Name: ERC-4 Differential Reference™ CD Player and Transport
Brand: Emotiva Audio Corporation
SKU: SRC-CD-ERC-4
Price: 549.0 USD
Availability: OutOfStock

Photo of the front of the ERC-4 CD Player

ERC-4 Differential Reference™ CD Player and Transport

Sold Out

The Emotiva ERC-4 Differential Reference™ CD Player and Digital Transport combines a high-quality digital CD transport and a superb balanced DAC (digital-to-analog converter) in one convenient and attractive package. In addition to serving as an audiophile CD player and transport, the ERC-4 offers both Coaxial and Optical (Toslink) S/PDIF digital audio inputs, so you can also use it as a DAC with any of your other digital audio sources that includes a coaxial or optical output.

$549.00

$699.00

Temporarily unavailable

Quantity must be 1 or more

Notify Me When Available

Earn 5000 Reward Points with this purchase

If you are ordering from Emotiva Europe, the product cost includes all taxes and free shipping. It is higher than our USA product price which does not include any taxes. USA customers pay taxes as a separate line item fee added at checkout.

Need Help?

1-615-790-6754

Isometric photo of the front of the ERC-4 CD Player

Product Overview

Press play and hear the mix as it was mastered.

The ERC-4 Differential Reference CD Player and Transport is an audiophile CD player with a balanced DAC and a rock-solid digital transport for people who own their music. It plays Red Book CDs and the CD layer of hybrid SACDs, then focuses on timing, tone, and low noise so discs feel alive in real rooms. And when you want more than discs, the ERC-4’s coaxial and optical digital inputs accept stereo PCM up to 24/192, routing those signals through the same high-performance DACs and analog stage used for CDs. Your TV, streamer, or computer gets the same clear, dynamic sound.

A reinforced steel chassis, internal shielding, a precision tray mechanism, and a carefully engineered switch-mode power supply help keep vibration and interference out of the music. Connect line-level by XLR or RCA to a preamp, integrated amp, or powered speakers with volume control. Feed an external DAC with AES/EBU, coaxial, or optical outputs. Five Year Warranty, with support from the people who build it.

Common uses

• Enjoy reference-quality CD playback into your preamp or integrated amp
• Use as a high-quality digital transport feeding an external DAC
• Upgrade a TV, streamer, or computer via the ERC-4’s optical or coaxial inputs

Want a second set of ears on your setup or connection plan? Talk to us. Real humans, real answers, straight from the folks behind the gear.

Product Features

Own your music, play it right

Dedicated CD player and transport that makes Red Book CDs and the CD layer of hybrid SACDs sound present and natural, with real dynamic grip at everyday listening levels.

Closeup photo of the modesty plate covering the laser inside the ERC-4 CD Player

One DAC for every source

Coaxial and optical digital inputs accept stereo PCM up to 24/192 and run through the same balanced DAC and ultra-low-distortion analog stage used for discs, so your TV, streamer, or computer gets true hi-fi.

Photo of the top of the ERC-4 CD Player with the lid off showing internals

Quiet mechanics, stable power

A reinforced steel chassis, internal shielding, and mass loading fight vibration and noise. The smooth tray mechanism tracks consistently, while a low-noise switch-mode power supply keeps the background black.

Photo of the rear of the ERC-4 CD Player

Connection friendly, today and tomorrow

Plug into your system by balanced XLR or RCA. Send digital out to an external DAC via AES/EBU, coaxial, or optical. Add external sources through the ERC-4’s optical or coaxial inputs for an instant upgrade.

Everyday ease, backed for years

High-visibility OLED display, full front-panel controls, and a solid aluminum remote. Covered by a 5 Year Warranty with service from the same small, family-run team that builds the gear.

SUPPORTED DISC & AUDIO FORMATS

AUDIO SPECIFICATIONS

MECHANICAL & ENVIROMENTAL

Complete Your Audio Solution

These products work great with ERC-4 Differential Reference CD Player and Transport

15% Off Holiday Sale

Photo of the front of the XPA Gen3 2 Channel Amplifier

2 Channel Audiophile Stereo Power Amplifier

Regular price: $1,499.00
Sale price: $1,499.00
Unit price: per

15% Off Holiday Sale

Photo of the front of the XPA Gen3 DR2 2 Channel Amplifier

Differential Reference™ 2 Channel Power Amplifier

Regular price: $2,199.00
Sale price: $2,199.00
Unit price: per

Discontinued

A pair Airmotiv XT1 black floor-standing tower loudspeakers with multiple driver units visible.

