How many still use cd-player?

Still using cdp. Have flirted with streaming but my listening time is precious and IT skills poor. Would drive me mad if listening time was diminished by faffing around trying to resolve streaming issues. 

I agree with Stuart! Despite so many saying how easy it is, i haven't found it always so easy. CDs mind are a bit now like cassettes, cheap and easy to use, mostly!

Now my LP12 on the other hand.......

Me, olive CDS2 + XPS  and it sounds brillent.

CDS3 main source, no plans to change.

CDS3 owner here.  Wonderful, wonderful sound.  Do not need the convenience of streaming.  Taking a CD out of the case is such an easy task to do.  Whilst scanning my collection of CDs I get distracted and put on a CD that I had momentarily forgotten about.  Reading the sleeve notes for the nth time, I could go on but I am sure you get the drift......

Using loads of sources including cassette and LP 12. and NAT 01.

Nagra CDP has been used regularly the last 4 years .Well pleased with its sound.Detailed with good separation but very smooth,no digital glare in my system.

Adam Zielinski posted:

Geko posted:

A CDX2 into 555 into NDac. What's not to like? Once you drop that disk in you're magically transported to the venue. Then, when the system is really singing, it's like having your own personal time machine that'll take straight to a recording studio back in say 1965 while the Beetles lay down a couple of tracks for you! Love it!

I presume 555PS is on the nDAC....
As to the Beatles - now try the original (or remastered) vinyl in mono talk about the warp-speed time machine 

Yes, was getting carried away and should have said CDX2 into nDac powered by 555PS. Such a lovely combo. On the right CD it can certainly wrestle my LP12/Aro/Geddon to the ground!

Simon-in-Suffolk posted:

Geko posted:

A CDX2 into 555 into NDac. What's not to like? Once you drop that disk in you're magically transported to the venue. Then, when the system is really singing, it's like having your own personal time machine that'll take straight to a recording studio back in say 1965 while the Beetles lay down a couple of tracks for you! Love it!

If I am an honest if you are feeding the CDX2 into a NDAC you are streaming the CD - so you might as well use either an NDX, NDS or CDX2.2 - its whether you want a carousel of CDs or one at a time. For me the real beauty of CD is the sound from the players - such as the CDX2

Never thought of it like that but actually you are right it is partial streaming.

I have tried various combo's; raw and CDX2.2 with the 555PS but always come back to CDX2.2 into nDac with 555PS. I just find what it does, and the balance it gives, absolutely perfect. Funny how you can get hooked on a CDP sound. I had one of those massive Sony 777ES SACD players, which I loved. By adding the nDac it definitely took it up another notch. It had a magnificent analogue sound. Changing to the CDX 2.2 made me realise I was missing quite a bit of the musical structure though.

Steve2 posted:

CDS3 owner here.  Wonderful, wonderful sound.  Do not need the convenience of streaming.  Taking a CD out of the case is such an easy task to do.  Whilst scanning my collection of CDs I get distracted and put on a CD that I had momentarily forgotten about.  Reading the sleeve notes for the nth time, I could go on but I am sure you get the drift......

My own experience, and I believe that of many who post on the 'Streaming' threads, is fairly similar, but also diametrically opposed to your own.

I find that scanning my CD collection via a good streaming application such as Linn Kazoo (or indeed the Naim 'app') is so much more pleasurable than struggling to scan through a physical collection of CDs that may or not be accessible in a perfect order. These days, I find it really annoying to scan through CDs in 'Record shops' as well, and tend to give up long before I have completely browsed my target genre. Like you, but in my case while scanning through the cover art for my ripped CD collection using Kazoo for my main system or Lumin for my second system I come across many CDs that I haven't played for ages. It's just so easy from the comfort of my armchair to select any track or tracks from that album. As a result, I end up listening to a lot of music from my collection that would probably otherwise have gone unheard.    

Then there are the 'Discovery' features of streaming from an external music source such as Tidal or Qobuz, albeit at a significant cost. So much easier and pleasurable, not to mention better sound quality than using a cumbersome interface such as that of YouTube to discover new music. 

I can understand people sticking to CDs because they prefer the sound quality of their CD players, but I can't understand anyone who has given streaming a serious go not appreciating the joys of a good (and remember not all interfaces are good) streamer interface.

Many of those who have responded to the OP's question obviously favour the sound of their CD players (with original inbuilt DACs) over equivalent streaming devices, but the best streaming solutions (to my ears) are now at least as good as, or in my personal opinion better than the best CD players.

I hasten to add that I'm not immune to the pleasures of handling physical objects such as LPs as opposed to music files, because I still derive great pleasure from using and playing my vinyl collection. Maybe it's an age thing, but I never have derived the same lever of pleasure in respect of my CD collection. Similarly, while I owned some pretty good cassette decks over the years, they were all used very rarely indeed. I never took to the cassette medium at all, but loved (and still love) the operational idiosyncrasies of a good reel to reel tape deck. 

Moved to a vinyl/streaming setup about six years ago. Have kept all of my CDs, and for a few years let an Oppo player with digital output gather dust on my rack, but no longer. 

