CDS3 appreciation, after a service

Posted by: Christopher_M on 30 May 2016

Hello,

Early in the year my CDS3 started getting glitchy. Skipping, a noisy motor, wheezy servos, sometimes missing tracks, sometimes just refusing to play discs at all. I've owned it for two and a bit years, bought used from a Naim dealer.

It got progressively worse, so my local dealer sent it off to Naim at the beginning of April. Got it back last week and and it sounds fantastic. I'm hearing stuff I didn't know was there. It's just so much more engaging, more coherent. Until now I could never have believed I could have replay at home which was this good.

The upshot: if you have the slightest doubt about your own CDS3's mech, maybe a service is in order. Mine had a new mech, software updates and a new logo. The casing has been nicely buffed, so now very new looking. Oh, and a new box and nappies too. And all for a flat fee of £340. An incredible bargain.

Naim, my dealer and a couple of forum mates already know of my pleasure. It seemed ridiculous not to let you all know in this social media age :-)

Cheers, Chris

Posted on: 07 August 2016 by Mike Hughes

CDS3 with a 555PS is excellent. Much more natural timbre than my CDX2. However, having done a couple of long dealer dems and listened to one at a friends house for a whole evening or two I can't say there was a moment when my fingers and toes started tapping irresistibly. It's a more relaxed presentation of PRaT and we all hear music differently. As a drummer and guitarist I'd say the CDX2 is more like what I hear timing wise whereas the CDS3 is more like what I hear timbre wise.

I'm not saying that the CDS3 doesn't groove or its timing is wrong. It's different and more relaxed but on that alone it's neither "more right" or "more accurate". It's a huge improvement on timbre and definitely "more accurate". Timing wise it's a personal choice.