Three-Way Floorstanding Tower Loudspeakers

Regular price: $999.00
Sale price: $999.00
Unit price: per

Sold Out

A pair of black Airmotiv XT3 floorstanding tower loudspeakers with multiple drivers visible on the front panel.

Three-Way Floorstanding Tower Loudspeaker

Regular price: $1,699.00
Sale price: $1,699.00
Unit price: per

Product Reviews

Disclaimer: I own the ERC3. I know there are some minor changes from the 3 to the 4 however the performance must be very similar. I've had my ERC3 for close to 10 years now and it performs now as the day I purchased it. That speaks volumes of build quality. The internal DAC is pretty decent. I've been enjoying my music with the ERC3 connected via XLR to an AVP. I recently invested in a separate DAC. What I believe sets the ERC apart from other players and transports is the connectivity in the back to accommodate an external DAC. I chose the AES/ABU port. This port allows a superior signal path. My CD collection has grown since my purchase of my ERC and now being used a transport? Unbelievable sound. I will tell you the truth, I used to enjoy music, now, I experience it! The ERC gains my highest recommendation!!

Audiophile Quality Reference CD player

This CD player looks and sounds superb. I had a couple of old CDs and they played flawlessly. I did have a couple of problems with blank out that I am going through but I believe it has to do with the CD as opposed to the player. Further investigation will tell me for sure. But if you want a really crystal clear superb quality CD player/transport this is it. I actually use this player as a transport ran through my Arcam ST60 network player/DAC. . . . AMAZING SOUND.

Amazing Audiophile CD Transport

Wow! Just wow! My old Technics CD transport was finally giving up and since now 90% of my gear is Emotiva, I decide to purchase the ERC-4. I had read mixed reviews about the player and it took a while before I took the chance on it. I hooked it up to my XDA-3 using XLR balanced cables, which is hooked up to my XPA-DR2 Differential Reference amp. I started with Kacey Musgraves' Golden Hour CD. The guitar just came alive in the room. Kacey's voice was so clear and detailed. After spinning that I put on Van Morrison's Back on Top. I laid back and drifted into the music. Beautiful! So quiet and yet so clear. This CD player is amazing! Yeah, it would be cool if it had gapless playback, but I'm mainly a vinyl listener, so not a purchase killer. This is a solid, great-sounding, audiophile CD player. If you are a CD person and gapless playback is not a big deal to you, this is worth every penny. I love it! Thanks again Emotive!

Love my BASX TA-100 Preamp and my ERC-4 CD Player!!!!

So! I own a pair of Mono Blocks XPA-1's, the ERC-3, and the USP-1 pre-amp. This has been my main audiophile system for quite some time now. Everything is still almost like new because I gently use my equipment. I have all of that equipment in my Man Cave. However, I needed a system in the center of my home so I decided purchase my recent system and at the time I thought that it would be a great sounding system but not nearly as great as my existing one. Man, was I wrong! I connected this system up to a pair of custom pair of speakers that I had tucked away for the perfect time to use them and once I went live with the entire system hooked up. All I can say is, AMAZING!!!!!!!! This system sounds just as good as my system using the Mono Blocks! I could not believe my ears. The clarity is unmatched, and I thought that I would miss the power of the Mono Blocks, NOT AT ALL. I can't stop playing this system. My larger system is getting neglected right now. I am just so excited about the quality of this system right now. It was an excellent choice for me...

Huge disppointment

Had such high hopes for this new CD player.. On only the second disc played the display screen went blurry , then returned to normal after playing the next disc .
On the 4th disc the CD tray would no longer open .. tried all the tricks but could never get it to open again .. sent the unit back for a refund ..
I got to hear about 75 minutes of music and cost me $50.00 to return and lost one CD Disc …. perhaps I just got a bad unit but I would never buy again ..
I'll stick to my 6 year old Rotel instead.. until something better comes along .

Emotiva L:hearts:️ve!

Absolutely love all my Emotiva gear I recently acquired! All my components have vastly exceeded my expectations! I would highly recommend their audio gear for any discerning audiophile in the market for updating or upgrading!

Had a problem with the

Had a problem with the first one so I called customer service and explained. They were outstanding. They actually sent another one to me before I sent the first one back. Unheard of! The ERC-4 is at the top of the food chain. Period.

