Buying a CDP is outdated?

I would start by asking a dealer to demo a streamer. Let your girlfriend have a go on the iPad, browsing a CD collection, and a much bigger Tidal selection. One way or another, she will no doubt give you the definitive answer to your question. 

Patrick,

Well your post coincides with Naim pulling out of the CDP market altogether.   

For me CD replay is remarkably simple - choose disk, put in loading tray, press play whereas as you say with streaming you have hours of possibly endless ripping and tagging - a nightmare with classical music music.   

However, having recently acquired a Muso Qb I am beginning to appreciate the opportunities of streaming - 6 months free Tidal trial.   

However, as I am fortunate enough to have a CDS3 I’m now about to switch to streaming on my main system but if I was buying now I would probably take the plunge.   

Regards,

Lindsay

I changed recently my cd5xs with a brand new cdx2,just wonderful. 

Hi Patrick,  when I moved to NDX 4 years ago I made a complete CD break by selling off the CDX2 (it went before the NDX arrived).   Ever since 'erself has said she misses CD's as she can't read the sleeve notes.    When I ask her if she would really like to go back to CD's & mentioning our album collection has doubled since the NDX arrived & at the same time gesturing toward were we had the storage rack(s)  & now have open floor & wall space,  she always says no.    YMMV,  but might be worth a go in the negotiations.

The Strat (Fender) posted:

Patrick,

Well your post coincides with Naim pulling out of the CDP market altogether.   

Really? Has that been announced somewhere?

As to Patrick’s question, surely it should be addressed to the girlfriend, who presumably is able to make her own decisions, rather than to a bunch of people on the internet whose views may or may not be relevant. 

The Strat (Fender) posted:

Patrick,

Well your post coincides with Naim pulling out of the CDP market altogether.   

 

They still list two CD players (CDX2 and CD5 si) in the products part of their website?

best

David

Apparently both are being dropped at end of June - I read on social media - so it must be true

Here in the States, top-level Naim CDP head units rarely come on the used market. Either people sense that they can't get enough money for them to make it worth their while, or they're holding on with all four feet.

I'm holding on. As other people dump their CD collections, it's easy to find what I want cheaply on the used market. 

As for WAF, she is much less interested in futzing with a streamer than I am.

As I still haven' heard a streamer at any price that can hold a candle to a good cd player I'd stick with cds

Gary Henderson posted:

As I still haven' heard a streamer at any price that can hold a candle to a good cd player I'd stick with cds

That has not been my experience.......

JRHardee posted:

Here in the States, top-level Naim CDP head units rarely come on the used market. Either people sense that they can't get enough money for them to make it worth their while, or they're holding on with all four feet.

I'm holding on. As other people dump their CD collections, it's easy to find what I want cheaply on the used market. 

As for WAF, she is much less interested in futzing with a streamer than I am.

I don't have a CD player and still buy lots of CD's. They are ripped to the NAS and streamed..... The CD is handled once when it arrives then it is ripped, then stored out of site.  The living room area has no storage and no CD's laying around.

There is very little futzing when sitting  down picking up the iPad and choosing to listen to an album from the NAS, from TIDAL or something on Internet Radio. No looking for the CD and then putting it away. 

Reading this thread I've just realised that since I installed a Core fronting my DAC, I have only used the CD transport (also fronting the DAC) a few times.  Ripping a CD is so easy on the Core that if I have a new CD and want to listen to it straight away, I pop it in the Core, go into the kitchen to make a drink, come back into the music room and it's usually ripped and ready to play.  What's more I often get a nice little Rovi review to read as well. 

Is the girlfriend worth it if so start ripping, joking aside I sold my CD player two years ago since then I’ve bought more CDs than ever before ripping them to a NAS since changed to a Core so simple and so convenient.

The main word in the question is - Outdated

I guess thats the wrong word..

Yes - the streamers etc... are convenient

But - i am listening to my CDP as i write this..

Buy whatever suits your friend best..

Some times we tend to generalize women and think they all like streaming products or convenience products.

Richard Dane posted:

Reading this thread I've just realised that since I installed a Core fronting my DAC, I have only used the CD transport (also fronting the DAC) a few times.  Ripping a CD is so easy on the Core that if I have a new CD and want to listen to it straight away, I pop it in the Core, go into the kitchen to make a drink, come back into the music room and it's usually ripped and ready to play.  What's more I often get a nice little Rovi review to read as well. 

Richard,

Excellent - does that apply equally to classical CDs?

Regards,

Lindsay

I’ve been close to going back to CD; the quality of players on the used market - like the fabulous CDS3 for under £2k - is so tempting. However the sheer convenience of ripping a CD to the NAS and having every track you own at your fingertips through Naim’s excellent app always seems to hold sway ultimately. And the SQ is really excellent through the top streamers.

Does your girl friend have a separate system to yours with the CDS3? If you are replacing your CDS3 it could cost a lot to get something as good!

Phil

Lindsay, yup, it also applies to Classical CDs, although it's still  very much WIP for me as far as ripping my classical CDs is concerned .  Some are easy to rip, but others need quite extensive editing of the metadata - something that can really only easily be done by computer - so I edit them on a PC and then put them on the external Usb drive that holds downloads, Hi-re stuff etc..  I think for anyone with a CD collection consisting primarily of classical music, a CD player is still a good idea unless you have a LOT of spare time to carefully rip your CDs and edit metadata.  So many CDs have more than a single work, and often with multiple composers, conductors, so whatever you are using to rip/serve classical music, it's often a lot more involved than with other genres.

Thanks Richard.   I guess the solution could be hooking up a good CD transport to the streamer?

Lindsay, it is one reason why I still have a CD transport and haven't been tempted to remove it yet.

seakayaker posted:

Gary Henderson posted:

As I still haven' heard a streamer at any price that can hold a candle to a good cd player I'd stick with cds

That has not been my experience.......

nor mine.

I met Ivor Tiefenbrunn a year or so back. He told me he only uses a streamer these days.

I was hesitating buying a cd player back in mid 80'ies

Now I would not be without, same with turntable 

Never tried to rip anything

JRHardee posted:

I met Ivor Tiefenbrunn a year or so back. He told me he only uses a streamer these days.

If he wipes his bottom with only purple paper it doesn’t mean everyone else has to. It’s just a matter of choice, there is no right way. Some people like playing CDs, some like streaming. That’s all there is to it. And in this case, it’s for the OP’s girlfriend to decide what she wants. 

We can't imagine going back to physical media. We have no room nor inclination to clutter our living space with boxes of shiny plastic discs, just for some sort of retro-buzz.