XPS2 Impressions - (Well a couple of people did ask)
Posted by: Geoff P on 01 May 2004
gHunter said:
Benr said:
[QUOTE] Geoff, it will be very interesting to what you think when the xps2 arrives, my advice is hook it up, then listen to it for a few days then take it off and see what happens, I think you will be surprised, Ben r[QUOTE]
You asked so here it is!!
When I replaced the HiCap on my 282 with a Supercap I also put everything on Fraim which wrought a significant improvement across the board so it is difficult to single out exactly what contribution the SC made to the sound. A good pre-amp's virtues are to become hidden and not add anything unwanted to the source signal and I felt the 282 was doing just that with the SC on it. So I would say the improvements you get from a SC are subtle but appreciated after listening across a range of music and that mostly it seems to clarify the signal produced by the 282 so you feel confident you were getting everything thatis coming from the source.
The XPS2 on the other hand brings much more blatant and significant improvement because it is working it's magic on the source so it all gets passed on down through the system.
In the words of a famous Bra advert the XPS2 definitely "lifts and separates", particularly it brings out all the threads in the music.
The thing I noticed first was that it really increased resolution in the Bass region. Even the really low stuff which had a tendency to sound slightly "thumpy" with the bare CDX2 became iindividual notes with a musical pitch to them. (Which was nice because it confirmed the tendency to thump was not due to the speakers).
The next thing I noticed was the signal was "quieter" at the same volume setting. This is a purity thing, not a level thing. The net effect is that you want to turn the volume up quite a bit more than before and it all sounds great.
Once you have got used to the significant improvement in bass delivery you start to notice other details throughtout the frequency range coming out of the shadows. Also little musical nuances never before noticed such as tinkling bells which were formerly buried under other stronger sounding instruments, the "tiss"of the cymbal lenghtening etc. On complex music you hear all the instruments much more as separate threads in the music.
Along with this separation of the music into individual threads a feeling of "air" in the musical balance seems to become audible and the stereo image becomes deeper and more spread out. It also keeps the pace and beat going well in the true Naim tradition. In fact I think it makes the CDX2 come across as a little faster than it sounded bare.
Finally The XPS2 does not seem to "burn in" like an amp. It starts out sounding good straight away and just continues to get better until after about a week it seems to be giving full performance.
The other thing I reckon with the added strength in the Bass you need a good power reserve in the amp. It defenitely is suited to the 250mkii in my system. I do think it would be a good plan to run the CDX2/XPS2 combination without a strong amp or at least efficient speakers that do bass well.
I can boldly say I am NOT planning any future upgrades. As far as I am concerned the CDX2/XPS2 combo is very very good and I cannot believe there is much more to be had from a CDS3.
However for safety I am NOT going to listen to a CDS3, just in case it blows my mind.
regards
GEOFF
quote:
Geoff, looking forward to hearing why you think the XPS2 is a better upgrade than the Supercap2, Geoff. You've had a lot of good things to say about the Supercap2, so the XPS2 must be really amazing!
Graham
Benr said:
[QUOTE] Geoff, it will be very interesting to what you think when the xps2 arrives, my advice is hook it up, then listen to it for a few days then take it off and see what happens, I think you will be surprised, Ben r[QUOTE]
You asked so here it is!!
When I replaced the HiCap on my 282 with a Supercap I also put everything on Fraim which wrought a significant improvement across the board so it is difficult to single out exactly what contribution the SC made to the sound. A good pre-amp's virtues are to become hidden and not add anything unwanted to the source signal and I felt the 282 was doing just that with the SC on it. So I would say the improvements you get from a SC are subtle but appreciated after listening across a range of music and that mostly it seems to clarify the signal produced by the 282 so you feel confident you were getting everything thatis coming from the source.
The XPS2 on the other hand brings much more blatant and significant improvement because it is working it's magic on the source so it all gets passed on down through the system.
In the words of a famous Bra advert the XPS2 definitely "lifts and separates", particularly it brings out all the threads in the music.
The thing I noticed first was that it really increased resolution in the Bass region. Even the really low stuff which had a tendency to sound slightly "thumpy" with the bare CDX2 became iindividual notes with a musical pitch to them. (Which was nice because it confirmed the tendency to thump was not due to the speakers).
The next thing I noticed was the signal was "quieter" at the same volume setting. This is a purity thing, not a level thing. The net effect is that you want to turn the volume up quite a bit more than before and it all sounds great.
Once you have got used to the significant improvement in bass delivery you start to notice other details throughtout the frequency range coming out of the shadows. Also little musical nuances never before noticed such as tinkling bells which were formerly buried under other stronger sounding instruments, the "tiss"of the cymbal lenghtening etc. On complex music you hear all the instruments much more as separate threads in the music.
Along with this separation of the music into individual threads a feeling of "air" in the musical balance seems to become audible and the stereo image becomes deeper and more spread out. It also keeps the pace and beat going well in the true Naim tradition. In fact I think it makes the CDX2 come across as a little faster than it sounded bare.
Finally The XPS2 does not seem to "burn in" like an amp. It starts out sounding good straight away and just continues to get better until after about a week it seems to be giving full performance.
The other thing I reckon with the added strength in the Bass you need a good power reserve in the amp. It defenitely is suited to the 250mkii in my system. I do think it would be a good plan to run the CDX2/XPS2 combination without a strong amp or at least efficient speakers that do bass well.
I can boldly say I am NOT planning any future upgrades. As far as I am concerned the CDX2/XPS2 combo is very very good and I cannot believe there is much more to be had from a CDS3.
However for safety I am NOT going to listen to a CDS3, just in case it blows my mind.
regards
GEOFF