new cdx2 v 2nd hand cds2

Scotty,

I can speak as a CDS-II owner although I haven't heard the CDX-2. My hunch is that the second hand CDS-II will be a better machine as the circuitry is very different to that used in the CDX. This is why the CDS-II takes a couple of weeks to sound at its best. Also, as a bonus, the new bundy that links the XPS power supply to the CDS-II makes, I am told, a big improvement in the sound of the CDS-II. I am thinking of doing this myself for the £300 or maybe upgrade the XPS to an XPS-2. Anyway, best way, as usual, is to listen to these yourself. Can you get the two machines together for the demo? If not, if you live nearby, I can show you what a CDS-II is capable of.

Nigel

hi nigel,
thanks for your kind offer
im in essex but travel around a lot in my job
regards, scotty

Hi Scotty,

No problem. Let me know if you make it into Oxfordshire. Nigel

I've not heard the cdx2 but the cds2 is *magic*.

Markus

Well of course not - I just prefer it.

Scotty, the most cost-effective option is to keep the CDX and add the XPS2 to it. I've been using this combo for a while and it's fantastic. The CDX2 adds a little more but not much. Then if you go to the CDS2/3 you get a much more analytical and almost laid-back sound, but I personally think (and I'm not alone in this) you lose some of the immediacy and vibrancy of the CDX/CDX2 (with or without XPS options). Something about the floating mech and the more sophisticated circuitry just takes away from the excitement in my very humble opinion. A bit like the difference between a P9 and an SME 30 if that's not too pretentious (if it isn't pretentious enough let me know).

When I compared the CDX2 (no XPS) and CDS2 last year I thought they were miles apart, with the CDX2 being closer to a CD5/Hi we were also listening to than to the CDS2. The presentation is totally different and the CDS2 and makes the CDX2 just sound like hi-fi rather than music. Never heard the CDX2 with either XPS though.

Stephen

It seems quite normal that a CDS2-XPS2 sounds a lot better than a bare CDX2. The price of a bare CDX2 is quite close to a CD5+Hicap...and quite far to a CDS2+XPS2 which cost twice as much. Reading regularily what's written on this forum, I could see that the CDX2+XPS2 has been faced many times with the CDS2, and in the hifi rewiews as well...I then would be very surprised if the CDX2 sounded like hi-fi rather than music! Edouard

what is meant by the phrase.........
hi-fi rather than music exactly??
scotty

music: you hear the instruments
hifi: you hear the system
this is my guess...

what is meant by the phrase....hi-fi rather than music exactly??...

well.....the exactly.....bit is far too difficult to tackle.....so, not exactly.....

Real live non-electronically generated or non-amplified music is instantly recognisable.

You might not like the quality of the musician or the particular piece being played, and if the instrument is in the wrong type of room (grand piano in a 6x8 bed-sit) it might not sound too good either.

Record that live music.

A good "musical" system will replicate the original and allow you to enjoy the emotion of the live performance. This takes some doing, costs a fortune, and most hifi systems don't get anywhere near being close. Its very 'hit and miss' because we don't know how to do it reliably.

So we make do with hifi. This tries to identify the "essential" elements in the original music, specifies these elements, then claims "total" success when a piece of equipment delivers that specification. Of course the specification of what is "essential" is always subjective and is always wrong, (or at least well short of the mark). It only suits hifi manufactures, dealers and anoraks. It usually aims for frequency response, (especially at the extremes), and power. Sometimes the mass (weight) of the equipment seems to be important. In truth, we don't know what is important and what isn't. Some people seem to think that PRaT is very important, but others disagree.

How do you cope? Go to live concerts. Compare your hifi system to the live concert. Decide which hifi system has the least compromise and/or delivers the most enjoyment. Repeat.

Cheers

Don

"what is meant by the phrase.........hi-fi rather than music exactly??"

cdx2 vs cds2...I think that what's important here is that: sounding like music is a compliment, sounding like hifi is not.
cheers
Edouard

Scotty

I had a cdx2 with a xps and sold the cdx2 to a friend and purchased a second hand cds2. I prefer the sound of the cds2 as I find it more civilized. I have been told and agree the cdx2 is brighter and more foreward which I would agree with., So if this is the kind of sound you like then stick with the cdx2.

Good Luck

Terry

Well to put it another way, with the CDX2 I was thinking about how it was doing at reproducing the sounds, was it more natural, how much better was it at doing certain things than the CD5/Hi, etc.

With the CDS2 it all just seemed irrelevant and it was like: wow what an awesome guitar player, what a fantastic vocal, and so on.

Hope this helps!

Stephen.

hi stevo,
what would i be looking at to pay for a late cds2 head unit.
on say e bay?
regards, scotty