CD 5 XS
Posted by: Freedomsounds on 24 February 2018
I was wondering if I could get the opinion of anyone out there who has or have had a CD 5 XS ??? I am thinking about investing in one to start a long term project the of building a separates naim system and felt I should check here with forum. I know that they XS series is being discontinued. Any feedback appreciated !
It is fair to say that the CD5 XS is one of the best players in its price range. It has been well acclaimed and recognized as such by many that are not aficionados of the brand. The sound presentation of the CD5 XS is still quite typical of Naim’s with a sense of urgency (PRaT) and a great respect and density of timbres, however with only a fair depth of soundstage.
The CD5 XS is the evolution product of very good predecessors, the CD5 and CD5x. Its strong attribute however is with the number of upgrade possibilities it offers: Addition of an external power supply, namely the FlatCap XS, dedicated to the analog circuits, or connection to an alternate DAC such as Naim’s own nDAC. This association, and others for that matter, will obviously bring the CD5 XS in a different league. Adding in turn an external power supply to the nDAC sends the ensemble into high end territories.
Chag -
Superb player but I think I’m right in saying that it is to be discontinued.
I've always been delighted with my cd5xs with flatcap2 -Its never skipped a beat and produces a beautiful full sound from deep bass to crisp treble.I can't ever see that I would sell it.Whilst I may tinker with a mac audirvana and dac I cant quite think about a naim streamer and needing to know or care about what unp or whatever even is!
Superb player but I think I’m right in saying that it is to be discontinued.
Discontinued but still playing strong! ????
Chag -
There are bargains to be had, even on new units. Not many CD players being sold at the moment.
CD5 XS is a good player. One advantage - it has a digital out,m so can be easily upgraded with an off-board DAC. Of course from a visual and sonic perspective NAIM nDAC is a natural partner. Other forum members report on other good DACs too.
So - rest assured you will have years of joy with CD5XS, whcih can be easily upgraded as needed.
Upgraded how?
CD5XS can be updgraded in two ways:
1. With an external power supply - FlatCap or HiCap. This upgrades the analogue output stage.
or
2. With an external DAC. In case of nDAC it can be further upgraded with various power supplies - XPS or 555PS being the most common choices.
I've had a flat cap and personally thought it did nothing either to my cd player or amp when used on each separately and together. A waste of money perhaps?
The nDAC seems a good idea but at circa £2800 new, can't see quickly a preowned one, also not worth it for me, I can't see where I would get the benefit from for the cost.
Charles44 posted:I've had a flat cap and personally thought it did nothing either to my cd player or amp when used on each separately and together. A waste of money perhaps?
The nDAC seems a good idea but at circa £2800 new, can't see quickly a preowned one, also not worth it for me, I can't see where I would get the benefit from for the cost.
Well - it's good than that the OP asked for advice
Adam Zielinski posted:Charles44 posted:I've had a flat cap and personally thought it did nothing either to my cd player or amp when used on each separately and together. A waste of money perhaps?
The nDAC seems a good idea but at circa £2800 new, can't see quickly a preowned one, also not worth it for me, I can't see where I would get the benefit from for the cost.
Well - it's good than that the OP asked for advice
That's one of the reasons I asked as I feel that I may upgrade but feel it may be the amp, a Nait XS, that goes for the Supernait at some not too distant date.
I would always try to improve the source as a first step.
nDAC occasionally does pop up as a pre-loved unit. There isn’t much that can go wrong with it, so it’s a safe buy.
And it transforms the CD5XS - I’ve been there myself.
I think you’d be surprised how much Nait XS can handle
Charles44 posted:I've had a flat cap and personally thought it did nothing either to my cd player or amp when used on each separately and together. A waste of money perhaps?
The nDAC seems a good idea but at circa £2800 new, can't see quickly a preowned one, also not worth it for me, I can't see where I would get the benefit from for the cost.
I used a Flatcap 2 to power a CD3.5 and a NAC102 with good results. Two Hicaps were better, as you'd expect, but the FC wasn't disappointing.
As it has been reported in numerous posts on this and other forums, the FlatCap XS, or the FlatCap 2x for that matter as it is the same product, brings slightly more details but primarily transparence, airyness and relaxation in the sound presentation. The HiCap was not designed for the XS series. It will bring to the CD5 XS even more of a sense of urgency and a over projected presentation that is often felt as tiring if not agressive in the long term.
Chag -
Naim list the both Hicap and Supercap as suitable for the CD5XS in the product specifications. I've never understood why a better power supply would make things worse...
My Hicap was never designed for CD as CD wasn't invented then.
My CD5XS no longer has an external power supply as none is needed now that I use an nDAC.
