The CDS2

Of those who know, is it better to listen to what you have and be happy, or to listen above your means and be unsatisfied ??

What do you think ?

Team

Sounds good to me.

I know that this might not be the best time to ramble on about a CDS11, but I have just popped home for an hour and played the Gladiator music track.

It sounds superb, its just getting better all the time........this was money well spent.

The TV is hardly on in this house at the moment, and even Mrs Mick is choosing CD's and playing them.

I shall shut up now but you have to hear this machine to believe it.

Regards

Mick

If this is becoming boring, please me know, but I have just spent 2 hours this evening playing CD's and even Mrs Mick has noticed that it has jumped up a couple of notches since midday.

I have not drunk any whiskey tonight because I have my ear in critical mode. I slapped on Freddie Mercury (my musical hero)CD and what a sound. I know I am rabbitting on, but the sound of this player has to be heard to be believed. Freddie's voice sounded good with the CDX, but with this player its just so real and natural. Its just like he is in the room.

I shall shut up now or I will go on forever. The best advice I can give you ....is go out and get this machine.......you have not heard your CD's at their best until you have this piece of kit.

I should have bought this thing a couple of years ago.

Regards

Well contented Mick

Try surfing the net

Regards

Mick

To be brutally honest, the CDS11 is just ahead of the Garrard, but there is a lot of time ahead for the CDS11 to mature and improve.

Please remember that the Garrard is only fitted with a budget arm, the RB300.

I intend to fit either a SME 1V or an ARO. Once that is done, the Garrard will slaughter the LP12, I know because I have heard the two in comparison. I also expect it to give the CDS11 a run as well, but to be realistic, the CD player is more convenient to use.

Next time you are driving past Swindon, call in and listen for yourself.

Regards

Mick

oh man, do yourself a favour, get an lp12/aro/XX2/prefix/geddon and you will hear how the contest becomes a LOT tougher that the one you have so far experienced.

also, what makes you think the RB300 is the "weakest link"?

dont be offended, i dont mean to belittle your garrard - i am just teasing you....

i have the cd convenience too. play records when i consider a special occasion demands it. mad isnt it?

enjoy

ken

I noticed that you asked a question about the 250 and whether it is worth you getting a 52 to get more out of your CDS-II. The 250 is a great power amp and very capable of driving most loads. You will find the addition of the 52 will open up a new sound that you never you was there. The 250 starts to get into trouble when the speaker load gets tricky. This is where the 135, biamping with a pair of 250's or the mightly 500 come in. So, in summary, if you can afford the 52, then you should get it. It is, simply, the best preamp I have ever heard. I heard the CDS-II in active 500, NBL setup and this left me in doubt of the capability of the CDS-II and the 52. I currently use a couple of 250's and they are excellent. They will not be as good as 135's but you will still see a HUGE improvement by replacing the 82.

I have just completed a couple of hours listening on the CDS11 (now day nine)and its still slowly improving. It's the detail that is so much better and the voices seem to separate better from the music.

This machine is so bloody good, that I am now doing a Hanson and wondering about upgrading.

Nigels posting extolling the virtues of the 52 has convinced me that the 82 is a bottleneck and that its not allowing me to get the best out of the CDS11. Therefore I have concluded that I need to purchase a 52, which hopefully I shall do after my holiday which is only a month away.

I tend to play my music, not too loud, at nine o clock and I run SBL's, which I believe, are easy to drive. Would a pair of 135's make much of a difference or is the 250 adequate. I have to be carefull with the lolly because I have given Mrs Mick my word of honour that I will buy her a new VW VR6 next June. That was a condition of her agreeing to the purchase of the CDS11.

This means that I have so save up a lot of cash between now and then and I only want to buy the 135's if they definately improve the sound by a noticeable degree.

Do you think the 135's will give a major or minor boost to the sound bearing in mind I run SBL's and play at the nine o clock position.

Regards

Mick

to my ears, the 2*135 passive was beaten by the 2*250 active -- but oh boy, 2*135 in the context of your system i.e. from passive 1*150, the 135's will definitely stamp their authority in a very obvious way. you will like the effect.

enjoy

ken

Regarding the 135s, I'll be able to tell you more, once mine arrive.

-=> Mike Hanson <=-

Ken is right - think very hard whether you should go to 2x250s active instead.

Although you have to buy a PS & SNAXO, you will not lose the money on trading out the 250.

