Hi All. After having my XPS serviced by Class A audio last year my CDX is faulty and needs a new transport and sending back to Naim.
I’m selling the XPS to fund this as funds are low at the moment but would I be better waiting till funds are better and having it repaired or sell the XPS and sell a faulty CDX and buy a CD5X, is it a better unit, will I see a dramatic difference? Bearing in mind I’ve not played a CD for over 6 months now.
Thanks all
As you have had the XPS serviced it makes sense to get the CDX fixed. It will be worth virtually nothing if sold as not working.
The CD5x is different sounding, less upfront. I had one and really like it, especially with a Flatcap 2x, which perks it up just enough. It’s a very natural player. If you went that way there is always a possibility that the 5x then conks out. It’s also important that your CD player is in balance with the rest of the system.
Then again, if it’s not been used for six months, do you need a CD player at all? I wonder what you are using to listen to music.
I have a linn axis but to be honest I’ve just not listened at all as its mainly CDs I listen to but have contemplated switching over to streaming (different thread) but have no idea about what’s needed or if I can afford it and get the sound I want. Head banging against a wall issues…
If you are thinking about the switch to switch to streaming, this could be the time to do it. Seems daft to spend money replacing something you barely use. I was a reluctant adaptor to streaming from CD’s, but I find I play a lot more music now as streaming is much more convenient. I like having everything at my fingertips on a tablet/NAS.
Have you had a quote for the CDX repair? It would be difficult to sell broken, but you have to be careful you don’t spend more than it’s worth to repair it.
Dave
Looking around £350
I would definitely get it repaired for that. Once you have a working factory serviced CDX and your already recently serviced XPS you can make the decision over whether to sell/trade to go the streaming route or if you want to keep it and stick with CD’s.
Dave
How old is your XPS? Older olive models sell for less, probably because they can’t power a streamer. If you have a black one that is serviced, selling that and the CD player might not leave you too far short of an ND5XS2. One box and you’re done.
It’s worth factoring in other costs of a streamer, NAS, Hard Drive(s), Switch or decent wireless AP. That said, I would go down the sell both and get an ND5XS2 route as well. Or you could go second hand and get a ND5XS for about half what a new one goes for.
Dave
Not listened to the Linn either for six months? The Axis should be pretty good so I wonder if a streamer or CD player would really get you listening to music again? Perhaps a weekend away instead…
Older version
Work a lot of the time Stuart, also have bikes that I look after for my self and the wife but when I do have down time I’m just not listening and think it is down to the CD player as I don’t have as many pieces of vinyl.
With the new streamers you could potentially do it over WiFi and use a directly attached USB drive. Total cost about £50, setup time virtually nothing.
Mark, is the fault permanent or intermittent? If intermittent then it might be worth fiddling with the puck. The little rubber rings do flatten over time, but with judicious application of a pair of needle-nose tweezers it is possible to rotate them so that they stand proud a bit more.
Worked on my CDX 
Suzy, already swapped the puck, even tried a different one as someone suggested before on a different post.
Well a question for you, I have a google chromecast in a drawer. How would I set that up to try streaming through the system, for a pretty techno guy this bit iludes me. Any help appreciated. I know it wojt have the sound quality I’ve come used to but just to try it might help.
Ideally you would use it into a separate DAC via an optical cable, but it will work with an analogue connection to your preamp.
Sorry Chris, totally lost me I get the latter but how would I connect via optical cable, the g
Chromecast doesn’t have one and my nac defo doesn’t:)
The optical cable is for a digital connection to a DAC, so of no use to you if you don’t intend to get one. For the analogue connection you woyld need a suitable cable to go from the 3.5mm jack to a DIN input on your pre.
Sorry Chris, didn’t mean I wouldn’t get one but how would I connect via optical as as far as I know there is no optical on a chromecast!
The 3.5mm socket is a dual purpose analogue (via the supplied cable) or digital output. I’m assuming you gave a Chromecast Audio, not the video version.