You are not too far from The Audio Room in Hull…we have had excellent service from Darren and his team.
Hello, gave Darren a call nothing suitable in at the moment but after restrictions if I haven’t found anything I intend to drop in as soon as they are open in the shop, regards Neil.
I see CD 3.5’s quite cheap at points. How do they fair and how serviceable are they?
Hello @Bevo
Thanks for sharing that experience.
I have that same combination - CD5XS - DC1 - nDAC - and always wondered what the CDX2.2 might add. So, that was an interested read.
Like others, I also enjoy playing CD’s and value the format and CDP’s. So, was sorry when Naim discontinued those two fabulous machines - CDX2 and CD5XS - around 2018. (However, time moves on and understood the market forces at work behind the commercial decision).
On this news, immediately went out and secured a CD5XS from my local dealer. I love it.
Soon after, I added an nDAC. This was a very pleasing upgrade and I am now content that I have superb a CD player that will last me 20+ years now.
Anyway, thanks for posting your thoughts and comments on that experiment. That may have just saved me from “scratching an itch”, at some point.
Lastly, best of luck to the original OP @Neil1956 on your own HiFi journey and search for a CDP that fits your own needs.
The CD3.5 is an excellent player, forerunner to the CD5 and quite similar under the skin. It can be upgraded by adding a Flatcap, which then powers the analogue output stage, giving a notable boost in performance.
The mech used is the VAM1205. This is now very hard to find, and usually only secondhand (fairly plentiful secondhand though). Naim stocks are likely very low or exhausted by now.
However, given the choice, I prefer the earlier CD3. It’s quite different under the skin, using a CDM9 swing-arm mech and the Philips TDA1541A Crown 16 bit DAC chipset. It’s a more characterful player, which cuts both ways, and can’t be upgraded with a power supply. It is however, a great fun listen, but a bit too characterful if you mostly listen to classical works.
Hi @Neil1956, I had a CDX before my current CDX2 and yes I think it sounds better. I added a new XPSDR power supply to it only relatively recently during my ownership and that gave a big improvement including added details and enjoyment from familiar music in my collection.
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Thanks Richard. That’s helpful to know.
If I added it to my Olive setup, can my HiCap power the CD3.5 and my NAC62?
No, a Hicap can only power one item at any time. A Flatcap is a better and arguably more balanced solution anyway for the CD3.5.
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Thanks Richard.
I suppose I was looking at the 4 sockets in the back of the HiCap, where I am only currently using 2. Just recently sold my FlatCap.
On the Hicap there are indeed for sockets, one, the DIN5 for providing DC power, and the other three, DIN4s for signal.
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Thanks Richard.
I assume that is to power a preamp and allow the signal to be sent to three different power amps?
Yes, could be used that way.
Yes ratrat it was a great shootout between the two CD players
The CD5XS with the nDAC is in my opinion one of the great sweet spots in Naim CD playing . Just for your info I have had the full 500 series in the past with the CD555 (moved house so no space) and yes of course it’s better but I’m very happy with the combo above. I have also attached the XPS -2 with the nDAC and that gives a great kicker as one would expect at the extra cost.
You have done well ratrat , you will get many years of music happiness from the CD5XS/nDAC -what a bargain
Cheers
Bevo
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Yes, it does, AFAIK.
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Out of interest, does the same apply to the CDS? I’m looking to complete my olive system with an olive cd player once funds allow (and some other boxes got their service) & listen mostly classical.
At a similar hierarchical level. However, they are rather different. The CDX2 uses a much more modern DAC, and sounds it.
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Is it still serviceable? What do you mean by a more modern DAC?
Yes, it’s still serviceable AFAIK.
The DAC chipset used on your CDI was the old Philips 4 x 16bit TDA1541A Crown/Double Crown with SAA7220 oversampling filter. This was a very “musical” DAC chipset, but quite coloured too, and far from perfect distortion wise. However, it sounded good, and gave a great sense of timing compared to most other DAC chipsets of the time. It gave a certain “character” to the sound, that many love, and still love, but it’s not exactly as neutral or as resolving as modern DACs.
The CDX2 uses the Burr Brown PCM1704K 24bit DAC chipset with PMD200 HDCD oversampling filter. This is a far more sophisticated and resolving DAC set, and is still up there with the very best.
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Many thanks Richard…I hope to have the clamp 5 arriving today to see if that resolves the slippage problem on the CDI. If it doesn’t I am thinking that the CDX2 is the way to go?