Juan Zenuff on the conference here recently upgraded from 2x135s to 2x250s active (with 82/Super).

cheers, Martin

my experience exactly when i auditioned these beasts, twice. first time during a cdx vs cdsii demo when the difference between cdx and cdsii was "smaller" than the difference between 250 and 2*135's -- which got me interested enough in 135's to want to audition them separately. so second time, the demo was 2*250 active against 2*135 passive. both very enjoyable indeed. but i am sure you will remember from my report, musically the active system won hands down. very convincingly.

i am using an active system at home now -- and its likely that i will remain "active" for a long long time (hmmm... )

enjoy

ken

yep!!! agree again. plus a much more intimate experience, drawing you into the music. and i agree, more convincing bass as well. plus this neat trick of separating instruments but at the same time maintaining the cohesion. when i added supercap for snaxo, the 135-type authority was added to the proceedings, which makes one wonder about 4-pack, but this gets so close to nap500 that its no longer that sensible an upgrade i believe.

enjoy

ken

Alex

ps. Gee, what a surprise, Mike H is getting 135s.

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Gee, what a surprise, Mike H is getting 135s.

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I hadn't planned to do it this soon, but an opportunity arose, and I couldn't pass it up. I've always intended to get the 135s, as they are so well suited to my Albions (which I dearly love ).

I'm hoping that I can sit on this system for a while. The only other upgrade I might consider is speakers, although I think it will take a very long time to find something that's enough of an improvement to justify upgrading.

-=> Mike Hanson <=-

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I think it will take a very long time to find something that's enough of an improvement to justify upgrading

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Like as long as a week perhaps?

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Like as long as a week perhaps?

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My electronics upgrades have come fast and furious, because I knew what I wanted. It was just a matter of earning the money and hoping for a few deals here and there. Speakers are a much different concept.

For that I must search and audition, hoping to find a jewel. It took me eight months to decide on the Albions. During that time I auditioned at least 100 pairs of speakers, with at least 5 coming for a visit in my living room. The ironic thing is that the Albions were one of the first speakers that I heard, and the quest ended up being whether I could find something better at the same price point. After eight months I gave up my search and bought them.

Now my budget will be higher, which widens the field. I've already got a system that sounds phenomenal, so I'm not in a rush. It might take me a year or more before I find something that's good enough to replace the Albions, and I might never replace them.

-=> Mike Hanson <=-

Had a late night listen yesterday without whiskey and the system is still improving but at a lower rate.

I now intend to go for a 52 on my return from holiday which finishes early October. This seems to be the best bet to exploit the CDS11.

I must admit, I am still undecided about 250's/135's and whether to go active etc. I find it all rather confusing.

I could live with my system as it is but I cannot live with the thought that the 82 is bottlenecking the performance of the sound.

Regards

Mick

It's just over two weeks since thr CDS11 was installed and today was the first day since Wednesday since I played it.

It really is coming along beautiful. Its so detailed and involving that it's becoming addictive.

All I can say is if you do not own one...get one..it's simply superb. This machine could kill off the urge to listen to vinyl.

Regards

Mick

Despite my comments re: the barbie demo, I recently had the opportunity to listen to Alex S's CDSII, in more convenient and relaxed circumstances. His is powered by a CDPS which doesn't give the full performance of the XPS, but was good enough for me (and a whole lot cheaper s/h!).

I came away VERY impressed. The biggest compliment I could give it was that it sounded like a very good analogue deck. I would be happy to own one, such was its ability to play music and sound so un-digital.

Congrats and enjoy.

Andy.

While I agree that the cdsii makes cd sound better than it probably has any right to, it does not really compete.

I am very happy with my cd player, but out of choice I've only used it a couple of times in the last fortnight since I replaced my cartridge, and that was when I wanted to listen to music that I didn't have on vinyl.

Chris

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OK, very good. So you've spent £6 k on a CD player, >£6 k on an amp, >£2 k on speakers, and you're still NOT SATISFIED??????????

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Had you considered the possibility that Mick likes what he has, but knows it can be better? My system has recently surpassed Mick's, although I suspect that he'll end up with a better one than mine. However, it's not about whose is better. It's all about personal satisfaction. Mick and I like what we have, but we both want more.

I occasionally comment that I would be "satisfied" if I had $20M sitting in the bank. However, I'm sure that if I had it, I would still want more. If that makes me a greedy, then so be it! It's better than being cold and hungry.

BTW, I find the forum to be rather bemusing at the moment. Half of the members are striving for the upper echelons of Naim's gear, and are reveling in their new acquisitions. The other half is bragging about their quests to ditch enviable systems, in lieu of downsized affairs that falter at anything but PRaT. This smacks of some sort of twisted audiophile modesty.

What's the world coming to?!?

-=> Mike Hanson <=-