As you will see from my profile @Art55 , i have both a 282 and a Hegel Viking.
Prior to the Viking i had a CD5 XS, which with a Hicap DR is no slouch of a cd player. Near to the end of it’s life i started looking for a new cd candidate. The Viking was on my list and a home loan for a week was arranged. Comparing them side by side playing the same cd, it didn’t take more than 5 mins to make the decision, let alone a week.
The Viking is a top class CDP, made even better since that first week with the addition of Vertere redline power and signal cables. A friend of my brother in law recently brought his CD 555 to my house to do a comparrison session…he now owns a Viking…need i say more ?
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Hi Kitfit1,
Thanks, that’s really interesting and helpful and I will be auditioning a Viking at some point. The fact that it has blown away a CD555 (which in its day with 2 x power supplies was £25,000 worth) is really something.
I have a number of other contenders, particularly an Atoll CD40 EVO but given your system and your experience, your input is very useful.
Considering the age of the CD 555 and the age of it’s DAC’s, it didn’t really surprise me.
The Viking was designed from the ground up as a pure Redbook player, with no compromises. As would have the CD 555 at the time. Tech and particularly DAC’s have moved on since then, along with lower cost of production.
Hi.
I have a 282 and when my CDX2 expired I bought a Marantz SACD 12 and it seems very compatible and sounds fabulous ( as confirmed by my Naim dealer who didn’t sell it to me ).
Good luck.
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Some really thoughtful posts in response to your question. I’ve stepped back from a CD player since my naim CD took a dive and copied the CDs on to Uniti Core to play through my NDX2/555ps.
The sound is great, I think more detailed and possibly a little less dynamic but I can’t do a back to back comparison. There is not the same engagement with the process of using it though.
If I was after a CD player with the naim sound at this point, personally I might be tempted to look at some of the pre-owned naim equipment on the market. That Hegel does look tempting though!
A big thanks to everyone who has posted responses - I have received some really useful ideas and suggestions and I clearly have quite a few options. If nothing else, it seems to me that the demise of CD’s may be over exaggerated !
One last request is that I would be very interested to hear from anyone who has experience of Atoll Electronique CD players.
Once again, many thanks.
My very modest experience was the replacement of my old Cyrus CD6se2 to the Gold Note CD-5…
The level of details and musicality of the Gold Note is notably higher than the Cyrus which was not a lame source…
Besides, the Cyrus had several slot loading issue, so I’m more keen on tray.
And if you look at the construction, the CD-10 is build like a tank, like Naim gears !
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CDX2.2 works for the halls of Asgaard.
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Full 300 series here. I was looking for a quality CDP a few months ago. Considered the Luxman D07 and Accuphase DP570, both of which I could get a good discount for. I eventually settled for the Hegel Viking, which is wonderful, and, importantly for me, blends in well aesthetically with my Naim boxes.
Thank you, the Hegel Viking is on my list and I will be auditioning, I have not seen this player yet in the flesh but can understand your comments about the aesthetic fit.
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