Love my CDX2. But what about vinyl??

Vinyl always will sound different to the digital equivalent, no matter how cheap or expensive the TT, phonostage and cartridge is. So if you try to find one which exactly sound like you're CDX2, you ain't gonna find it. 

A direct drive system with bright and dynamic mm or mc cart trough a Naim phonostage will probably be closest.  

Andib posted:

I am once again very impressed by my CDX2. Just wow!! A very dynamic and "punchy" sound. And also warm and detailed - nearly a bit of everything to me. But I never found a turntable with that CDX2 sound.

Vinyl and CD are different creatures and I wouldn't necessarily expect or want one to sound like the other. In fact it's the differences between the two formats I appreciate, and I like them both. If you're seeking similarity of sound between the two, I'd suggest the vinyl mastering can be a big factor. I find direct metal masters (analog recordings from the mid/late-1980s) and LPs from the CBS Mastersound series (early digital transfers from analog in the early 1980s) tend to have quite a pleasing, clean and precise "digital signature" on my mid-level TT gear.

As far as chasing a "punchy" sound on a TT, I'd say that's very much down to the cart assuming you're dealing with vinyl gear commensurate with a CDX2.

It may be worth listening to a Vertere MG-1 turntable. I say this having been a happy owner of a CDX2 with XPS and 555PS. Best regards, FT

As FT says the Vertere definitely has punch and timing as does a Xerexes.  I was also very impressed with the Avid Volvere.   

Regards,

Lindsay

Hi Andi,

as much as both formats have improved, I think there is still a noticeable difference between analog and digital replay sound. Having said that, changing the turntable psu to the current 3-phase type and a different cartridge might give you more of what you are looking for. Of all the Bauer power supplies the 2 is the only one that I would describe as a little bland and uninvolving. Both the original and 3 are better in this regard. If possible, try some different cartridges, perhaps with a Koetsu Black and a Dynavector among them.

Getting up in age, memory isn't quite what it used to be.

Might not be all timers, but definitely, some timers!

With that being said, I seem to recall a young man, claiming a new Paradigm!

The Analog TT, Digital CD, and Digital Streaming, depending on Music & Mood!

Allante93!

PS. Simon

Alzheimer's 

I think the CDX2 does have a rather unique sound.. irrespective of it being a CD player... however vinyl and digital playbook just don't need to sound so very different despite what some people say. I have enjoyed a NDS/555PSx2 feeding a Kudos Titan system powered by 500 series system, and did a side by side a phenomenally well set up LP12 turntable... can't remember cartridge or phono preamp... but the sound albeit slightly different was not a world apart other than a slightly increased noise level from the vinyl ( it was a relatively big room with tall ceilings at fairly high volume) .. and the subtle dynamics sounded slightly different between the two...  but not night and day, and of course that could be from the mastering...

However I think you will be very hard pushed to get that CDX2 sound from a TT, as ultimately it's quite a 'processed' but attractive sound

I've heard a CDX2, 555PS into Statement into S800 and it sounded amazing. I think the CDX2 has warmth and propulsion unlike any other CD player. Its as good as a CDS1. I feel the later ones lost that quality a bit. CD555 is supreme though.

Simon-in-Suffolk posted:

I think the CDX2 does have a rather unique sound.. irrespective of it being a CD player... however vinyl ... but the sound albeit slightly different was not a world apart other than a slightly

{increased noise level from the vinyl}

..... and of course that could be from the {mastering}...

However I think you will be very hard pushed to get that CDX2 sound from a TT, as ultimately it's quite a 'processed' but attractive sound

With that being said, I'm rather fond of David Wilson's Speakers!

Last year, it was the $109 K Alex, nice but it appeared to over power the Room.

If I recall, about 2 minutes of TT, 8 minutes of CD, and Streaming dominated the 20 minute Seminar!

Last month, it was the $59 K Alexandria, coupled with last years D' Agostino's Mono Blocks.

Better set up, no TT, perhaps to much Snap Crackle, Pop!

Going out on a limb, 7 minutes of Master Tape, 7 minutes of Streaming, and 9 minutes of CD.

The Master Tape was gorgeous, the Streaming was also nice, not as organic, natural, smooth, in my words! 

3 minutes of the CD, was the most disappointing of the Trio, then I took over the Seminar, and requested the Host to give my CD a spin!

Mino Cinleu, stole the show, the host and others noted how impressed they were with the recording!

No TT  this year, and nothing like a good recording!

Allante93!

Naim CD555 is a very attractive sound but it has a Naim sound. What is neutral sound anyway ? 

Now how neutral is an LP12 is debatable but that's what I would buy if one wanted the "naim sound".

 the original naim sound was lp12 as a source and they were sold together in the beginning 

Interesting question.  I have a cds3 and lp12 and to my slightly deficient sense of hearing, there are great similarities in the overall presentation.  I suspect that the cds3 will be a slightly warmer/ more laid back sound than the cdx2 and the same may be true of the lp12.  I do wonder however, given the plethora of variables available, from power supplies/ phono stages/ arms/ cartridges, if it is feasible to 'tune' an lp12 more in the cdx2 sound signature direction.  A chat with the likes of Peter Swain at Cymbiosis should give you a better idea on that front.  Surely it must be possible!!

