CDX repair story

Hi-Fi Corner
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Well after many months of trying to sell the XPS and the CDX, latter needed repairing at Naim I decided to get the CDX repaired and use it as the XPs had only just been recapped and serviced at Class A.

So waiting for shops to open so I can send it on to Naim and I got fed up of waiting so I thought I’d give streaming a go while I waited.

Looked through loads of reviews, reports, threads on hear and the net. Then a few days back a unit popped up that I had not seen before, the Arcam rPlay. Yes, I know it’s now discontinued, but I watched and read many reviews and I started looking for one.

Ebay! What do we do without it eh! Superficial were selling a brand new one for £350, I decided to watch it, then about 3 hours later they sent me an offer, £300! Mmmm must want to get rid of it, so ended up paying £280 for it. Next day, today its arrived. Now, truthfully I have Amazon HD for the rest of the house, sonos and so on and this was partly why I chose this unit. Many others don’t support Amazon. Anyway, have to say very well built, not that bad to set up and it is over wifi as the router is at the other side of the house. Connected 2nd time round and downloaded updates.

So first track I played, was from Frontm3n, “he ain’t heavy” I’ve got this on CD and to say I was a little shocked for £280 is an understatement. Not quite as crisp and a little less open, but this isn’t a lot of money for such a really good, open, coherent sound.

Dire Straits Money for Nothing next, one of my all time favourites and wow, detailed, thought with superb separation that I am now pondering why I might bother having the CDX repaired.

One questions ladies and gents, is it worth popping the iirdac on it, will it make that much more difference, I can get the last one they did, brand new for the same £280, thoughts?

Thanks.

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Can’t comment if the DAC, but the replay was my first streaming device. To see if I liked the idea. Great sounding, but the app let it down from memory…

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I will agree with you 100%, I’ve done the same, for 280 quid what the hell but the app is poor, usable but poor.

I’m.going to get the dac, again the reviews say good things so if it can give it that air and little bit of crispness it’ll do me for years to be honest, enough time to save up for a naim streamer.

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As you say, it’s £280.
I used my replay for two full years before selling it. And not much less than what you paid. So great value for 2 years.
It is interesting how a poor app/interface is my main memory. Think I drove my be into a separate DAC. Almost certainly. Somehow remember that if you set it playing and went out with your phone/app controller, that it lost interest and stopped playing?
Anyway decent for what it cost.

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I have an Arcam irdac-ii, and can highly recommend it. It’s a fantastic bit of kit. About 75% of my listening is via CD, but I use the Arcam connected to a HP Laptop via USB and a Sony BluRay player via Coaxial digital to play back hires files, BluRays, and to stream via Qobuz on the laptop. I occasionally use the Bluetooth connection too if I want to listen to a podcast from my phone. If I remember correctly, I paid £400 for mine around 18 months ago, so £280 is an absolute steal. I believe the r-play uses a Texas Instruments DAC chip, whereas the irdac-ii uses the well regarded ESS Sabre DAC chip, so I imagine there will be some differences to the sound. The benefit of the separate DAC though is it’s versatility in being able to connect so many additional sources to it. Again, as an alternative to getting your CDX repaired, you may find a dedicated CD transport connected to the irdac-ii can provide a good alternative. As you say, it has certainly had good reviews from the press - Stereophile and HiFi Choice were particularly positive about it. Let us know how you get on!

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I added an RPlay 2 1/2 years ago - where did that time go? - and it really is great value for money. Never thought of adding a different dac ‘cos it sounds great even with oft criticised Spotify. Good bass, clear, crisp and open - wonder why Arcam discontinued it or is there an upgrade?

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Nor sure why the discontinued it either. Hoping for a good improvement.with the dac

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Well the ir Dac ii is connected, and even with a coax that cane with it it’s made the rPlay very open, crisp and very refreshing. Cannot wait now for the audioquest cable to arrive now. Frontm3n’s he ain’t heavy is superb and Jo Harman is almost, almost as open and coherent as the CDX. Very pleased indeed.

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