I currently have a Uniti Atom and PMC Prodigy 1 speakers which sound great and would like a CD player for occasional use as I have a number of CDs which are not on Tidal which is the streaming service I use,q it would also give me music Internet is down.
Is it worth spending 1k for a machine like the Cyrus Cd I or a used Naim player or is an Audiolab 6000CDt or Cambridge CXC as good.
Would be interested what people have with their Atoms.
Depending on your skills, you could just rip your CDās to your computer (if you have one) then get the Atom to play them off the PC via your home network. Later you might consider upgrading to a NAS drive.
What about the Naim CD5Si?
I purchased a brand new one a few weeks ago for Ā£1,199 from Peter Tyson with Naim 5 year warranty
If you buy a used Naim cd player I believe Naim can no longer repair them (except for the 5Si); Iām pretty sure thatās correct as the mechanisms for the older models are no longer available
I was going to purchase a used CDX2 as I know itās a great machine but its obsolescence was the deciding factor. However if that doesnāt bother you the CDX2 is superb but personally Iād only pay Ā£1k maximum for one
I use my CD5Si into the XS3 and it sounds great and a lovely thing to use
I am not sure you can buy the CD5si new anymore. I will have a look just in case.
There are a few still available new around Ā£1,400 but Iām sure theyād strike a deal to sell their stock through
Also Peter Tyson has a near new one for just over Ā£1,100
I think I had the very last brand new one from them
I would say the Audiolab is a very good product , I donāt know the Cambridge.
Given that the Atom digitises its analogue input then passes it through its own DAC, it seems a bit pointless to use a CD player with it. A CD transport would be simpler.
(Personally I would rip the CDs and keep the Atom as a neat single box, but we all have our preferences.)
Kinda this.
I use my Rotel every now and then with the Atom and the character of the player seems a little diminished. Playing through my Nait 5i was enlightening in comparison.
If I was you Iād buy any old reliable cd player or transport and connect to the Atom via optical or coax digital. Youāll avoid going through 2 dacs and the Atom is excellent as in that role.
There are some good deals out there on the out going Teac CD 505 transport as they have released itās successor the 507.
At least a couple of us on here have the 505 and itās a quality unit which would then leverage the Dac in your naim.
Possibly a good visual match too in the black as itās a 3/4 width unit.
Teac have a long standing reputation for excellent CD transports.
I think the new Quad 3CDT, which is just a transport and can be used with the Atomās internal DAC would suit your needs. I think it will be retailing at around Ā£599 in the UK.
I purchased a Teac 505T just over a year ago so I could listen to my old CD collection. Itās a very good transport for the money and would be ideal for what you want. However, shortly after purchasing the transport I decided to rip my CDs using db power amp on my PC and play them from a Samsung SSD plugged into the rear of my NDX2. This has resulted in the player hardly being used and it is now boxed up and in storage 
.
Overall therefore I support the idea of ripping rather than buying a CD transport / player. Of course YMMV, this is just my personal situation. Anyway, good luck in which ever route you take.
Quad are coming up with some seriously sharp looking products at the moment
If itās just for a few CDs that you already have, Iād rip them on a computer, put them on an SSD card and plug it in to the back of the Atom. Itās a very small cost and you wonāt need a second box, which would gather dust most of the time.
I bought a Core when my CD player passed away and have been very impressed with the sound used in combination with my Atom. For example, there is a lot of detail Iād never noticed before.
I could probably have done more cost effective solutions to basically rip a CD but I donāt see myself getting another CD player even though I do like the physical interaction with the medium itself.
One final thought is that I often find I prefer the CD version of an album to its streamed equivalent, and hence do buy the occasional CD to rip it.
The latest Quad Platina series look quite a lot like IAGās other brand Audiolabās specifications, albeit in a premium housing, a bit like Linnās Selekt DSM Edition version.
Not that thatās any bad thing of course.
A bit of a pity that this is another legacy āBritishā brand now manufactured in the far east but I guess thatās now the only way to keep costs manageable.
ATB, J
I do like the new Quad 3.
[quote=āOsiris, post:15, topic:42939ā]
A bit of a pity that this is another legacy āBritishā brand now manufactured in the far east but I guess thatās now the only way to keep costs manageable.
[/quote]
Totally agree
Good point. Does the NSC 222 digitize itās analog input also?
No, only the Uniti (Atom, Star, Nova) digitise the analogue inputs.
If you donāt want to spend too much, and just need a transport , how about the Audiolab 6000CDT for Ā£399
As one manufacturer now puts it ā Masterpiece Flagship
Experience Heavenly Soundā all for the price of a NSC222ā¦..
It must be a bit like how King Canute felt on that shorelineā¦ā¦
ATB, J
