From CDX to CDS, should i go
Posted by: Bernard Paquet on 17 August 2001
I a have a line on a circa 1994 CDS for the same price i pay my second hand CDX.
The owner of the CDS told me that this machine has played about 100-150 hours. The rest of the time it was in the box.
Sometime i say go for it, some other i say no no the CDX is enought.
Rest of the kit : 82 - hicap / 250 /credo.
Should i stay or should i go? 
Bernard Paquet
100 to 150 hours is nothing! Maybe even not enough. Somebody mentioned that the CDS transport needs to be played to remain in form. Don't know if this is true. Check with Naim to be sure.
Some people, whose opinion in general I respect, prefer the bare CDX over the CDS, some other people, whose opinion I respect as well, say the CDX is not worth it when upgrading from CDI. I think nobody will question the fact that the CDS is a huge upgrade over the CDI. But that's for your ears to decide.
Do a search on CDS and you will find lots of information, amongst others a picture of a Nextel ring in excellent shape. As I've said somewhere else, if you want a fuss free player, go for the CDX, if you want a classic with a touch of magic, I would go for the CDS. I did and I didn't regret it a second.
Ciao!
Willem
there is a suspicion that the particular CDS we heard against the CDX was not up to par.
I would certainly want to hear the demo done again before I'd put money down on one or the other player. Certainly some who've done the demo have reported preferring the CDS-I even to the CDX with XPS
BTW, if the CDS has the black Burndy then that would also make it more attractive, but I would guess that is unlikelt here.
One word of warning - if the CDS transport is not played for a period of six months or more than it may sieze up. You would need to have a demo with it successfully playing a number of discs before purchasing the CDS. I believe the symptoms of a faulty transport are that it displays 'ERR' on the display when you attempt to play a disc.
cheers, Martin
I just setup a s/h 1995 CDS1 replacing by 5 year old CD3.5/FC. I did compare CDX and CDS1 in the
purchase process. To me the CDS1 is a worthy investment. Depeche mode sounds alive again.
Preference really, it you like 'frontal' music CDX can be a better choice. But for overall music enjoyment I'll go for CDS1. Search the threads to some of the common things you need to look for before buying a CDS1
- black burndy
- nextel ring (wearing) <- not replaceable only
choice is upgrade the transport to CDS2 equivalent.
Good luck...
Roland
Don't listen to some of these idiots. The CDS1 is much better than the CDX/XPS. Ask Arthur Bye, he owns a CDS1, CDS2 and CDX/XPS and running it through a 52. I "UPGRADED" from a CDX/XPS to the CDS1 and from the first note even my wife's mouth dropped. The CDS1 kills the CDX/XPS in how it balances the sonic picture. The CDX/XPS emphasises the dominant instruments and feels like the music is being just thown at you. The CDS1 like the CDS2 brings out the more sutle instruments and the rythmic picture is evenly hung on every instrument. If you like the PRaT emphasis of the CDX/XPS with the analogue flow of the CDS2 you would like the CDS1, that is it's character. You just need to make sure the CDS1 is in good working condition.
John
I generally agree with John's post above. I would be a bit cautious about the small amount of use on the unit though. I also have heard that there may be service problems with the unit(specifically the Nextel ring) if its not used enough.
Maybe you should take it to a dealer for a checkup.
It's not like the CDX is a lousy player though.
Listen and decide for yourself. There's quite a bit of personal taste in the decision.
Both units can be helped with Mana
Arthur Bye
I think the CDS will stay and when fund will permit, i''l have it upgraded to CDS 2.
Bernard Paquet
graphoman
Basically, the nextel ring, ie the black ring around the edge of the shiny metal bit in the transport, can wear away over time. When this happens, the whole transport has to be replaced. This is an extremely expensive job, Naim quoted me £500ish.
To stop this happening, make sure that you stop the player immediately if a disc starts to slip, as this is apparently the main cause of the wear. Keeping the rubber bit on the underside of the puck pinched into a circle also helps to prevent wear.
If yours has had its transport replaced that recently, it should be pretty much unmarked. Search the posts of Arthur Bye, as he has written lots of very useful stuff about this, and CDSs in general. He also posted a clear picture of the ring in basically as new condition - you can then see what condition yours is in.
Cheers
Ben
As long as the CDS1 is in good condition my opinion is that it's the better player.
Let YOUR ears decide though.
The CDX is no slouch
Arthur Bye
graphoman
If it does stop working, you can do either of two things. You can change the transport for the same variety. I understand that Naim use the ones taken from CDSs being made into CDS2s. This costs about £500. Or, you can have the whole head unit made into a CDS2, which is about £1600. This is what I'm going to do with mine when it dies, but as, like Arthur's, my ring is pretty much unworn (!), this will hopefully be a while off.
Turning to the original question posed in this thread, FWIW, I did not find a CDX to be a great upgrade over even a 3.5, in fact I was pretty disappointed with it. However, a CDS1 was a different matter, it is a far superior player to my ears. I've never heard a CDX/XPS though, so cannot comment on this.
Ben
I would also recommend working your way upto a 52 long before you consider the CDS2 upgrade. The 52 will transform everything. You really don't understand how the source sounds until you've heard it with a 52.
Also consider getting into vinyl. I recently purchased a Rega P9 for half the cost of the CDS1->CDS2 upgrade and are receiving results that exceed the performance of both CD players. The CDS1 is good enough in the digital realm. You can jump to much higher heights in the vinyl for very little money.
John