Caledon1297
pfm Member
Naim CDS - still the most musically satisfying CD replay I've heard, though I continue to search (in vain?) for better...
CD players of yesteryear
- Thread starter Miller-8
- Start date
Caledon1297
pfm Member
Didn't think much of the CD10, but perhaps that's because I (seem to) tend to favour players based around the TDA1541A?
Not heard the CD7, unfortunately.
Mike P
Trade: Pickwell Audio
The CD7 came out after Philips stopped producing decent mechs and so is unfortunately let down by a cheap laser.
I've spent some time with one and no doubt it is a wonderful player. I found it was a very resolving and exciting listen but ultimately I prefer the CD12+DA12, which I find more natural and musical.
I've spent some time with one and no doubt it is a wonderful player. I found it was a very resolving and exciting listen but ultimately I prefer the CD12+DA12, which I find more natural and musical.
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Mike P
Trade: Pickwell Audio
I'd love a 63T.
Rico
Bloody Colonials
Jeez, I have one of these I bought used in 1992. it's on extended loan with a friend. I liked it's multi-bitness. I also ran it with an Audio Alchemy DDE 3.0 HDCD DAC. Then I changed to Arcam Alpha 7CD with the DAC. than naked. The Alpha 7 CD aced the Sony 338ESd for music. I don't think that's a massive endorsement for such a beautifully-made player.
evaluated through Nait 2 or 72/Hi/250, both through ES11s.
Rico
Bloody Colonials
let me know where you are, I can recommend a few.
Rico
Bloody Colonials
My few cents worth:
Exceptional CDP of yesteryear is the 'plastic fantastic', the Philips CD-502. 16 bit, TDA1541, cheap as chips. Not the tidiest presentation, but all the fun. Just NZD399 back in the late 80's. On top of a Mana table, about the closest thing to a Naim CDS on Soundorg. I have two of them (one out on loan). Somehow, Philips really captured the magic in that machine.
Arcam Alpha 5+ CD. That timed well. Not too polite, not too fussy, relatively fun to listen to.
Naim Audio CDX (olive). The first CDP I heard that I knew I could live with and enjoy, timed and swung like a late-80's spec LP12/Ittok/Valhalla (pre-Cirkus).
Naim Audio CD3. Timed brilliantly, dug into the music, didn't sugar-coat anything. Better than the CD3.5 that followed, that did some things better, seemed a little fuller but somehow lost a bit of the magic while introducing the Naim PSU upgrade path.
Rega Planet. Fun. A bit better than the Alpha 5+ CD.
also-rans
The Rotel RCD-955 (BX?) was better than the 965BX, it timed better though was a little less polite. There are much better older CDPs to be bothering with than these once highly-rated players. They're better than the Marantz CD-63 KI Sig, too (overrated IMHO).
Exceptional CDP of yesteryear is the 'plastic fantastic', the Philips CD-502. 16 bit, TDA1541, cheap as chips. Not the tidiest presentation, but all the fun. Just NZD399 back in the late 80's. On top of a Mana table, about the closest thing to a Naim CDS on Soundorg. I have two of them (one out on loan). Somehow, Philips really captured the magic in that machine.
Arcam Alpha 5+ CD. That timed well. Not too polite, not too fussy, relatively fun to listen to.
Naim Audio CDX (olive). The first CDP I heard that I knew I could live with and enjoy, timed and swung like a late-80's spec LP12/Ittok/Valhalla (pre-Cirkus).
Naim Audio CD3. Timed brilliantly, dug into the music, didn't sugar-coat anything. Better than the CD3.5 that followed, that did some things better, seemed a little fuller but somehow lost a bit of the magic while introducing the Naim PSU upgrade path.
Rega Planet. Fun. A bit better than the Alpha 5+ CD.
also-rans
The Rotel RCD-955 (BX?) was better than the 965BX, it timed better though was a little less polite. There are much better older CDPs to be bothering with than these once highly-rated players. They're better than the Marantz CD-63 KI Sig, too (overrated IMHO).
Hazelberry
sister
I have a couple of them. They are the ugliest things ever! However, they sound good, play anything, & seem to work forever. One ($40 from Cash Converters) was my mainstay for donkeys years.
A few months ago I snapped up another. It was less effort than excavating the other from my spare room! I need to put some stickier feet on it as it moves on the shelf whenever I press the open/close button!
I have three or four broken CDPs, all much more expensive in their days.
Caledon1297
pfm Member
According to the Dutch Audio Classics' website, the Philips CD502 uses the TDA 1543?
BTW, have you found anything, current or historic, more musically satisfying than the Naim CDS?
Mike P
Trade: Pickwell Audio
Yes, the lists I've seen say TDA1543 also.
Rico
Bloody Colonials
thanks for the correction re the TDA chip, lads.
I never quite got the CDS, though I appreciated what it did. Like that great girlfriend that you never fell in love with; she was talented, intelligent, funny, attractive... but not *the one*. The CDS2 for me had the pace and timing of CDX+XPS, *and* the magic, so I had one - I fell in love. The CDS3/XPS2 that I replaced the CDS2 with was the most musically satisfying CDP I ever owned, had it from 2003 to 2020.
I never quite got the CDS, though I appreciated what it did. Like that great girlfriend that you never fell in love with; she was talented, intelligent, funny, attractive... but not *the one*. The CDS2 for me had the pace and timing of CDX+XPS, *and* the magic, so I had one - I fell in love. The CDS3/XPS2 that I replaced the CDS2 with was the most musically satisfying CDP I ever owned, had it from 2003 to 2020.
Caledon1297
pfm Member
Thanks, very interesting.
I preferred Naim's first-gen players across the board, though I do have (and like, compared to many) the CDSII. I also have a CD555DR, which is also very good compared to most (as it should be given its price tag!), but, ultimately, it confirmed what I had suspected for sometime; namely (no pun intended!) that I prefer Vereker era Naim to post-Vereker. The CDS3 is the only Naim flagship that I haven't heard...
FWIW, for me, the CDS, for all its limitations/flaws, offers the best timing, and makes more sense out of music than any other player/DAC I've heard to date; it is the most engaging, involving, and therefore enjoyable, but I still have to add the caveat 'for CD'.
Would I be correct in thinking that you have switched to streaming?
