Fosi Audio Merak CD Player

A Compact CD Player That Earns Its Keep as a Desktop Transport

After the Fosi Audio Luna 3 turntable and the S3 streamer, the Merak represents a genuinely unexpected direction from the brand: a standalone CD player, their first. Fosi have been steadily expanding from headphone amplifiers into every corner of the desktop hi-fi chain, and a CD player is a natural extension for a brand whose customers are clearly interested in physical media as much as streaming. The Merak is compact, priced accessibly at $169.99, and built around a CS43131 DAC and TPA6120 headphone amplifier — chipset choices that signal a focus on clean, transparent output rather than any particular tuning.

I have been living with the Merak for about four weeks, and it has settled into a specific but very comfortable role: connected via its optical output to my FiiO K17, sitting in my hi-fi rack, and serving as the source whenever I want to listen to a full CD album without thinking about it. The slider volume control — a long-throw, smooth-action mechanism on the side panel — is the standout physical detail, and the one that most visitors to my desk have commented on. What I will return to in more detail is how the Merak compares to the more feature-laden FiiO DM13 I reviewed previously, and why for most of my actual CD listening the Merak is the more satisfying device. But first, let’s take a look at what’s in the box.

Unboxing and Build Quality

My review unit arrived in a plain white box — this was a pre-release sample, so the retail packaging will differ — but it did a perfectly adequate job of protecting the player during transit.

Opening up reveals the Merak nestled in protective foam, immediately striking for its compact size — smaller than it looks in most online images or expo footage.

In the box you get: the Merak CD player, a power cable (no power supply included — it runs on DC 5V/2A via USB-C), a 12V trigger cable, the infrared remote control, and a user manual.

The build quality is solid in the hand. The chassis has a satisfying weight to it for its size — not heavy, but with enough mass to feel purposeful rather than cheap. The finish is silver, which I will note sits visually apart from the rest of the Fosi ecosystem if you are running a full Fosi rack; most of their desktop products are black. That is purely an aesthetic observation rather than a functional one, but it is worth knowing if visual cohesion in a stacked system matters to you.

The front panel is compact and deliberately minimal — a small OLED display for track and playback status, a motorised disc tray, and a handful of small buttons. There is no Fosi logo on the front panel itself, which is an odd omission, but it gives the face a clean, unbranded look.

The top surface is clean and uncluttered — the disc tray mechanism sits neatly flush when closed. One practical point worth noting: when optical or line-out cables are inserted in the rear, the tray door’s opening angle is slightly constrained by the plugs. It is not a showstopper, but on a tight desk with thick cables it is something to account for during placement.

The standout physical detail is the volume slider on the side panel — a long-throw linear control that handles volume with a smooth, satisfying action quite unlike any rotary knob.

When I use the Merak as a transport with volume management handled downstream by the FiiO K17, I never touch this slider at all. But when I plug headphones directly into the front 3.5mm jack, it becomes the most tactile thing about the experience. There is a very slight channel imbalance at the extreme low end of the travel — typical of long-throw sliders — but above that threshold it is perfectly even and responsive.

Features

Playback and Format Support

The Merak handles standard pressed CDs (CDDA), CD-R, and CD-RW discs, and the USB-A port on the rear accepts flash drives containing MP3, WAV, FLAC, AAC, APE, and WMA files — up to 128GB in capacity. Track skipping is fast and disc reading is quiet and stable, even on older self-pressed discs that occasionally cause issues on cheaper players. The ESP (Electronic Shock Protection) switch on the rear is a carry-over from the Merak’s portable-adjacent design ambitions, though in practice the player is stable even with ESP switched off — it does not skip even under some light handling stress.

The OLED display is clear and bright, with adjustable brightness, showing track number, elapsed time, and playback status cleanly at a desk distance.

Remote Control

The Merak ships with an IR remote that covers the full function set: play, pause, stop, skip forward and back, repeat modes, and volume. The claimed effective range is seven metres and in practice it works reliably from across a normal room without needing to aim carefully.

