What to do? Besides the 200-202 combo I have an CDX2 and NDX5 (+ some vintage pu but that’s another story). I hardly play CD anymore, thanks to Tidal and i-radio (& time consuming young kids). I regularly look at it thinking: “what a pity I don’t spent enough time with you”.
NDX5 also works as DAC for tv-audio.
Then there is roon and the possibility to rip all my cd’s. What to do?
Scenario 1) by a roon core nuc including rip/storage and add a sonore device as roon endpoint to ND5XS, sell CDX2
scenario 2) change ND5XS for ND5XS2 (roon endpoint) and add a roon core+storage, sell CDX2
scenario 3) keep CDX2 because it sounds better than ripped cd, and roonify through 1 or 2 without cd rip storage.
I honestly wouldn’t know what would be the smart option. Partly because I don’t know anybody who has a sonore-device. I read that you can connect it somewhere in your local network and connect it with ND5XS through upnp, and connect the root-core as well anywhere through ethernet as well. And reading about it they (the sonore devices are great value for money).I have a good functioning mesh-wifi system, so that must work i think.
You can easily add Roon endpoint functionality to the ND5XS; no need to upgrade to the newer platform just for that. I’m quite happy with my UnitiQute2 and an add-on Roon endpoint box. I still use the Allo DigiOne with it, but will hook up the Sonore UPnP Bridge today; I suspect they’ll sound the same.
Whether you want to keep a cd player is up to you. What I did was rip all my cd’s, and then see how much I used the cd player. It sat idle for about 18 months and I sold it off.
Well, I’d personally get an old laptop and setup a Roon core, pick up a USB to COAX/SPDIF converter and have a play with Roon. You have a 7 day trial plus 30 days refund period.
From there, decide if you want to go down the Roon route or not, options will then become clearer. Try both Tidal and Qubuz. I’d probably sell the CD player regardless, mine went +10 years ago and I’ve not missed it one day.
Roon is very good, I was skeptical at the start but now very glad I made the switch.
Not sure if I am just reading this way, but your opening appears to associate Roon with ripping CDs. You can rip CDs with various software: many people use a computer running software like dBPoweramp.
Roon on the other hand is primarily interface software for suggesting alternative music and finding info about artists from online databases, and for integrating online streaming from the likes of Tidal with streaming from your own store. So e people love Roon and think its the best thing since sliced bread, others don’t and think it is expensive and less effective for their purposes than other software.
Regarding ripping, I ripped all my CDs and have never looked back, streaming from my store being so easy, convenient, no storage space, no badly reading disks, no wear and servicing/replacement of CD drive, even added things like ease of removing a track if you don’t ever wang to play it.
But if you do rip, do get into the habit of checking, and if necessary amending or adding, metadata as you go. It is a real PITA if you discover inadequate or inconsistent metadata at a later time mucking up browsing or searching.
I read it the other way, but you’re right - could be either.
I ripped all my CDs ten years ago using EAC, but use dbpoweramp now for the occasional rip. Mostly Mojo cover disks. My Roon configuration (on a W10 NUC because I want to run other ‘stuff’ on it too) won’t rip, but I don’t think I’d use the Roon rip functionality even if I could. I also prefer the added control with dbpoweramp and mp3tag. Don’t think Roon would identify (new) Mojo disks anyway!
I probably was not clear enough, since my post could be read in different ways.
I want to achieve several things together. I,d like the roon facilities first, but the nd5xs is not a roon eindpoint. Secondly, ripping the cd’s in good quality makes them better accessible and makes their content part of the roon library. So I need a nas, or use the roon core nucleus with storage. Together, more music, more info, better access and at least same audio Quality. But, thirdly, budget is an issue. NDx2 is not possible. Adding a sonore bridge plus roon nucleus … might be. But selling the cdx2 makes more things possible, etc etc.
But I hesitate about selling the cdx2, because there is no way back.
If you’re interested in home streaming from a library you maintain at home on a nas or such, I concur that Roon is a good choice. IF you want to just try it, the idea of downloading a free trial and running it on a laptop is fine. But once you are sure you like it, you’ll be happier running it on a dedicated box, a nas or nuc etc. I run it on a Roon Nucleus with a 2tb ssd in it.
I know what you mean regarding the CDX2. I’m just about to get into ripping my CDs as well. I’ll rip to a Synology NAS via DBPoweramp.
But I’ve already sold my CDP while I could still get a few grand for it, and before it decided to up and quit on me anyway.
It was a Linn Unidisk 1.1 with their Dynamik power supply (and cost many thousands), and I realize now, after much testing and trying, that CDs will never sound as good as they used to for me. As much as that slightly pains me, I would still go ahead and sell the Linn if I hadn’t yet.
Music is so much more accessible through the Naim App and Tidal etc., and I’m even hoping that if Qobuz becomes available in Canada, that hi-res files will sound as good or almost as good as the Linn. I also have other upgrades to do to my system, like a PS for the analog section of my NDS, and some cabling, and even these may get me closer to the sound of the Linn. So, still chasing.
Funny 'ol hobby this …
I think what you do next might depend how comfortable you are with computers…
If you haven’t already done so, you need to trial Roon. I think it’s great, but if you’ve spent time on the Roon forum you’ll know not everyone is happy about how it does things - which is generally not the same as anything else - and that it’s picky about network integrity, especially WiFi.
If you have a computer on which you can rip a few sample CDs, and install Roon, you can see if it works for you. If your computer is a laptop with an optical out hidden in the headphone jack (many have) you can connect to an optical in on the ND5XS. Install Roon remote on a phone or tablet for control…
I think you also need to establish whether the ND5XS will ever give you the ‘sound’ you want. You might be able to test that by connecting the CDX2 (as transport) to the ND5XS (as DAC) using coax S/PDIF, but in any case if you can get the CD rip path working you can do a direct comparison between ripped CD and CD played on the CDX2.
This sort of brings me round to why I mentioned an NDX2 in the first place… I don’t know how it compares to the CDX2 (I’ve never heard one), but I do know it’s significantly better than an ND5XS, even to my ears. I didn’t have the budget (I bought an ND5XS2), but if it does what you want, you might trade CDX2 and ND5XS for NDX2. And there are many people here who will tell you that the 202/200 ‘deserves’ and NDX2!
Ripping bitperfect (as software such as DBPoweramp (and others) do, checking accuracy with Accuraterip database, gets you good quality - Roon will not make more accessible. Roon, IIUC does its own thing with metadata once it recognises the file, so will be the same if ripped with Roon or A.N.Other - but beware that may be lost if you later abandon Roon.
(That said, there have been reports of Melco ripped files sounding different olayed through Melco, than ripped on another device, thoughts for pursuing that and discovering what the difference was were never pursued, best guess being either that something was done to modify the way the file was packed.)
Thx for all great advices. It makes more clear to myself why i I hesitate to sell the cdx2; sounds better than cd5xs(2). But mine doesn’t have the digital output! But everyone says: first try the roon demo. That is good advice, since i have only experienced at a friends place with a totally different set up.
It makes also clear that the NDX2 should be the logical way to go, quality wise.
And funny, no one mentions the Sonore ‘rendu-stuff’ as interesting of not-interesting. I take that as a hidden message to ‘not bother’.
I will try out roon on a laptop for a while, use the optical out … and look again at my bank account and/or speak with the significant other one
There are people happily using other solutions incl micto rendu and optical rendu, so it is definitely not dont bother. They nay simpky have not lioked at this thread ;none if those in title). Try searching.
Ndx2 is apparently excelkent as a renderr into a Chord DAC. Roon is then only the interface, some like some not.