cd5+hicap VS lone CDX

Posted by: Matt worlock on 13 July 2001

Hi all,

Ive got a teac transport + cambridge dacmagic 2ii
I want to compliment the rest of my naim kit with a naim cd player but which one?? Naim gear is as follows nap 180, 82 + hicap. I also run epos es12 speakers with nac 5 cable.

Also how does a cd 3.5 sound when connected to a hicap......Sorry if this has been asked before in previous threads! This would be in my view a very cost effective option but how would it compare with what I already have?

P.S.How much would a secondhand cdx cost I,d rather buy new but having just moved!!! Money money as always!

Cheers for know mad matt

Posted on: 13 July 2001 by Frank Abela

Matt,

The CDX is in a different league to the CD5 and CD3.5, whether or not they've been supplemented with a power supply. The CDX also starts you on the next ladder of XPS and eventually CDS2. You can find second hand CDXs for around £1600.

Both the CD5 and CD3.5 benefit significantly from having a power supply attached, but even with a Hicap, they aren't in the same game as the CDX.

Regards,
Frank.
All opinions are my own and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of any organisations I work for, except where this is stated explicitly.

Posted on: 13 July 2001 by NigelP

Matt,

Go with Frank on this one - he's right.

Posted on: 13 July 2001 by Markus

My dealer had their CD5 powered by a supercap and I was told this put it on a par with a CDX. Don't know if it's true, but this is what I was told. Any other thoughts or experience on this?

Mark

Posted on: 13 July 2001 by BrianD

quote:
My dealer had their CD5 powered by a supercap

I don't see why anyone would want to do this.

Bri

Posted on: 13 July 2001 by Phil Barry

Typically with Naim, the equipment pretty much performs in line with price, at least IMO. So maybe a CD5 + s'cap does sound better than a bare CDX. But I think I would allocate my funds differently.

Phil

Posted on: 13 July 2001 by Steve Toy

A CD5/Supercap costs more than a "naked" CDX, so it should sound better, but does it?
Even if it does, you'd want to upgrade to CDX/XPS - much easier if you started with the CDX, rather than having to ditch the CD5 and try to use the Supercap elsewhere in your system.

It's always a nice day for it, have a good one
Steve