The guide above illustrates every button’s function clearly — this is worth a quick read before first use, since a few of the mode buttons are not immediately obvious from the labelling alone. Once you have learned the layout it becomes second nature, and for desk use having full control without touching the unit is genuinely useful, especially given the volume knob and power button are on the rear panel.

Outputs and Connectivity

The rear panel carries everything you need for desktop integration: 3.5mm line output, optical (TosLink) digital output, the USB-A port for flash drives, and the USB-C DC input. A 12V trigger output allows the Merak to power-sequence downstream components automatically when the player switches on — a useful integration feature at this price point that you would typically expect to find on considerably more expensive gear.

The optical output is the reason the Merak now has a permanent place in my rack. Connected to the FiiO K17’s optical input, it delivers a clean, stable digital signal that the K17 then decodes with its own considerably more capable DAC stage. The difference compared to listening through the Merak’s own DAC directly is audible but not dramatic — the Merak’s internal CS43131 is genuinely capable — but for critical listening the transparency of running it purely as a transport is the right approach.

CD Recording to USB

The Merak includes a rip-to-USB function, recording individual tracks or full discs as uncompressed WAV files at 16-bit/44.1kHz. My experience with this feature was mixed, though I am reasonably confident the issues I encountered — primarily around the USB drives I used — reflect limitations on the media side rather than the Merak itself. The rip function is noted to require FAT32-formatted drives up to 32GB, and the interaction with larger or differently formatted drives is variable. For users who want a standalone solution to digitise their CD collection without a computer, the feature works when the right USB drive is used — but it is not the Merak’s headline selling point and I would not weight it heavily in a purchase decision.

What Is Missing

The Merak cannot function as a USB DAC for a laptop or computer — the USB-C port is power-only. There is no internal battery, which the ESP switch somewhat implies it should have; you cannot run it from a powerbank in any practically useful way since there is no carrying handle or locking disc mechanism. If you are looking for a portable CD player in the FiiO DM13 sense — something with a battery that travels — the Merak is the wrong product. For desk and rack use, those omissions are completely irrelevant.

Sound Impressions

All critical listening was conducted with the Merak connected optically to a FiiO K17 as transport, with secondary impressions gathered via the 3.5mm headphone output using the Sennheiser HD600 and a pair of harder-to-drive planar headphones. Source material was exclusively CD — pressed originals and a small selection of CD-Rs.

As a Transport

The transparency of the optical output connected to the K17 is the primary reason the Merak has stayed in my rack. CDs that I know well sound exactly as they should — no editorialising, no added warmth or brightness, just the recording as it was mastered. The crystal oscillator-controlled digital output keeps jitter low, and the result through the K17 is as clean a CD presentation as I have heard at this price. Donald Fagen’s The Nightfly — a recording I use as a reference for clean, extended low-end and the feel of a well-mastered studio production — sounds precise and natural. Steely Dan’s “Aja” renders the kick drum and bass guitar with the definition and timing I expect from that recording. There is nothing here to complain about.

Headphone Output

The headphone output via the 3.5mm jack, driven by the CS43131 DAC and TPA6120 amp, is genuinely competent for the price. At 210mW into 32Ω the Merak has enough headroom to drive the HD600 with authority, and I found it handled the planar headphones without audible strain at reasonable listening levels. The presentation is clean and neutral — no obvious colouration, no mid-bass warmth added for consumer-friendly flattery, no brightness that would suggest the designer was compensating for anything. Joni Mitchell’s “A Case of You” sits naturally and intimately through the HD600, the vocal body and guitar texture both rendered faithfully without either element being pushed. The Nils Lofgren live track “Keith Don’t Go” resolves the high-harmonic guitar shimmer cleanly, with good upper-harmonic resolution that reflects well on the CS43131’s implementation.