Simple solution: one amp+on CD with 2 digital input, great result

Accurate sound, the spliff input is a game-changer for me. I could hook my streaming from TV and use the DAC in the cd to listen to music. Also ad the chance to find an analogue to spiff converter and hook my turntable in the DAC.

one CD player, SPDIF coax my turntable with a converter (analogue to digital); SPDIF digital TV and one amp Bas Xa-100=Result one great great great sound and fun fun fun and easy solution. The focus is on music, not the gizmo.

Upgrade for next-generation CD player ad an analogue to digital converter in it.

Best regards all

Recommended highly!

I really like the sound and build quality of this. I replaced an AMC with this and also have a McIntosh. My Emotiva is very transparent but not harsh and “digital” sounding like many. Shipping was fast and condition excellent. Couldn’t be more pleased!

Almost Perfect, and Built like a Tank

I recently upgraded my home office system with Emotiva all around including a TA-100, ERC-4, B1+ speakers and an SE8 sub. If you have to work at home, you might as well enjoy your music...

The ERC-4 is a fantastic sounding CD player that replaced a vintage '90's Sony ES model, and it is a huge step up in sound quality. The transport is very quiet, and the remote is an all metal "brick". The ERC-4 is built like a tank, and should last for years. The controls are cut down to just those you really need and includes none of the programmable crap most folks never used in older players. It's just a solid piece of gear that sounds wonderful on my new modest entry level system. Someday, I hope to use it on a "main" system that I hope to build with the even nicer Emotiva products.

There is one glaring deficiency with the ERC-4, and it may be a show stopper for some. This player does not handle "gapless" track transitions like those found on many live albums as well as rock classics like "Dark Side of the Moon" and side 2 of "Abbey Road". The ERC-4 will insert a noticeable gap in this situation which can be quite jarring to your listening experience. Per Emotiva tech support, this is inherent in the ERC-4 design and is just the way it is. I can respect that, but I do have to take a star off the rating for what I would consider a design flaw.

With the "gapless" issue understood, I still made the decision to stay with the ERC-4 and live with the deficiency. It's so good overall that it's worth it to me.

Well done Emotiva. The ERC-4 is not perfect, but it's very close in my opinion.

Erc4 CD Transport is Amazing

I sold my Yamaha CDS300 so I could get this awesome CD player!!! OMG !!! It is everything they state plus some!!! The musical notes and details from my CDS are phenomenal coming out of this Erc4!!!! Just buy one ALLREADY!!! You'll be glad you did!! Highly recommend to ALL who still love their CDS!!!

Clever Emotiva April-Fool's Joke Product That Actually Made It To Production

This is an incredibly well-built player(read: industrial jewelry), with a fantastic remote, and it sounds great, too. It's just not made for people who actually listen to CDs. It inserts artificial, audible gaps between tracks which makes albums that were recorded with tracks that blend into each other impossible to listen to. I did read a previous review where someone commented on this condition but I thought "No, it couldn't be" because...why would anyone make a CD player do this? I didn't make it through the first "side" of Queen II. Did nobody put The Beatles' "Abbey Road" in it and listen to it before sending to the marketplace?

It's like making a four door car where one door does not open by design. Or put another way, it's just broken.

Part of what made me decide to order this was the funny clever YouTube clips of April-Fools-joke products, but unfortunately one of these actually made it into production.

The customer service for the record was excellent and I didn't receive any grief in requesting a return label. But anyone who actually listens to CDs would be better served looking elsewhere. I work in the professional audio industry and I fully understand when a product does not represent a brand and this is unfortunately, a perfect example.

I never thought a CD could sound so great!

I just learned about DAC's and didn't know that I could utilize my 200 CD collection and transform them from digital to analog through the built in DAC within this unit. Well, this CD player can! I couldn't tell the difference from my vinyl records. I hear so much more than I did before. The sound is rich and deep. I also hear things that I haven't heard before. If you have a bunch of CD's, buy this beautiful piece of equipment, because it doesn't get any better than this.

Not impressed for the price.

This is the first NEW CD player I've purchased in several years (though I do have several older ones) and I wanted to see where technology has taken the format. I ordered this unit because I certainly wanted better than entry-level, and I also wanted balanced, XLR connections.

After owning it a few weeks (I may or may not still be in the return period), here are my impressions:
The remote is nice. The metal is nice and it's easy to use.
The display on the front of the unit is dimmable, which is nice.

