SAILED THE OCEAN BLUE WITH A 552. A NEW WORLD!!

quote:

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Originally posted by Chris Bell:
Still waiting for CDS3...factory is having part problems. Maybe 2 weeks from now...can't wait.

Chris

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Chris, not so much "part problems", more a case of us being very demanding of our suppliers and them having difficulty in keeping up....

Richard

Chris,

I gotta tell ya. The CDS2 on this 552 is pretty damn incredible!! I was disc swapping tonight something fierce..

When you get the S3?!! Holy mother of troy!!!
I would not blame you if you didnt leave your house for 2 weeks...

If this be true in the least. Make sure you post on the,"whats for dinner thread". At least, we will know your eating....

Are you in L.A.??


Regards,

Marc

She asked for a Grand piano.
All I could give her was an upright organ...

quote:

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Originally posted by Chris Bell:
Still waiting for CDS3...factory is having part problems. Maybe 2 weeks from now...can't wait.

Chris

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Chris,

I am teetering on the edge of this abyss at the moment so I would appreciate it if you (or anyone else for that matter) could tell us if, after the dust settles, the CDS3 really is that much better than the '2.

For what it's worth:

Without naming names or getting too specific I'll just say I've had personal correspondence with one of the more respected contributors to this forum and he says "I heard the CDS3 ... in Montreal at
the audio show there and it sounded like a somewhat better CDS2, but I wouldn't waste too much time hankering over it. If you're happy with the 2, you'll be happy a long time...".

Bottom line I get out of it: it's obvious it's better but just how much better is the question.

Cheers

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Originally posted by Rich Jerskey:
Bottom line I get out of it: it's obvious it's better but just how much better is the question.

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Exactly. The CDS2 still knocks my socks off on a daily basis. What I really need (Mr Murphinstein) is a home demo. If I like him (lots), I keep him. If not, takeidaway. Mate ?

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Originally posted by AndrewThomas:
I will also (rudely) suggest that if your interest is sound quality alone, then you should be auditioning outside the naim brand.

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Hey, that is rude !

No, my interest is in whether the difference between the CDS2 and CDS3 is of the same magnitude as the difference between the 52 and the 552 in terms of the way they make music, or if the CDS3 when plugged into the 552 does something extra special. For my money I want magic. Problem is I already have magic so I wouldn't have a clue what "more" is going to sound like.

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Originally posted by AndrewThomas:
Yeah, I know. But, if you've got $13K to spend on a CD player it makes sense to shop around. Why is the CDS3 is your only choice?

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Well, because :

I did all the Meridian, SOTA, top-o-the-line stuff before I bought a CDS years ago and it bored me silly having to listen to the same tracks over and over trying to decide which was "best" and I don't want to have to go through that again.

I still really like the CDS2, so if I do change I would like to get something that builds on it's qualities rather than possibly opening a can of worms by going off on a tangent.

My CDS2 is still worth a significant proportion of it's purchase price by virtue of the whole Naim "thing". If I got e.g. a Wadia, in 5 years it would probably be 7 generations old and be worth squat.

Reviews from people who have heard the best the world had to offer seem to indicate that the CDS3 is world class.

I know that it seems nuts to consider spending loads of cash on something without considering the options first but it's either that or become a hi-fi magazine reading dem-room dweller. God forbid.

Minky,

you are obviously a hardcore Naim devotee as seen by your current setup. Given that the amount of difference between the CDS2 and CDS3 may be subject to discussion, there is obviously an improvement in there. You, with the Naim components you already have would most likely stand to benefit from that improvement more than others without top of the line power and pre-amp or with components by another company. I'd see it as a natural progression towards the "Holy Grail" audio-wise on the Naim route at least. If you do take the plunge, make sure you let us all know the verdict (after the honeymoon is over).

Cheers,

Rich J

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Originally posted by dozy:
There is a third way - be satisfied with what you have kit wise, and spend the £8k on 1,000 new CDs.

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Holly, molly - £8k ? You guys in the good old U of K have it pretty bad. What does a new CDS3 cost over there ?

The thing about the "buy more music" argument is that I buy 2 or 3 new albums a week which along with the ones that I am still running-in and the old favorites keeps me happy. Any more than this (I know from many years experience) just results in stockpiles of stuff that I don't recognise. I know someone who never listens to an album more than once. He thinks of an album as a cheap concert. I can't do that. I like to really get to know an album to the point where I am humming the first bar of the next track before it starts. I get my pleasure from familiarity, so a thousand new albums would be a waste of money.

Another thing about the CDS3 is that I view CD players a bit like cars. There is a point where upgrading goes from affordable to impossible. At this point you have to decide whether you want to continue with the luxury of having a new car or run the old one into the ground. My CDS2 is at that point right now ..

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Originally posted by PR:
Surely the main concern is not how much you spend on a CD player, preamp, power amps and speakers, but rather how good the sound is emitting into your music room?

You can’t buy your way to a perfect sound, it's a commercial delusion!

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PR,

If what you are saying is that it's possible to get increasingly better "sound emitting into your music room" by spending less and less money, we need to talk buddy.

PR

If you were a beach, you'd never get a blue flag.

Walter