The CDX2 sounds a lot smoother - less forward - with the XPS.
One thing with the CDX2/CDX is that if used as a CD player it’s quite sensitive to positioning and what it sits on. Get it wrong and it can sound bright and a tad aggressive.
The CDX2 also comes with a NARCOM remote. So look for that too.
Best
David
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One for Richard perhaps?
The pucks on Naim CD players prior to the 555 all suffered from the rubbers loosing their shape and grip. The 555 puck is a different animal, and quite an intricate bit of kit reflected in its replacement cost. I know as I briefly lost mine!
Would there be sufficient clearance/ design in the other players for the 555 puck to be used?
If you don’t need the spdif out, then you can save yourself a lot of cash by avoiding it. So why these 2 players if you don’t need the digital out.
They are the only 2 naim machines with the one facility you don’t need
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Not 4 months they weren’t. Any i found at dealers from 2015? Onwards were £3500 upwards.
When I heard a CDX2.2 I thought it more accomplished and slightly smoother than the earlier CDX2 that I once owned. Both are very fine.
Chris
(Happy CD5XS owner)
I have a CDX2 - original version - built 2005. Untouched, still working fine.
But… any CDX2 will appreciate an XPS2 to power it… Its good without, but even better with.
I would not try to use the CD555 clamp is other Naim players. The mech in the CD555 is different and even if it fitted the mechs on the CDX2 et al… I doubt there’s enough clearance with the pull out drawer.
Note that the original VAM1250 mech CDX2 uses the Clamp 4. The later VAM1202 mech uses the Clamp 5. The latter has a fairly strong magnet inside, and while it can be used on earlier players, you have to be careful as the magnet can sometimes damage the hub on the earlier players.
Dealers may charge that kind of money - not private sellers. Most CDX2s are at or below £2,000 on a number of sites at the moment. Of course, there’s no warranty, and there’s always a risk, I’ll grant you.
On the other hand, XPS DRs are very expensive on the second-hand market - and hard to find.
Ebay has had a few. One in particular Looked good for the asking price of £2k?
However a lot of things did not add up. Seller knew it had the spdif, even showed a picture of it connected. When I asked him what DAC he used, he didn’t know! Whilst he told me he’d owned it since new ( 2015), turned out it was not actually his!
Didn’t have original boxes, and the remote looked like it had been dragged behind a tractor! And it was collection only.
So, strangely I gave that one a miss.
Most, if not all the others on ebay have been older cdx2 machines for similar money. But no good to me without the spdif.
I say this now. I was super disappointed with the response from the 10? Dealers i called. No real gusto and intrest in selling. All said they’d take my details and get back. None did. One in particular I called a few weeks later when I saw one on their website. They had forgotten the enquiry I had made a few weeks before.
This is quite correct although if my memory serves me correctly I don’t think Naim ever officially called it CDX2.2 - it was always just called CDX2 by Naim but it contained a S/PDIF digital output.
Worth bearing in mind that any advert for a CDX2 could be the later version with S/PDIF - just check the age by the serial number as others have suggested.
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That’s a shame. I bought mine (2013 model) in 2016 (I think) for just over £2,500. This was a private sale, but through a dealer (no commission). CD players were starting to become unfashionable at that time…
If it helps, in 2020 I got a CDS3 in fabulous state with an XPS2 for 2700 euros. The PS unserviced, the CDP with a nearly new replacement VAM 1250, both 2007.
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It is intresting, the demise of the cdp.
Streaming has done a lot kill them off. Plus the ability to rip to Flac, stick on a nas also. Yet still I felt I had to have one.
I still enjoy the playing of the disc, in a similar way to that of an LP.
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