CDS3 vs CDX/XPS

Ok so I've finally been for a CDS3 demo.

My home system is CDX/XPS 82/SC 135s SBL's, the demo system was 282/Hi/new250/SBL.

I took along my CDX and XPS so we could try a few different combinations.

So first combination CDX/XPS 82/Hi/250/SBL. The main music used in the demo was:
calexico - Feast of Wire
Jamiroquai - Emergency on Planet earth
Jill Scott - This is Jill Scott
PJ Harvey - Stories...
RHCP - Californication

The first thing to say amout the sound was that the balance was slightly less forward than my home system, this was better on the PJ Harvey Album , but probably worse on the

Jamiroquai. Overall very similar sounding to my home system and pretty good.

First Change XPS -> XPS2.
This had a good worthwhile improvement, There wasn't a fundamental improvement in the sound but notes were given more texture and feel whilst retaining the overall sound balance. Several swops back and forth confirmed the extra level of subtelty added especially to acoustic guitar and vocals.

So next change, CDX -> CDS3, now expectations were high and encouraged by the improvements to the XPS I sat back and waited to be impressed.
Well first impresions were underwhelming. It certainly sounded different, but was it better?

Now to put this in context, I've only had a CD player a few years, most of my listening was via LP12/Lingo/Ittok/Lyra Lydian, but come the mid nineties there was just too much stuff I couldn't get on LP so I had to buy a CD player, I bought the Best £1000 CD player I could (a CD3) this at least allowed me to buy CD's but I just didn't enjoy them, compaired to the LP12 there was just too much missing, come 2000 I decided I had to get a CD player to compete with the LP12, and that was CDX/XPS, the CD3 ->CDX/XPS improvement for me was fundamental and allowed me to enjoy CD's as much (almost) as LPs. Similarly a couple of 552 demo's at shows and HiFi evenings have shown me what a fundamental change a 52 -> 552 can make. But with CDX -> CDS3 the sounds was different but how much better?

I've got to admit I'm not usually one for picking out immediate differences between components (52->552 and CD3->CDX/XPS excepted) I usually have to spend 20 minutes plus to actually start getting into the music. So leaving the CDS3 in place we just played some music after that we then swopped back to the CDX/XPS, well this time I could appreciate the improvement a bit more, for me the best way to describe the CDS3 is more organic, any final hints of digital glare present on the CDX were gone, and instruments were fleshed out more this had a strange side affect in that on the CDs3 there seemed less space around the instruments. Basically on the CDx an acoustic guitar you can here the string twang, the finger on the frets and the notes come forth, on the CDS3 as well as this you get the feel of the vibrations from the guitar body, this has the affect of widening the sound image. Yes this was definately pretty good. But was it worth £4750, I was undecided.

Then the wild card, We put on a bare CDX2. Well what a suprise, this sounds more like the CDS3 than the CDX/XPS (in a good way), that organic quality is there, definately slightly smoother and less forthright. So what am I saying? Is the CDX2 better than the CDX/XPS? Well I don't know, the presentation is certainly different.

We then spent the next 1/2 hour listening to the CDX2 -> CDX2/XPS -> CDX3/XPS, this was now easy, there is a clear improvement in each step, I couldn't consider getting the CDX2 just because the CDS3 is better. So finally back to the CDX/XPS, more brittle, slightly digital (in comparison), but also more dynamic! (well maybe) the more upfront presentation certainly gives this impression initially.

So what to do?

Well I've ordered the XPS2, I know I like this and it offers a worthwhile improvement without drastically affecting the sound balance. For the CDS3, well that will have to wait a while (there's an 6-8 week waiting list anyway). I may request a home trail towards the end of the summer when the XPS2 has settled in.