CDS2 pros and cons

Hi-Fi Corner
21

I agree. I had a CDi, which I replaced with a CDS2. Both were purchased new. I replaced the CDi (which had a CDM4 mechanism) because it was skipping and not loading properly, even with a two-rubber puck, but it did sound better than the CDS2. However, just before swapping to streaming, I took the CDS2 and XPS to the retailer to establish a baseline for comparison. Before moving to the streamer, we connected a CD555PSDR instead of the XPS to the CD player. The improvement was astonishing. If you can get a CDS2 for a good price, thereā€™s always a great upgrade potential by swapping the power supply.

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22

I sold my cds2 early last year as I thought it might be close to the end of its life. Since mechanisms are now available someone got a bargain! It is best to check with Naim regarding the cdi but I suspect that it may not be fully serviceable now. Hope I am wrong.

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23

I have never heard the CD555, but went CDI, CDS/CDPS, CDS2/XPS2, always missed the CDI, only issue ever with all three was maybe a new puck, as I think I kept over pinch tweaking it :rofl:

24

Everyone interprets the sound according to how they feel.
My first player was a Naim CDI with CDM4, later I got a CDI CDM9 Pro. Years later, my new CDS2 really improved after months of use; the CDI with CDM9 Pro was a great CD player at its level!
Although I use my LP 12 more often, I like my CDS2/XPS, a great emotional stage and good foot tapping !

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25

I have three rubber pucks at home for my CDS2. I use them sequentially, and occasionally I manually move the pucksā€™ rubber ā€˜ringsā€™ to avoid flat spotting them (to borrow a F1 term).

Get whatever puck you need from your dealer, or the ever-helpful James at TomTom Audio always keeps all (four?) types in stock.

26

My CDS / CDPS which Iā€™ve owned since 2017 still gives wonderful service.

Regards,

Martin

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27

Not in my book. But my wife would disagree!

28

I get the novelty associated with these players. Coming from a CDX2 the CDS2 was such a better player and it should be. The top loaders are pretty cool. And I somewhat preferred the CDS2 over the CDS3. But none of them compare to streaming for SQ and access to music. Not even close. So if you like playing one CD at a time and the looks appeal to you thereā€™s plenty of s/h CDS2 and CDS3 out there to grab. But be prepared to deal with those mechs when they fail.

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29

Not a novelty for folk like me. My cd player(s) have been my go to source since 1985, and to this day I listen to 2 or 3 cds a night. One at a time. I think playing more than one at time would just confuse me. :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

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30

As I understand it, you find CD vastly inferior on just about any CD player to streaming on just about any recording. I donā€™t know why that would be, given that others (me included, after extended testing) find no such consistency as long as the source is good enough. However, the obvious answer is to stick to streaming - thatā€™s one person fewer chasing a CDS2 on eBay.

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31

No, Iā€™ve been pretty clear itā€™s the Naim CD players and Naim streamers I have experience with. Tell yourself what you need to tell yourself either way.

32

I clearly took the ā€˜none of them comparesā€™ bit too widely - my apologies.

As for your second sentence, it seems that I ā€˜need to believeā€™ that: -

  1. Blind listening tests with multiple listeners (with a notepad) in my own home deliver consistent results that are more likely to be relevant to SQ than opinions and generalisations here.

  2. The wide consensus that my NDX2 was consistently audibly inferior to LP12 (despite its individual eccentricities) or my CDS2 surprised most of us, but what we heard was what mattered.

  3. A similar consensus appeared after adding the XPSDR to the NDX2 - it made streaming at least as good as CD, provided that you have the best recording available. This clashes with my understanding of your view (i.e. that that NDX2 streaming option is a Naim streamer and thus already superior to any Naim CD player). However, I ā€˜need to believeā€™ here too that the evidence of our ears over the last 2 years should take precedence over other views.

  4. It is reasonable of me to assume other contributors are sincere and rational - not daft, deaf, deluded or deceitful, or trying to offend/ insult any who disagree with their views.

Is it possible that you did your blind listening tests differently or with older and never-serviced CDPs, and that that may to an extent explain our clearly different results?

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33
  1. Good.
  2. Ok, if you say so.
  3. Ok, if you say so.
  4. I think itā€™s reasonable to assume confirmation bias is alive and well in your h/h which is fine. If you believe a CDS2 sounds better than a NDX2 thatā€™s great, but you shouldnā€™t expect everyone to agree with you.

And no, to your last question. My kit is always recent vintage or serviced.

34

I am a pretty poor tester, esp over short periods, which is why I tend to get others involved. If they canā€™t see the preamp because of where I am standing and 3/3 reach the same conclusion (and matched what I thought I was hearing), I take that as less exposed to confirmation bias than most tests.

I expected from reviews that a naked NDX2 would be clearly better than my old CDS II, and I wasnā€™t pleased by the result. I added Qobuz to Tidal to give more Hi Res recordings to see if that made the NDX2 clearly superior in SQ - it didnā€™t. Itā€™s not obvious to me that this result will have been caused by confirmation bias.

Comments on this site before I became a member contributed to my trying adding the XPSDR to the NDX2. Perhaps that means that my/ our conclusion that it made the NDX2 markedly better should be discarded due to possible confirmation bias (not that some listeners knew that I had just plugged-in/ unplugged a new box).

I certainly donā€™t expect everyone to agree with me about any aspect of hi-fi or music. If a vast majority of people with a well-founded opinion here have the opposite view to me. Iā€™ll certainly take note and try to make sure any comments I make reflect that. I am not sure that that describes the majority view expressed here yet.

As a final and more minor point, when you say ā€˜my kitā€™ above, does that include all the CD players and streamers that you blind-tested? I say ā€˜minorā€™ because if you are consistently happy with the music that you get as a result on your review/ hi-fi selection process, then the answer is clearly right for you whether anyone (or everyone) else has the same experience or not.

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35

I had my CDS2 for 13 years and upgraded to a CD555, then to a ND555. I wish I still had the CDS2 and 555PS for my second system. Our love lasted longer than many marriages today. What a great time we had together! I think about it like an old girl friend.

If they are still repairable, there is no downside.

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36

Cā€™mon @snarfy, you know you need a CDS2!! :smile:

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37

Of course we have differences of opinion.
Even with the best sources of equipment, the recording performance (the content) determines the media that follows; Analogue, CD, or Dematerialisation. Being of the old school, I listen mainly to vinyl, followed by CD (CDS2), thatā€™s already time spent with satisfaction, difficult for me to find time for Dematerialization.

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38

I enjoyed the CDS2 / CDPS for many years and much preferred the partnership of the CDPS over the XPS just came across more analogue with a lovely flow to the replay.

39

A friend of mine owns CDS/CDPS and he is a great player!
CDS2/XPS is good too, although CDPS makes some interesting differences to CDS2; My humble opinion is that 555PS/CDS2 from another friend makes a good difference.

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40

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