The Muse Erato II Modular Digital Player

Sweet Inspiration…

So a couple of days later, generally unexcited and a mite lukewarm about the Erato (which had been warming up in the interim) and feeling much the same about the Eagles, I put the good old boys into that rather flimsy disc-tray and gave them another spin. My, what a surprise. The compression was still there but there was so much less of it that those vocal harmonies had a lot more breadth and depth. No longer did they sound pinched, mean and one-dimensional. Now it was easy to identify each singer’s voice individually. That old Eagles sound was back and the songs were as pretty as before. They hadn’t lost their ability to write great hooks and some of those tunes and arrangements were to go round and round in my head for days after. What was going on? I trawled through my CDs, playing more and more “difficult” recordings and was generally amazed at how different and fresh the music seemed to me so I rang a friend who lives locally and asked him to drop by and bring some music with him. The same thing happened and he trod the same path as me by being initially perplexed before becoming suitably impressed and all in equal measure. I could not ignore the fact that I was really enjoying the Muse and not just because it was very different either. I was playing more CDs than usual and making new musical discoveries. These moments of enlightenment delighted me and I found I was reconnecting with music on a level and with an intensity that I often find elusive. Sometimes in life it is better not to over analyze and just enjoy. It’s easier that way.

I began to think about what was happening here in more detail. But the player had to go back and then a few weeks later I read RG’s review. Roy’s point about a lack of emphasis seems to crystallize my thoughts exactly. This Muse is completely without it. There is an unforced quality about the way that it streams music that truly does extend in all directions. The lack of it had caused me to question what I had perceived as the low output and I had indeed and as RG states, chased it with the volume control. But the Erato never feels as if it is squeezing the reconstituted music into the pre-amplifier. Resolution of detail just seems to happen naturally and as a consequence of the piece. It is never overt or obvious just as the rhythmic elements of the music are never reliant on the marker beat of the snare or bass drum indicating that each bar has come to an end. The balance is sheer and quite beautifully stated, or should that be understated? Once you have latched on to what the Muse is all about, I doubt many other players will ever sound the same to you again. They may well sound crude and thrusting and you’ll no longer be able to ignore the way that their balance has been shaped. That emphasis or exaggeration becomes a crutch that we’ve all come to lean on; pull it away and you are left floundering, which is exactly what the Erato II is capable of. It really is that startling, though I am not saying that everyone will see it that way. Indeed, I think your thoughts about it might well be system-dependent – and there are plenty of systems out there that need all the props they can get. But where so many CD players these days offer variations on an all too familiar theme, the Erato II has a quite different story to tell. Take the trouble to listen and you might well learn a few things to your advantage.

Where does that leave me after an all too brief flirtation? I want the Muse back, preferably for a really long-term listen this time. I will put up with its horribly recessed transport buttons, ones that will accept only small fingers offered at the correct angle, irritating remote and a display so sunken into the front panel that you cannot see it unless it happens to be at the right height. Yes, I want it back because the future of CD might well be to do things the Muse way. But mostly I want it back for the musical experience. The problem is that it has left its mark on me and I’d like more time to fully understand why. That’s my story anyway…