Should I purchase a Naim CD player?
- Thread starter DrDx
- Start date
Peter Stockwell
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I wouldn't buy either the CDX2 or the CDS3 "new". If you want physical media, though, why not ? I stream my own ripped CDs even though I have a subscription to CD quality Qobuz.
wylton
Naim and Mana member
No, I don't think so personally. I'm a die-hard vinyl fan, but I've embraced CD ever since I bought a CDS/CDPS many years ago. I have no experience of the CDS3 myself, but I have heard the CDX2.
The thing is that there are some true bargain cd's out thereat the moment, both new and used, which are hard to resist.
As for the CD or Steaming debate, I solved that particular problem by buying a SBT; no longer available, I realise, but there are other solutions if funds won't stretch one of the aforementioned CD players and an NDX.
linntroika
pfm Member
CDS3 is rather special ,particularly if your a vinyl fan. I love the convenience of streamers and several Dacs that i have tried , but still prefer the sound quality and presentation of the CD player
CDX2 sounds a bit more digital , but if you like an analogue sound then the CDS3 is hard to beat
I purchased my second CDS3 (2012 model) about 6 months ago and wont be changing it for a long time to come
CDX2 sounds a bit more digital , but if you like an analogue sound then the CDS3 is hard to beat
I purchased my second CDS3 (2012 model) about 6 months ago and wont be changing it for a long time to come
JezmondTutu
pfm Member
A friend keeps on buying piles of decent cd's from charity shops for £1 each!
Its not clear to me from your posts that you realise that this is not an either/or situation re CDs. Rip CDs and they can be stored on drives along with downloads, vinyl rips, BlueRay and DVD rips and anything else you can think of. Depending on the kit you pick, you will also gain access to Internet radio and streaming services. Such flexibility makes a CD player, which ties you to one format, look a bit limited. Cheap CDs mean terrabites of cheap music, but does not add up to a compelling case for buying a CD player, IMO.
RustyB
Registered Ginga
CDS3 is rather special ,particularly if your a vinyl fan. I love the convenience of streamers and several Dacs that i have tried , but still prefer the sound quality and presentation of the CD player
CDX2 sounds a bit more digital , but if you like an analogue sound then the CDS3 is hard to beat
I purchased my second CDS3 (2012 model) about 6 months ago and wont be changing it for a long time to come
Finally! I've been waiting for someone to express an opinion on that.
Can't say I found the CDX2 sound digital, but then it was powered by an XPS/DR, so that have helped.
Norman Green
pfm Member
I would most certainly buy a good old fashioned cd player not this hear today gone tomorrow new trendy stuff.
The hard drive could fail to back up the back up.
The hard drive could fail to back up the back up.
SteveS1
I heard that, pardon?
Oh dear, however I'd be glad of the (offsite) third copy of my music library. If you implement HD music properly you have better back up than one set of physical media.
Definitely don't buy a cd player. Definitely get into streaming. Doesn't stop you taking advantage of all the good deals on physical cds at the moment - in fact it makes it much easier to take advantage of them. Also, have an eye to the immediate future and realise that internet streaming is coming fast, so Spotify, iTunes, Quobuz, etc. will be increasingly useful sources and a good interface to these services will be worthwhile.
Alan Sircom
I dü werds, me
What I think, or what anyone else thinks, is immaterial. Opinion (expert or not) is simply a finger pointing the way. Calls for a lot of opinion just results in a lot of fingers, all pointing in a different direction. Randomly asking for opinion for those who spend a disturbingly large proportion of their lives defending their own opinions on line will tend toward cant and dogma, rather than useful experience.
You already have a pretty tight shortlist. Go and listen for yourself; even if a demonstration room is not your room, it can give you an idea of whether your next direction lies in playing discs or ripping discs. And don't just listen, give the demonstration process some length to compare the pros and cons of both processes. A more nuanced, subtle difference between similar products is often best on home demonstration, but you are debating a move across digital audio formats (of sorts), and that is precisely the kind of thing that works best in a demonstration facility.
There's often a strong anti-dealer stance on forums, which usually seems to imply that dealers are at once completely incompetent and the most Svengali-like sales people on the planet. But, regardless of what you might think, this is the kind of thing that's best explored personally and in a demonstration.
hughjampton
pfm Member
No one here can tell you how it's going to sound to you. If you like the Naim sound and synergy then you will love most of their CD players. If you don't you won't.
I've been using a MacMini with Pure Music as my music source with a Rega DAC and an all Naim system with SBLs for a few years now, and although it's detailed and sounds good it doesn't really sound the way I liked it years ago. The other day I put the SBLs on the other system in the house which has a 72/HC/180 and CDi front end and the synergy was complete.
It sounded the way I remember from twenty five years ago and to my ears it was a lot better than the more detailed but for me less satisfying sound. But then I'm an unreformed flat earther really. If you are too go for the Naim CD player.
I've been using a MacMini with Pure Music as my music source with a Rega DAC and an all Naim system with SBLs for a few years now, and although it's detailed and sounds good it doesn't really sound the way I liked it years ago. The other day I put the SBLs on the other system in the house which has a 72/HC/180 and CDi front end and the synergy was complete.
It sounded the way I remember from twenty five years ago and to my ears it was a lot better than the more detailed but for me less satisfying sound. But then I'm an unreformed flat earther really. If you are too go for the Naim CD player.
hughjampton
pfm Member
We bought the CDi new in about 1992 and it's still going strong without ever needing a new laser. Witch Hat Audio and I think a few others can still get the parts to repair them. Avondale had or maybe still has a large supply of CD3 mechs I think.
Mr Happy
pfm Member
It was a cd3 that I had problems with. It was a few years old, about 6 from memory. I called naim and was advised this was normal and that I had been quite fortunate as some go in as little as three years. They had no more mechs available so I went to avondale whom claimed they had some. After four weeks with avondale and many calls my cd player was returned to me. It didnt have a new mech as promised, it had been repaired. It worked fine but looked like a bad attempt at a diy repair. I was gutted and sold the player.
