The CDS-II agenda...
Posted by: Top Cat on 21 February 2002
Went to see (not hear) a CDS-II/XPS today. The reason I didn't hear it is that it was a flying visit, really to scope out a couple of things (availability, new price and to have a look at the thing) and I have to say that it's a bizarre looking beastie indeed. But then, it's the sound that counts, and if it's half as good as you lot claim then it's well worth checking out!
Anyway, to cut a long story short, I am planning to borrow said CDS-II/XPS and a CDX/XPS at some point in the next month or so (prior to April) and when the new tax year comes I might just indulge... 
A few of questions that perhaps someone could answer:
(1) What is the warranty/guarantee on the CDS-II/XPS (and also the CDX)?
(2) I am concerned about what I am led to believe happened in the case of the CDS, i.e. parts availability problems, leading to repairs requiring a complete update to the player. What are the weaknesses of the CDS-II in terms of build (i.e. what tends to go wrong if anything) and has Naim protected its customers from a similar thing happening to the CDS-II?*
(3) Is there any performance constraint on how close the XPS can be located to (a) the CDS-II and (b) other sensitive equipment, e.g. preamps? I would probably site the XPS above the CDS-II (on the lower tier of a wallshelf) and have the CDS-II sitting on the top of my 3-tier rack (below the shelf)
(4) Has anyone tried the CDS-II with the better Nordost interconnects, specifically SPM Reference? This is what I use and I am keen to get feedback on whether it's a synergistic mix or whether (like the Chord Anthem that I heard on Monday/Tuesday) it perhaps might not be the best thing to use? This is a v. important consideration.
(5) If I buy a CDS-II, do I get the connecting lead for attaching it to the XPS? What about a standard DIN:DIN interconnect - is this included too?
(6) Have any revisions occured to the CDS-II since launch that might make a new model (i.e. 2002) more desirable than an earlier model?
That'll do for now. Gotta do this right, as I am assured by my dealer that prices will rise by a few percent in April, which in the scheme of a six grand CD player is quite a lot of beer money!
Of course, if I can find a s/h CDX, or CDX/XPS, then I'll jump at that, so if anyone wants one I will pay a good rate for a decent one - contact me privately if you are looking to move up the ladder or across to another brand! This would, of course, enable me to phase my upgrade as the rest of you do...
Yours, bewildered by the magnitude of spending that amount on a CD player,
TC '..'
"Girl, you thought he was a man, but he was a Muffin..."
The answer I already know, Dave, but that's being kept under wraps... it might bugger up my CDS-II buying budget a bit, though 
TC '..'
"Girl, you thought he was a man, but he was a Muffin..."
Personally I thought the CDS-II sounded better than the CDX fresh out of the box, but it definitely improves as it beds in (I've only had mine for a week). The CDX could occasionally be shouty or harsh, the CDS has yet to show any of that uncouth behaviour.
btw I got two pucks in the box with mine so I figure that with some TLC they are going to last me for a number of years.
-John
Having had the CDS-II/XPS in the system for four days now, things are beginning to really impress me.
First off: as others have suggested, it's not a player which 'impresses by facets'; rather, it impresses by providing a coherent and musical whole, which initially can seem unimpressive because the player is not about impression, it's about music.
My initial problem with the player (dodgy puck aside) was that it didn't impress me with PRaT, Detail, Imaging, Tonality, etc. What I wasn't aware of (naivety, perhaps, I will admit) was that the reason that these aspects often impress in kit is because they are overr-emphasised in relation to other aspects. In the CDS-II, it is all good. Very good. So good that you don't know that it's good. This is the lesson I am learning - the saying "you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone" springs to mind.
Slowly, over the last few days, I've begun to get a handle on what the player is all about. It's not like any Naim player I've yet heard. Its approach is very different. The CDX was impressive from the off, with obvious hifi elements and lots of PRaT. The CDS-II is far greater a player in that regard, except it doesn't shout about its qualities. It lets the music flood out and one finds the foot waggling or the fingers drumming far more than with the CDX.
Initially I was concerned. SO much money for a product which seems so un-hifi-sounding. It was only when I really figured out that this was the 'ace up its sleeve', that I suddenly realised that I was enjoying it as much as, and in some cases more than, my vinyl.
I am aware this is a strange review of sorts. I want to be able to sing its praises by doing the usual hifi rag thing of identifying aspects in isolation, but this player is not about that at all. It's more and less than that, which is what I think is so special about the player. However, despite all of that, here's a list of the things which appeal most (and also least) about the player.
Solidity: never has an hifi component sounded so 'solid' in space. Drums ARE drums, as I know and love them (remember that I've been playing drums for 16 years+ and so I know exactly how drums sound up close, miked, even inside a bass drum (summer 1990, too many beers, Caspers Club, Dundee, after a gig my band played there). The notes don't fall into artificial sounding 'soundbites', as typifies almost every other CD player I have ever heard, CDX included. Remember I'm being very critical here! Cymbals ping as they're meant to ping. Nitpicking, I suppose they don't have the last word in tonal colour, but that's CD for you.
Integrity: I keep forgetting that I'm trying to assess the CDS-II. I keep getting lost in the music, which is a thing I haven't done since my original LP12/Basik/Akito - everything since then has been an evolution, rather than a revolution. The CDS-II I suspect will be a revolution!
Fun: With the volume turned down a bit, it's easy to miss how much fun this CD player really is. Music I don't normally listen to all the way through is now more appealing and I keep finding more positive aspects to the music to explore. This is a good thing.
Bass: Fully extended, times like a nuclear clock with flair and that solidity again, the likes of which really show the true qualities of the Neat Gravitas isobarically loaded speakers.
Treble: I am unaware of any excess or lack of treble, and it's all present, sweet and beautifully in balance. I can say no more than add that it's as good as I've heard it anywhere, better than a CD12 (which I made a point of listening to, even though it is WAAAAAY out of my budget)
Drawbacks: Bear in mind that some of these might diminish over the next few days, and certainly with a new machine, over the run-un period.
* Lack of transparency relative to the most transparent players. Again, could be a warming-up thing and in the context of the overall sound it's less of an issue than one would think.
* Space between notes. It seems a bit crowded at times, whereas the SimAudio Moon Eclipse player was capable of placing the notes more confidently on the soundstage. Do I care? A little, but not as much as I'd expected.
* The finest of finest details. The SimAudio player definitely is a more detailed sounding player, although neither are lacking. I put this down to the more advanced 24/96 upsampling DAC on that player, but we're splitting hairs here. Substituting a Nordost Red Dawn DIN:DIN helped a lot here.
In balance, there is truly little to criticise except for the price, which is very high IMHO. The puck issue is something which seemed to be down to an old and somewhat abused puck, and the stock interconnect perhaps bleaches the finest of finest details and the last iota of musicality from an otherwise profoundly musical player. I changed this to a loaned Nordost Red Dawn DIN:DIN which was a very worthwhile improvement. Of course, I will use Nordost SPM (which I have awaiting retermination instructions at Nordost UK as I write this) and I expect even more of the innate musicality of the Naim CDS-II to come out at that point.
What am I going to do? Well, I have two major purchases on the horizon. One is almost certainly a CDS-II/XPS and the other is far smaller and probably not a heck of a lot cheaper (knowing my luck), scuppers my beer, curry and hifi upgrade budget for a while, and what's more has absolutely no practical use whatsoever. I'm also my own worst enemy where this is concerned, but it will also help 'prime' the way for the CDS-II by a sort of pleasant 'smoke and mirrors' distraction.
The things I have to do in the name of hifi!!!!!
TC '..'
"Girl, you thought he was a man, but he was a Muffin..."