, letting you fully relax and unwind with music.
Simple Setup, Instant Playback
Curated Audio Chipset
Built-in CS43131 DAC paired with 2 TPA6120 op-amps design, Merak supports up to PCM 16bit/96kHz audio. With a 124dB SNR and 0.0009% THD, it delivers a clean signal faithful to the original CD recording.
Greater Fidelity
CD Ripping
Merak features one-touch CD ripping, saving original CD audio as 16bit/44.1kHz WAV files to a USB drive without loss of quality. Equipped with a USB-A input, supporting USB drives up to 128GB for direct music playback.
USB Drive Playback
Product details
Description
Precision CD Transport: Optimized servo system ensures accurate disc reading, smooth playback, and reduced wear, supporting stable long-term performance and consistent audio output. All-in-One Audio Design: Combines CD player, DAC, and headphone amplifier in one unit, simplifying setup while maintaining low distortion and clear signal reproduction. CD Ripping & USB Playback: Supports CD ripping to USB and direct playback, enabling easy conversion to digital files and convenient access without additional devices. Flexible Output Connectivity: Multiple outputs support headphones, amplifiers, and active speakers, allowing seamless integration into desktop systems or larger audio setups. ESP Anti-Skip Protection: 60-second buffering reduces interruptions from vibration, maintaining stable playback and improving reliability in movement or less controlled environments.
“This is what happens when a company is laser focused on customer needs and excellence in engineering.”
"If you want a small, simple, affordable integrated amp with lots of power, the Fosi Audio BT20A Pro is your best choice."
“Are they the last word in anything? Of course not. But where value for money is concerned – and that is made up of a combination of performance, specification, build quality, pride of ownership, user interface (such as it is where a product like the V3 monoblock is concerned) – the company seems to hit the nail on the head.”
“Team Fosi does clear, controlled, clean-as-a-whistle ‘hi-fi’ like a dream”
"Long story short, the Fosi V3 Mono Amp is one of the best power amplifiers I have ever reviewed to this day."
"It may not look like it, but the Fosi Audio BT20A Pro is a powerful amplifier in a small package. It may be barebones, but it sounds bigger than the price tag would have you expecting."
"You don’t need to spend thousands or even hundreds to gain entry into Audiophile Land. Fosi Audio’s DS2 2024 is proof of that!"
"What I have learned for sure, though, is that Fosi Audio goes about things the right way and is far more sincere than it is cynical in its efforts to part you from your hard-earned."
"The affordable Fosi Audio DS1 is our favorite headphone amp/DAC because it has the needed connections and power output to suit most headphones."
Great piece of kit, excellent sturdy build quality, output options and sound quality. I run through the Fosi MC331 hybrid amp via optical out and it sounds lush.
HOWEVER, why is it silver? Everything else in the range is black, and in my stack it sticks out like a sore thumb
D
Dave G.
Surprisingly good and worth a punt
I purchased this out of curiosity, as it seems the desktop cd player is becoming "a thing" presumably driven by the "retro" vibe of CD amongst those with a proclivity to hipsterism. My last CD player being a DVD vide player circa 1999 (a Pioneer) I long ago ripped my CD collection into wav files using dBpoweramp.
Anyway, I loaded up a CD and plugged in a pair of Beyerdynamic DT 270 Pros. I was shocked to be greeted with a very good sound; I’m used to listening to headphones out of a desktop headphone amp (CI Audio VHP2 and Graham Slee Solo Diamond Edition – constructed from the upgrade board for a fraction of the normal retail cost) so wasn’t expecting to hear a great deal of real-world dynamics and well developed fortissimo from this player, but that, surprisingly, was what I heard. Also, the top end wasn’t artificially blunted to mask digital grain, instead I was greeted with fleshed-out, organic sound to musical instruments. I checked to see what headphone amp chip this player uses and it turns out it’s the Texas Instruments TPA6120, the same chip that’s in my CI Audio VHP2 – that explained the superior sound quality.
As an aside, this CD player would make an excellent DAC/AMP if it had a USB type C input and the use of the higher bit depths and sample rates, and that would be an excellent choice for a mk2 version.
I’m actually now using this player as a CD ripper, as I still buy CDs (I’ve never streamed music, and never will); the quality of the rips is as good as anything that can obtained from a computer via dbPoweramp or EAC (a CD rip is a bitstream copy, not a direct file copy as with DVD or Blu-ray) and whilst the limitation of the connected USB drive to FAT32 and its concomitant filename quirkiness is a pain, I can live with that.
M
M.
Everything as promised
From shipping to product, all fully satisfactory
Z
Zannini A.
ottimo
mi è molto piaciuto ottimo prodotto ...acquistero' altro come posso
R
Roman313
The rips are genuinely excellent.
I picked up the Fosi Merak after returning the SMSL PL 100 PRO, which was reading my discs chaotically — it refused to play roughly half of my collection. I’ve been using cheap DVD transports for years and never had a single issue, so the SMSL’s behavior was a surprise.
The Merak, on the other hand, reads every disc flawlessly. Zero errors, zero hesitation.
One thing I want to highlight is the CD‑to‑USB recording quality.
The rips are genuinely excellent.