Still enjoy vinyl the most, but definitely spend more time streaming - a 60/40 mix of Tidal and my own CD rips and needle drops. 

Must admit to being somewhat intrigued by Andrew Everhard's recent review of the Marantz SA-10 (upsamples CD to quad DSD), but can not imagine ever moving away from the NDS.

Hmack posted:

[Snip]

I can understand people sticking to CDs because they prefer the sound quality of their CD players, but I can't understand anyone who has given streaming a serious go not appreciating the joys of a good (and remember not all interfaces are good) streamer interface.

[Snip]

My feeling when I hear people talking about the complexity of streaming, they're referring to the initial setup. Choosing a file store, ensuring that your streamer can see it, getting the network rock solid, and then tagging the music. I find that even when I buy rips from sites like Qobuz, I have to edit the metadata before using the rips.

Once the physical infrastructure is solid and the music's on the NAS (or other store) tagged as you want, then streaming is great and  makes browsing and finding long-forgotten gems really convenient, but there is often quite a bit of complexity beforehand to get to that happy point.

I never bought a cd player and never felt I missed out on the awful medium. 

Elton John said today on the BBC about vinyl, "It does sound better, I know people say it doesn't, but it does. I've been around long enough to know. I've been in so many studios, I've made so many records. It just sounds better."

So there you go. Me and Elton John.

Yes CD replay is my main source and only source! Glorious sound still to be had from the silver discs so why waste money on another source?

Bought an ex dem CD555 from my dealer years ago and have never looked back. The CD555 is my main source (tuner and LP12 the others) and virtually all my listening is done via that. A truly stunning player, way in advance of any other. Makes pretty much any CD sound wonderful. Being a rather ancient Naimee now, I wouldn't want to get into streaming and all that stuff.

Eoink,

I would agree with you. The prospect of setting up a local streaming solution can probably feel quite daunting to those without at least some exposure to computer networks.

I would also agree that the requirement to edit metadata is a slight issue with music providers such as Qobuz. However, I very rarely find the need to edit metadata for CDs that I have ripped to my NAS. Perhaps this would be different if my music genre of choice was classical music. I have a modest collection of classical music, the bulk of my music being in the 'Rock', 'Blues', 'Progressive', 'Folk' or 'Acoustic' genres.   

One aside. I can (sort of) understand the pleasure of owning a modest collection of a couple of hundred or so CDs. But once that collection extends well into the thousands, where on earth would one store them conveniently and unobtrusively for easy access?

Replaced my CD5+Flatcap2 with new CDX2.2+XPS-DR a year ago.... gets equal use with my LP12. Sounds great... LP12 better but have different music on both sources

Any reasonable priced cd players at the market matching cd555 quality with a better price Tag? Hegel Mohican? Bryston? Marantz?

Binned the CD555 about 7 years ago for a Klimax DS which has been brought up to current spec each time Linn updates it.

I would never go back to CD

Another issue for those of us who live Stateside - any service for the CD555 requires it to be shipped back to the UK (or at least that is how it used to be).  That is one SERIOUS shipping bill back and forth

I seem to be on the minority. Dropped the CD player a few years back and replaced it with a ND5-XS. Still buying CDs though. Lounge is much tidier and no longer have to sort through 700 plus disks. Also no more worries about failing transports and lack of spares. 

I agree with a previous comment on this thread that it is a golden age for picking up cheap CDs, particularly used on the River.  Personally, the Uniti Core (into my 272) is the best piece of Naim kit to date I've bought, bringing to life CD's that I previously felt were poorly mastered.  I never thought I'd go this way but have found it liberating.  I don't miss a CD player at all although I've never owned a CD555!

Although I have found that  the prices of used CDs in the U.K. from the big South American river have increased over the last 18 months... the number of 99 p CDs has reduced. So perhaps either more CDs are being bought this way or the supply of used CDs is reducing somewhat against strong demand. (In the U.K./Europe)

S

I forgot to say: I am using a CDX2 with VAM 1250, no external PSU.

Simon-in-Suffolk posted:

Yep, use my CDX2, NDX into Hugo, and NAT05 as my main sources

Far from me to want to judge, but I still find it strange that someone using a £3000 streamer needs a portable, £1500 extra DAC to enjoy music properly. If the Hugo is the 8th Wonder they say, why not use a Squeezebox Touch as a base, since they said it had excellent streaming capabilities, comparable to those of any Naim unit?

But, of course, not my business.  

I still use my CD5XS/Flatcap XS as the main source.

I am toying with the idea of a streamer, but just so that I can reduce the space required for cds that are not played regularly and increase the space for new purchases....

I had LP12, CD 555 and NDS/555PS at the same time but discovered after 2 years that I did´t use the CD 555 so I sold it. Now it´s LPs and streaming for me. Streaming is a little tricky sometimes and not easy to set up but I prefer the NDS sound compared to the CD I had. CD is like many of you say very direct and easy to use. The CD555 is a fantastic machine, beautifully bult and a piece of art but I had to let it go anyway