Which cd player

I don’t have personal experience of the CD5 with flatcap, but had the CD5si which was very good for the price. This is a replacement for the CD5 but not upgradable.

The CD5 with the flatcap will provide better separation as the digital and analogue supplies are separated with the flatcap.

I am sure you won’t be disappointed with it if the deal is right.

Just taken my CD5x in for repair. Not got a cost yet but considering a new NAIM CD player to replace. Would it be worth it?

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Hi, very sound advice, just been in touch with naim apparently the parts for the cdx are no longer available however the factory has had some success at sorting out faulty units at a cost, it’s clear now my intention is to wait for a late mint condition cdx and not to worry, even Naim suggest if it’s working leave well alone this just confirms your very wise advice, now just the hunt for cdx, regards Neil.

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I deliberately bought a CDX2 - because of potential unfixable problems, with earlier units. Such as the CDX, etc.

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I would wait and see. Chances are if they can fix it then leave it alone. Shame Naim aren’t really making CD players apart from the CD5si which is the base model!

A cdx2.2 on ebay for £1500 caught my eye.
Hopefully someone has bought it now.
I cant/must not justify it.
I’d most likely use it as a digital transport into my ndx2/xpsdr.
And I’ve already got a cd5xs for that and I’m happy.
Just wondering a cdx2.2 digital out would sound any different? It cat can it?

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I’ve had CD5X/XS with FCII, great combinations.
Far better than entry levels CD5i, also much more expensive.

Had been running CDS level too, but being afraid of possible doorstep future I moved them.
No idea about current spares or service possible available?, I sold on my Naim players, went to Rega and priority is now vinyl again.

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Buy a DAC
for under 1000 and feed it with a $40 Samsung DVD player through optical out

Unfortunately when I did my marathon transport test some years back, I did try a Samsung DVD player via optical into the Naim DAC, and I hate to say it, but it came last out of the entire group. I did try a Sony DVD/SACD player too, and that was not a whole lot better.

tried that, sounded bad.

Hello, i have been pondering how to answer your suggestion, for me the aesthetics are important so is the build quality not as important as the sound quality, a good analogy would be I currently drive a vw Touareg 3ltr diesel, its build like a battleship to me looks amazing does 130 miles an hour and returns 30plus mpg, in other words it fills my current criteria for a car, the same for my selection of the Naim olive series, i find it aesthetically pleasing after all it is part of the furniture, not a tin box and built like the proverbial battleship and give the level of performance i am after, going back to the car analogy if I was offered a vehicle that exceeded the Touareg specs but looked like a box would I buy it, absolutely no chance, same as my selection of Naim however I simply want the best bang for my buck and something I can look at and enjoy. Regards Neil.

Neil, absolutely nothing wrong with your initial desire for a CDX - an excellent player, with great sound and build. Only issue really is the mech - the VAM1205 is long out of production. IIRC, Naim still have some but stocks are very low. All else is still serviceable by Naim. It’s a similar position with the CDS2; again a wonderful player, better than the CDX (as it should be) especially once you move up the PSU ladder. These are the Olive players I would choose, especially the CDS2, but mindful of the mech situation.

If you want to take a bit of a punt for not a lot of money then one of my favourite players is the CD3. It’s Olive, but slimline. It used the wonderful combination of CDM9 mech and TDA1541A crown DAC chipset. It’s a super-characterful sounding player, available for very little. The CDM9 is very reliable, but there can be issues with dropping platters (easily fixed if you know how). The Philips DAC chips though are not so reliable and can go noisy. For these reasons I would be very wary of spending more on a CDS, CDI or CD2, even though they’re all lovely players, but you could end up buying a boat anchor if the mech goes wrong.

I loved the CD5 and Flatcap when I owned them. As a combination it had a euphonious wide-screen presentation about it. It was in some ways like a lower resolution lite version of an S player (CDS, CDS2, CDS3). The CDX that replaced it was much tighter, grippier and more focussed, but I wasn’t sure I enjoyed it quite as much - at least not until an XPS came along.

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Hello again, further to my last post I would like to admit perhaps I’m an old stick in the mud but to me the tactile feel of selecting a cd or Lp placing it in the drawer or platter and waiting for that first note is incredibly important, perhaps why I don’t fancy a streaming unit, here comes another analogy if you could pop a pill and get tipsy would you in preference to enjoying a couple of glasses of wine, what I’m trying to say taking part in the journey and that sense of involvement for me is important, hope you understand what I’m trying to say, regards Neil.

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So, right now I’m play an LP of an album that I’ve got hi res access to on Qobuz.
It makes little sense to spend £27 on a piece if plastic. Yet I do.
It’s the joy of owning the material, knowing its yours. And yes it has to be stored and takes up space. The joy of reading the sleeve notes. The joy of working out which is side A.
And I also get that with cd, albeit to a lesser extent. Getting the sleeve notes out is still a PITA. Just these days I really can’t read the words. And, cds are cheap. Be that ebay or charity shops.
For me cds are where vinyl was in the mid 90s. Nobody wants it, but there are some bargains out there.
Yes, I love streaming, but it tends to be to try new music which, if I like, I buy the media version of.

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Hmmm. Very interesting

Like a few others have said, I like the ceremony of using CDs too. And vinyl. And the explorative aspects of streaming. And actually all the obsessing about the gear. I replaced an old Marantz CD6000OSE with a CD5 a few years ago. Sounds amazing to my ears through a Nait 3 and Neat Motive SX3s. The CD5 feels like I could stand on its drawer. It also sounded incrementally better via a Nait 5, and better still through a pre/power Naim setup I cannot now recall.

I never demo’d it against anything else, it was the only Naim player in budget (I think the OP was after non Naim suggestions), which perhaps was a mistake, but I’m exceptionally happy with the result. It is another league to the Marantz it replaced.

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Oh guru wise one Richard

Choice between these two - running through nDAC and XPS -2

(1) a 2009 CDX2.2 model or

(2) a 2017 CD5XS model

I guess query around the older model - your thought Richard

Cheers

Ceremony. Yep, it can feel like at times.

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I’ll be interested in our Leaders view. Cd5xs digital out via dc1 into ndx2 user here.
For one very brief moment I did think about a cdx2.2 for digital out duties. Then thought what am I really getting extra? And if marginal, could I hear it.
Given that Cd is my third choice of source, I’ll stick with the cd5xs, for what is, my most expensive cdp in coming up for 40 years ( first cdp was a Technics something in 1984)