Peter

I've had a Pink Triangle Anniversary with battery psu since 1995. 

On recently acquiring a CDX2.2 it has struck me how this CD player gives the PTA a good run for its money.

That is in terms of sound quality, depth, analysis etc. I must have had  two dozen or so cdps over the years but the CDX2.2 has got to be the closest to the uncoloured Pink sound.

As ever; the answer is .............. find a good dealer to let you hear the options and steer you straight.

The RP10 with Apheta 2 is a an excellent 'fit and forget' option. It's The Skottish Gramophone for me but you might not want to get on that upgrade path. Good m/c cartridges and phono-stages to do them justice don't come cheap.

Vinyl sounds different to CD and has its distinctive pros and cons. Some audiophiles 'get it' and want it. Some do not. Simple proof that we all hear and listen to music differently I suppose.

Good luck.

John.

sorry to throw this curve ball, but I found that the Hugo DAC (and now Hugo 2), well it has the flow of Vinyl, and also the Dynamics of good digital.... best of both worlds 

Modern Vinyl - well despite the resurgence, is still mastered from Digital anyway. I think if most of the people enjoying vinyl today heard the albums on a Hugo DAC, it might change their buying habits of vinyl,

It stopped me buying vinyl (drastically reduced to almost none)

Not all modern vinyl is mastered from digital. I have some direct cut records with a pure analogue path to the lathe and several super cut discs from the original analogue tapes - no digital in the recording chain at all and wonderful they sound too! Yes some of the cheap pop stuff flogged in supermarkets probably starts life as a CD but it's not always the case

analogmusic posted:

sorry to throw this curve ball, but I found that the Hugo DAC (and now Hugo 2), well it has the flow of Vinyl, and also the Dynamics of good digital.... best of both worlds 

Modern Vinyl - well despite the resurgence, is still mastered from Digital anyway. I think if most of the people enjoying vinyl today heard the albums on a Hugo DAC, it might change their buying habits of vinyl,

It stopped me buying vinyl (drastically reduced to almost none)

If the Hugo DAC sounds better than vinyl (assuming it's not a CD copy) then there is something seriously wrong or the record player is a low quality budget player.

The DAC sounded nothing like my record deck when I had it on trial. As for dynamics, this is the area where a decent analogue system excels, digital systems are nowhere near as good in my experience.

I have a 2500€ EAT majör with stageline with is not better than both my 272 or cd2x

So my understanding/experience that i have to spend a quite lot more to enjoy a far superior source 

Kronos sparta, a nice brinkmann, dr fieckert but not an avarage joe....

Min 10,000£ for the all arm,cartridge, phonostage,turntable set.. I underline the min part

Otherwise is just an hassle to wash records, change them.....

It iş a nice routine but for an albüm ör two max, i am lazy...

But even when i am waiting this i bought ok computer, sgt.pepper,purple rain in both cd and vinly, i just like them

Go figure

Jonn posted:

analogmusic posted:

sorry to throw this curve ball, but I found that the Hugo DAC (and now Hugo 2), well it has the flow of Vinyl, and also the Dynamics of good digital.... best of both worlds 

Modern Vinyl - well despite the resurgence, is still mastered from Digital anyway. I think if most of the people enjoying vinyl today heard the albums on a Hugo DAC, it might change their buying habits of vinyl,

It stopped me buying vinyl (drastically reduced to almost none)

If the Hugo DAC sounds better than vinyl (assuming it's not a CD copy) then there is something seriously wrong or the record player is a low quality budget player.

The DAC sounded nothing like my record deck when I had it on trial. As for dynamics, this is the area where a decent analogue system excels, digital systems are nowhere near as good in my experience.

 

I would not say it sounds better than Vinyl, but it sounds musically satisfying in the same way. And it gives me enjoyment to forget about buying Vinyl. I get the emotional connection from my Chord Dave DAC, which has the same analog gentleness while maintaining the PRAT and Dynamics. I also enjoy my 400 GBP Chord Mojo DAC. If anyone has cracked the digital puzzle, to my ears nobody did it better than Rob Watts.

That's why I bought the Dave DAC,  still not up to the best Vinyl standards, but then Rob Watts always said it would take a million taps to achieve that, which he has with Blu2/Dave.