The honest caveat: if you have access to a better headphone amplifier — and at this price you likely do, or will soon — you will route the Merak through it rather than rely on the built-in output for serious listening. I use the K17’s headphone stage for that purpose without a second thought. The Merak’s 3.5mm output is best understood as a competent convenience feature rather than the primary reason to buy the device.

Comparisons

Fosi Audio Merak vs FiiO DM13

The FiiO DM13 is the natural comparison, and it is genuinely instructive. The DM13 is a considerably more feature-complete device: dual CS43198 DAC chips, dual SGM8262 headphone amplifiers, a 4.4mm balanced output, Bluetooth, a 3750mAh internal battery delivering around ten hours of playback, USB DAC functionality, and balanced line outputs — all at a price premium over the Merak. On paper it is the more impressive device in every measurable dimension.

In practice, however, I found myself reaching for the Merak more often for straightforward album listening, and the reason is simple: the DM13’s menu system is complex enough that operating it for basic playback involves decisions you should not have to make. Skipping tracks, changing repeat modes, navigating between disc and USB inputs — none of it is difficult, but none of it is instinctive either. The Merak, by contrast, behaves exactly as a CD player should: press play, it plays. The remote is logically laid out and works first time. For the 99% of my CD use that consists of putting on a full album and listening without interruption, the Merak is simply less friction. The DM13 earns its price for users who specifically need the battery, the balanced outputs, or the USB DAC function. For a desk-based transport that does one thing very well, the Merak is the more focused answer.

Specifications and Measurements

3.5mm Headphone Output (CD):

LINE Output (CD):

The LINE output figures — 124dB SNR, 0.0009% THD+N — are genuinely impressive for a CD player at this price and confirm why using the Merak as a transport rather than relying on its internal DAC is rewarding. The 3.5mm output numbers are strong for a headphone stage at $169, with 121dB SNR and 210mW of available power translating to the clean, low-noise background I heard during listening.

Rating Explanation

The Merak earns its pragmatic rating of four because it delivers cleanly on the thing a CD player actually needs to do — spin discs, read them reliably, and output a clean signal — at a price that is difficult to fault. The optical output quality makes it a genuinely useful transport for anyone with an external DAC or integrated amplifier with a digital input, and the headphone output provides enough clean power to be a usable standalone device in its own right. The slider volume control is a small but genuine delight, and the IR remote is the kind of peripheral that simply works. For the listener whose CD use is primarily desk-based album listening rather than portable playback, this is an easy recommendation.

The features rating of four is the honest acknowledgement of what the Merak is not. The absence of a battery is a real limitation if portability matters to you — the ESP switch and compact dimensions suggest it was at least considered in the design — and the inability to function as a USB DAC for a laptop is a gap that competing products at similar or higher prices have covered. The CD ripping function is present and useful when the right USB drive is used, but it is not reliable enough across all media to be weighted heavily. None of these are problems for my primary use case, but they are real limitations for someone buying with different expectations.

The price rating of five reflects the straightforward reality that $169.99 for this level of transport quality and headphone amplification is competitive. The specifications back it up: 124dB SNR and 0.0009% THD+N on the line output are benchmark figures for the category.

Conclusion

The Fosi Audio Merak CD Player has been a pleasant and uncomplicated addition to my desk. It does not try to be a portable device — despite the size and the ESP switch — and it does not try to be a Swiss Army knife of digital audio. What it is, convincingly and at an honest price, is a compact CD transport with a clean optical output, enough headphone power to be useful standalone, and a satisfying slider volume control that somehow makes putting on a CD feel more considered than reaching for a phone.

If you have a collection of CDs and a hi-fi chain with a spare digital input, the Merak earns its place in it without drama or qualification. If you need Bluetooth, balanced outputs, or a battery for portable use, look at the FiiO DM13 instead. The Merak is for listeners who have decided what they want — a good CD transport for the desk — and want exactly that, done well, without paying for features they will not use.