The transport is rather clunky. Not impressed. The plastic disc tray and moving in/out mechanism is NOT what I would call "audiophile grade" by any means. I took the cover off of the unit, and it is a plastic drive with plastic gearing. Definitely not the smoothest CD player I have ever used.
The DAC is serviceable, but that's about where it ends. Sounds similar to a Sony ES CD player/changer I have that was produced in the mid 90's. Not that that is a bad thing, but I kind of expected more.....that the DAC sounds so similar to a 25 year old Sony kind of makes me wonder....
The specs state that the output of the balanced vs unbalanced (XLR vs RCA jacks) is a magnitude of several db difference. This is demonstrable on another, older CD player I own where the output level is noticeably different using XLRs vs RCA cables. I notice no such difference on the Emotiva. (How can that be?)
The lack of support of "gapless" playback....well, I thought that was no big deal when I bought it. However, the first time I listened to a live CD through the unit, I was shocked at what happened. What this means is that if the CD is mastered (live performance) with crowd noise in between songs (say, tracks 1 and 2, etc...), the CD will actually insert a 2 second-ish "dead-air gap" between the songs, destroying the continuity of the recording. This is unacceptable to me. (For the record: Rush, A Show of Hands CD. Playback on any of my other CD players does not do this and the songs play continuously from one track to the next.) Why? What could possibly be the purpose of this?

I have noticed the "stand-by" button which turns blue when pushed and during operation occasionally, intermittently flashes the amber color, even during playback. ????

The unit arrived with the front plate to the CD transport (for the drive) bouncing around in the box. I super-glued it back on, but it is obvious that it is glued onto the drive to begin with. Not a big deal, but still, a couple of screws wouldn't have hurt, except that the drive is actually plastic.

I probably ought to see if I can return it, because every time I use it, it kind of irritates me that it cost $600. I just think for that kind of money, you should get something with noticeably better quality than a $100 player.

Love it!

Packaged well. Looks awesome. Sounds amazing!

Shame on You Emotiva

My ERC-3 (which I loved) stopped working, and rather than trying to get it fixed I traded it in for an ERC-4. Foolishly, I did not read the reviews carefully. I just noted that they appear to be 5-star overall (which is deceiving as there are actually several negative reviews) and relied on the product description. Huge mistake.

I was not even familiar with the term "gapless playback" as it never occurred to me that anyone would ever make a unit that did NOT have that feature. I've owned at least 10 CD players over the years - mostly cheap ones - and all had gapless playback.

Well, I know the term now. I listen almost exclusively to classical music, including live performances, operas, and lots of other works that have no gaps between tracks. With the ERC-4, that means one or two seconds dead silence constantly being inserted into what is supposed to be continuous music. It is absolutely infuriating. In short Emotiva is marketing a product that is defective by design and having the gall to call it "audiophile equipment." That is ridiculous. I've been a long-time customer but I am now done with this company.

Quality throughout

Ordered the ERC 4 on May 30th and had it in hand a few days later. Purchased to go with my all Emotiva set-up in my home office, and like the other Emotiva gear, fast & reliable shipping. The unit came double boxed and so well packed that even FedEx couldn't harm it (we've all been there with our gear), fortunately, UPS delivered it without a mark on the outer box. The ERC 4 matches perfectly with my other gear in the stack, although the blue display is slightly different that my Emotiva tuner and 2-channel amp. Functionality, no issues, this unit is well thought out and executed. Love the DAC and love the fact it can be used a s a transport as well. Bottomline, very nice construction, beefy power cord, probably the best versatility in a CD player that I've seen on the market, certainly nothing out there at this price point that gives you this functionality at a reference level ... an awesome add to my Emotiva set-up. Very highly recommended!!

Excellent sound , amazing build quality , very satisfied !!

5 stars Totally impressed.

Ordered 2/28. Received 3/1. The more I listened the better it sounded. Replaced ERC-2 that I am gifting to a friend

Great cd player!!

Great CD Player!

The ERC-4 replaces a Denon CD player and I used the coax output on both. My wife and I could hear a positive difference immediately. The ERC-4 is very well built and I really appreciate the remote layout and quality. Thanks Emotiva once again.

audio extravaganza

Jun 2026. Matches well with my Emotiva power amp and Emotiva preamplifier. Built like a tank.
Sound quality outstanding. Make sure to use quality XLR cables.

Everything, fastest delivery ever, double boxxed!!!

Amazing product as always

Product Overview