CD5 in Listener

Posted by: Jim Branch on 13 December 2000

for anyone who may have had any questions regarding the styling, feel, or performance of this new unit, read the recent, very positive article in listner! smile
Posted on: 20 December 2000 by Mick P
At least I admit to being a grumpy old git.

Pity somone else can't admit to being a boring rambling troll.

Oh have a merry Christmas and I hope your mother in law springs a surprise visit on you Christmas day.........then you'll be a grumpy young git.

Or if I was a real bastard........I could hope a certain boring rambling troll visits you on Christmas day........then you would become a Mick convert.

Regards and affection

Mick

Posted on: 20 December 2000 by Martin Payne
Tom,

have you ever compared CDX/XPS against CDS-II/XPS?

I would guess that the CDX is equivalent to the NAIT3, and the CDS-II is the NAIT5. Of course some have said they prefer the CDX/XPS. Mana-heads seem to put themselves into this category, so Ian is being true to form here.

cheers, Martin

Posted on: 21 December 2000 by MarkEJ
...I would say that the most expensive Naim components are the ones which involve fewest compromises in their respective designs.

As you go down the range, things get cheaper, and elements of the performance are compromised in order to maintain other aspects. In Naim's case, the fundamentals of the the music remain intact all the way to the 3-series, implying that they have chosen to omit the icing rather than the cake, so to speak. Other manufacturers remove the cake, leaving one only with icing, which is deeply unsatisfying over time. Naim's approach throws the cake into sharp perspective, so (and this is putting my point in very black & white terms) if one is accustomed to (say) a CDX, a CDSII could very well sound strangely "full" and "rich" (probably not the right words, but you get my drift), owing to the extra information retrieved, but not at the expense of the fundamentals. The fundamentals are simply less obvious, as there is more going on.

Thus, if comparing CD3.5 with CD5, is it not possible that they have found a way to incorporate fewer compromises at this particular price point? This would account for the perceptions expressed.

If the CDSII can be taken as Naim's "this is as good as it currently gets" statement on CD replay, and the CD5 sounds closer to the CDSII than did the CD3.5 at a similar price point, then the CD5 represents an advance, IMHO.

Best;

Mark

(I still don't like this
software very much)

Posted on: 21 December 2000 by MarkEJ
quote:
This has got to be the best seasonal analogy of the year!

Prostetnic Vogon Jelz

…but please, no poetry.

(I still don't like this
software very much)