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Naim CD5X V Rega Saturn CD player

A

audiojoy

pfm Member
Both tested with naim amps and rega speakers

The Naim had better PRAT and seemed to far more extended in the top and bottom octaves. It had more detail and was able to express the tension in a piece extremely well. Very sensitive to placement and power cord, can sound a little tonally lean and bright if not set up properly.

The rega was less detailed and less transparent but was tonally more warm and had more of a three dimensional sound stage...... but could not match the Naim for PRAT, drama and tension.
 
Did that comparison 5 years ago.

Bought the Saturn [so obviously wouldnt agree with your findings] , still use it every day and have no intention or need to change it.
 
glad you have both found aural peace and satisfaction. Folkman - AJ explains his decision, what was the reasoning for your's?

both players receive excellent reviews, so no surprise that you are both happy campers ;)
 
same result from me, I bought a saturn having tried naim, linn, ayre, and a few more. I find the fabled Naim ''Prat'' to be just that. Initially interesting, then grating, then the prat kicks in. Usually telling you how much better you must have found the Naim, if not you need a power supply, or this £500 power cable, err no, I needed the Rega.
 
Only naim CDP I could get on with was the CD3.5 with flatcap/hicap.

Had a rega saturn for a while and liked its analogue sound but gave up in the end and ripped everything to flac and now stream.
 
Owned them both and in fact I currently own the Naim CD5x. I prefer the Naim by a good distance. Far more musical to my ears than the Saturn. My wife has an Apollo at present.
 
What about 5XS, since its a current model? I had a 5XS with Teddycap for a good while and it wasn't just a pace and rhythm machine. It did have a little hint of that Naim upper bass emphasis, but it was quite subtle, and it was otherwise a nicely balanced and quite alluring player.
 
1000RPM said:
Folkman - AJ explains his decision, what was the reasoning for your's?
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Its that long ago i cannot remember the exact details. But i found the CD5X to be artificially impressive for me. The Saturn sounded more natural and realistic , much more representative of what i hear at a concert.

But , as has been said , they are both excellent players.
 
I agree the saturn sounds more natural because tonally it is warmer . However I did comment that the Naim needs careful set up i needed to alter power cords as well as support in order to get it to come closer tonally to the Rega.

However and this is the big thing

in terms of extracting the drama, tension and excitement from a piece of music @musicality@ if you will, the Naim is way ahead. Many people forget that this is a large organisiation probably able to employ high quality staff. You would expect them after all the years they have been in business and sticking to Julians principles to have advanced in the area of musicality more than others. Yes there is some sacrifice in tonal warmth and sounstaging, leading to a slightly more forced and leaner presentation. Unfortunately I believe the presesent technology in speaker design finds it hard to maintain pitch and timing as well as timbral patterns in a time coordinated way which means you have to sacrifice one for the other. I have yet to hear equipment that achieves both. I believe rega are commendable for trying to achieve both but unfortuanately still fall some way behind the Naim.
 
Elephantears

If my theoretical analysis is correct if you over do the tone you sacrifice the PRAT

I think I will get the cds2 or 3 next as these supposedly have mastered both tonality and prat
 
Folkman said:
Its that long ago i cannot remember the exact details. But i found the CD5X to be artificially impressive for me. The Saturn sounded more natural and realistic , much more representative of what i hear at a concert.

But , as has been said , they are both excellent players.
Click to expand...

Nothing artificial about the Naim player at all.

I currently have one and it's about the best CD player I've had and I've had:

Naim CDi,Regal Apollo, Rega Jupiter, Linn Karik III, Naim CD2 and Meridian 588.

I am actually amazed it has done nothing to irritate me as most CD players do. I've played more CDs recently than for yonks which is a big tell.

It's interesting though the comments about mains cables as I've found this and it makes a big difference.

I went from the stock Naim cable to a Belden to a Nordost, each improving the sound.

Very good player the CD5X.
 
audiojoy said:
I agree the saturn sounds more natural because tonally it is warmer . However I did comment that the Naim needs careful set up i needed to alter power cords as well as support in order to get it to come closer tonally to the Rega.

However and this is the big thing

in terms of extracting the drama, tension and excitement from a piece of music @musicality@ if you will, the Naim is way ahead. Many people forget that this is a large organisiation probably able to employ high quality staff. You would expect them after all the years they have been in business and sticking to Julians principles to have advanced in the area of musicality more than others. Yes there is some sacrifice in tonal warmth and sounstaging, leading to a slightly more forced and leaner presentation. Unfortunately I believe the presesent technology in speaker design finds it hard to maintain pitch and timing as well as timbral patterns in a time coordinated way which means you have to sacrifice one for the other. I have yet to hear equipment that achieves both. I believe rega are commendable for trying to achieve both but unfortuanately still fall some way behind the Naim.
Click to expand...

All in your opinion of course !

I did say i found the Naim to be 'artificially' impressive. So i wouldnt say its way ahead.

When i described the Saturn as more natural and realistic i was not talking in a purely tonal sense. I include in that naturalness the whole picture , dynamics , detail , soundstage , drama , tension , etc.

To me the Saturn gets its right , the Naim goes over the top.

Are you saying Naim employ better quality staff than anyone else , so thats why they make the best equipment ?
 
Gaius said:
Nothing artificial about the Naim player at all.
Very good player the CD5X.
Click to expand...

Thats the whole point though and has been said before by me and others.

They are both very good players.

You dont find it artificial , i do. Personal taste. Use which one you like. Job done.

Bye.
 
audiojoy said:
Elephantears

If my theoretical analysis is correct if you over do the tone you sacrifice the PRAT

I think I will get the cds2 or 3 next as these supposedly have mastered both tonality and prat
Click to expand...

It's all about practice with listening, not theory. Nobody has said that the cd5xs 'overdoes' tone, I said it had good tonal qualities. Try it. One of the German magazines said it was vanishingly close to a cds3.
 
Usually I prefer Naim players in a Naim setup and Rega players in a Rega setup, no surprice (though I dislike the cheapest cd5i range)

That said both OP players, included their cheaper or more expensive brothers, often makes sence in other combo's as well

The new Apollo-R/DAC is a nice competitor to Saturn
 
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