Is it all in a Naim

Hi MJSM.

If you can, in a word, Naim.

Being brief:

Naim = "Flat earth" ie PRat + detail and relative freedom from digital nasties; a rare combination.

Meridian 500 series, 600 series = "Round earth" ie air, space, detail, but little PRat, and a rather lightweight, and bright sound IME. Definitely third fiddle to LP12

Arcam = Um, "oval earth" ie has PRat, but not in Naim class, and has round earth quailities, but not in Meridian amounts. :-)


Cyrus = "Round earth" similar to Meridian, but tending to have a rather 'digital' presentation, which, if you're coming from/with an LP12, will endure that you'll seldom use it (CD)

NAD (yes, even the humble £330 NAD 541i gets great reviews in Novembers What HiFi Sound & Vision) = 'Oval earth', similar vein of presentational qualities to Arcam, but essentially outclassed by the Arcam ie, more of everything.

That's being pretty brief, however I have heard, and AB'd them quite extensively during my quest to find a CD player, that would at least get somewhere near my turntable re musical satisfaction and enjoyment, and the Naim was the only one that fitted the bill. True, it cost an arm and two legs, but I've never regretted it.

If you're used to the sound of an LP12, it's about the only digital disc spinner that makes music, IMHO, and most especially has little of that typical digital harshness/hardness which so typifies the medium.

Hope this helps,

Enjoy,

Cheers,

John :-)

Populist thinking exalts the simplistic and the ordinary

Thanks to everyone who responded, I appreciate that being a Naim forum ,we would all love to think that Naim is the one and only choice, but to be honest, not everyone can can afford to meet the kind of prices that even second hand units command.

Thanks John from Auss for the Flat Earth V Round Earth tutorial, I'm still a little mystified, but definitely not now completely in the dark.

To be entirely truthful, my previous CD experiences come from somewhat less than Audiophile sources, which the LP12 leaves for dead in the listenability stakes (I've even found that extended listening to CD's made me feel nervous, twitchy etc), so this is a big decision only arrived at because of the convenience and availability of CD's over Vinyl, and the lack of availability of new releases on Vinyl (a crime if you ask me).

So, who's got a CD3 or 3.5 going cheap then ??. I keep missing them on Ebay because I'm based in Malaysia which is 8 hours ahead of the UK, so the normal end date/time usually occurs at 03:00 in the morning my time, a bit early/late whichever way you look at it.

Speakers I'm using are a no-name brand I picked up in Bangkok as a temporary soluttion to nothing at all, and only to put on a bookshelf. I need to look at them again, as they appear to have been imported from the US, and perform something like a base'ey Kan. They were bloody cheap, and IMHO worth about 6 times what I paid for them, but I am afraid they are unworthy of this esteemed forum, so I did'nt like to mention them.

Use esnipe.

Markus

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[QUOTE]Originally posted by MJSM:
I'm looking for a SH CD player to play second fiddle to my LP12,
Can anybody out there give me some advice ??, looking for something in the £500 rangeNaim
)

Please help, I'm currently using a Sony DVD player to play CD's on, you can imagine the torture !!!!

/QUOTE]

Regaaaaaaaaaaa.

I have a Planet, bought 2nd hand and I really rate it. Can get a very recent one for that kind of price, if not actually new. Spend the change on decent cables and even an old stand and you will be happy.

Mine plays the tunes, and delivers the detail in a very liquid fashion that has all the nice bits of analogue.

Mike

Original qoute from Markus

quote:

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How to bid on ebay at 3:00AM without staying up to do it

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Whats

quote:

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esnipe

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I've left proxy bids, but some unscupulous people just out bid me by about £5 when I'm asleep !!!!