Personally for me one example : the recent Billy Idol live BFI album, only available on Tidal, or Vinyl.

and I have made no effort at all to buy the Vinyl..... Nice to see the resurgence but it's pretty expensive. I looked at the Vinyl on amazon, saw the price and thought to myself "sod it, I don't feel like paying for this, I enjoy it a lot on my Chord Mojo"

Sorry to throw you this curve ball, but to excel, Chord Hugo needs a quite a good digital source (like maybe Naim NDX), it needs a good digital interconnect (like Chord Sarum Digital, or Vertere Pulse R digital) and also an interconnect like Superlumina or the very best Vertere one like Pulse R

By the way I am a lover of Vinyl and analog tapes (look at my name) but Chord Hugo made me forget about all this ancient stuff 

Thank you all for your thoughts and advices!  I will take time to check them all!

[@mention:46619465056634307]: I noticed you use a graham  tonearm. Can you (or anybody)  can tell anything about the difference to the bauer arm or can you tell anything about the sound profile of the Bauer tone arm? Is it a bit laid back perhaps?

Best regards!

Andi

Jonn posted:

analogmusic posted:

sorry to throw this curve ball, but I found that the Hugo DAC (and now Hugo 2), well it has the flow of Vinyl, and also the Dynamics of good digital.... best of both worlds 

Modern Vinyl - well despite the resurgence, is still mastered from Digital anyway. I think if most of the people enjoying vinyl today heard the albums on a Hugo DAC, it might change their buying habits of vinyl,

It stopped me buying vinyl (drastically reduced to almost none)

If the Hugo DAC sounds better than vinyl (assuming it's not a CD copy) then there is something seriously wrong or the record player is a low quality budget player.

The DAC sounded nothing like my record deck when I had it on trial. As for dynamics, this is the area where a decent analogue system excels, digital systems are nowhere near as good in my experience.

 

Something is very very wrong if you're digital gear is nowhere near as good or better than you're turntable.

Robiwan posted:

Jonn posted:

analogmusic posted:

sorry to throw this curve ball, but I found that the Hugo DAC (and now Hugo 2), well it has the flow of Vinyl, and also the Dynamics of good digital.... best of both worlds 

Modern Vinyl - well despite the resurgence, is still mastered from Digital anyway. I think if most of the people enjoying vinyl today heard the albums on a Hugo DAC, it might change their buying habits of vinyl,

It stopped me buying vinyl (drastically reduced to almost none)

If the Hugo DAC sounds better than vinyl (assuming it's not a CD copy) then there is something seriously wrong or the record player is a low quality budget player.

The DAC sounded nothing like my record deck when I had it on trial. As for dynamics, this is the area where a decent analogue system excels, digital systems are nowhere near as good in my experience.

 

Something is very very wrong if you're digital gear is nowhere near as good or better than you're turntable.

Robiwan, I'd be Interested to hear what digital source would out perform my LP12 Klimax and what the set-up was when you did the comparison.

Thanks

My CDX2 is about to depart - it's power supply left yesterday. As of next week it's only streamers and two turntables left

Happy days...

Adam Zielinski posted:

My CDX2 is about to depart - it's power supply left yesterday. As of next week it's only streamers and two turntables left

Happy days...

Why limit yourself to just the two formats, when you already have such an excellent player? I have yet to hear any streaming format that can match the sound quality of a CDX2.

I certainly hope happy days will follow, but something tells me you will miss your CDX2 player sooner than later.

Andib posted:

Can you (or anybody)  can tell anything about the difference to the bauer arm or can you tell anything about the sound profile of the Bauer tone arm? Is it a bit laid back perhaps?

I actually like both tonearms very much. Both of them successfully try to get out of the way as much as possible and let the cartridge do its job. Insofar they are not hugely different. Of these two, the Bauer is the one I would call livelier. The Graham is a little more matter of factly, but in a good way. It seems to just sit there, saying: bring whatever you want music and cartridgewise, I can handle it. This and a certain synergy with the likeminded Transfiguration cartridges make the Graham my choice. And it is the only tonearm I can set up myself precisely.

This is why I suggested a better PSU, which does lift the performance to a different level. I think it betters the 2 in every way and lets the music flow with a sort of relaxed verve that is hard to describe, but easy to hear.

 I have no personal experience with your Ortofon cartridge, but they are usually not among the more exuberant ones, according to most sources. This is why I suggested something markedly different in form of the Koetsu and Dynavector. Both work well in the Bauer arm, but surely with their own characters. As Willi Bauer is selling Naim in his store, he might be able to recommend a cartridge to get that CDX sound.

badlands posted:

Adam Zielinski posted:

My CDX2 is about to depart - it's power supply left yesterday. As of next week it's only streamers and two turntables left

Happy days...

Why limit yourself to just the two formats, when you already have such an excellent player? I have yet to hear any streaming format that can match the sound quality of a CDX2.

I certainly hope happy days will follow, but something tells me you will miss your CDX2 player sooner than later.

On the contrary - it's virtually impossible for CDX2 to better my NDS. I've tried it in different formats - bare, with PSU, via nDAC...

CDX2 is very good, especially with 555PS, but NDS is just in a different league. During the last 6 months I've used the CDX2 perhaps half a dozen times. 

Plus - I had to make space for NAP 300, which arrived today