Chag... posted:As it has been reported in numerous posts on this and other forums, the FlatCap XS, or the FlatCap 2x for that matter as it is the same product, brings slightly more details but primarily transparence, airyness and relaxation in the sound presentation. The HiCap was not designed for the XS series. It will bring to the CD5 XS even more of a sense of urgency and a over projected presentation that is often felt as tiring if not agressive in the long term.
Chag -
Sorry, I am always going to disagree about the Flatcap. I have not heard a lot of Naim product but what I have heard, whether I could afford it or not has always seemed to be an improvement over what I have (XS base) except the Flatcap. I never got anything from it as described above and my hearing is pretty good. Please enlighten me though, how can it present "airiness and relaxation" as noted.
Chag... posted:As it has been reported in numerous posts on this and other forums, the FlatCap XS, or the FlatCap 2x for that matter as it is the same product, brings slightly more details but primarily transparence, airyness and relaxation in the sound presentation. The HiCap was not designed for the XS series. It will bring to the CD5 XS even more of a sense of urgency and a over projected presentation that is often felt as tiring if not agressive in the long term.
Chag -
That is at the total opposite of my opinion, in my experience of 30 odd some years of owning Naim equipment. The better the PS, the better the overall sound.
Sorry
Another vote against the flatcap XS...never liked anything about it on CD or nait XS2 and the sooner I got rid the better ...
Thanks for all the info, it's really helpful.
And excuse me for stepping in here So all of you may have answered my second question, which is i guess you can mix and match the CD 5 XS with other naim models (within reason) to get better results ?
If you’ll excuse my throwing a completely off-the wall oblique thought, but have you considered streaming (from your own store of music files), instead of upgrading your CD player? Assuming you don’t already have a streaming solution, it could be worth looking into before spending good money on a new CD player. (And if you do already stream, consider whether improving that instead of CD might be better.)
In essence, streaming offers the potential for higher sound quality than CD, greater flexibility, adds options like online streaming, while enabling physical storage space to be reduced to virtually nothing, while ‘ripping’ of your existing CD collection is easy. Although some people maintain CD collections as well as streaming, many have simply gone over - I am one of the lattre, and I for one have not looked back since taking that decision when I needed to replace a dying CD player a few years ago. (My first “streamer” was my introduction to Naim, though I have since moved on - and had I gone for a CD player the CD5XS would probably have been one in contention.)
Also, my apologies to forum member " joerand " for the duplicate tread that was deleted. To answer your questions .
1. Yes, I was intending to use the cd5 x2 for dedicated playback, hoping to maybe add a ndac and/or other improvements in the future.
2. This would be the first separate naim unit and would try to add on other naim black boxes from different models (as I discoverer though research) what may be possible within reason.
Thanks
To reply to, Innocent Bystander's question & thank you for chiming in Yes, I have thought about streaming and I agree with you. Which is why I will have a Nova by the end of the month & a core to go with it sometime in the summer, the Nova & Core not so much for streaming as to store. But it still does not take away from the fact to have a good stand alone cd player around can still be a nice thing. The only thing I don't like about the CD5 S2 is that it does not have an a/b repeat. One of the problems with streaming from online stores is that they don't have everything. And in some ways you have less control over it. But to me its all comes down to the music, so all of the formats have a place.
There is no real difference in playing back a physical CD (on a CD player) vs a copy of that CD from your own NAS via a streamer.
Regardless - it’s music and should be fun!
I'm not sure what you mean by A/B repeat? The remote offers more functions than the front panel of the player so you may be able to do what you require.
Freedomsounds posted:To reply to, Innocent Bystander's question & thank you for chiming in Yes, I have thought about streaming and I agree with you. Which is why I will have a Nova by the end of the month & a core to go with it sometime in the summer, the Nova & Core not so much for streaming as to store. But it still does not take away from the fact to have a good stand alone cd player around can still be a nice thing. The only thing I don't like about the CD5 S2 is that it does not have an a/b repeat. One of the problems with streaming from online stores is that they don't have everything. And in some ways you have less control over it. But to me its all comes down to the music, so all of the formats have a place.
Noted.
I note that you appear to regard streaming as meaning online. My post, as I alluded, was purely considering streaming from one’s own local store - in your case the intended Core. My own store contains ripped copies of all my old CDs, my old vinyl (except worn things since replaced) and downloaded files including hi res. It made replacing my CD player pointless, and indeed the money I would have spent on a replacement CD player was what funded my initial streaming set up. With my own set up I don’t see the point of CD, which would just dilute available funds - but of course everyone’s needs and desires are different.
BTW I do not stream from online stores at all in normal listening, and have no interest in doing so (though I occasionally use Spotify or go to record suppliers’ or artists’ sites or uTube to assess something new to me).
Innocent Bystander, I agree with you.