Yesterday I fell in love - with a CD player! Or: CDX2 rocks!
Posted by: Stereophonie on 13 October 2016
Dear fellow naimees,
for around three years, I was almost exclusively streaming. After upgrading from Uniti to NDS/555, I thought streaming is the top source. Meanwhile, I have also developed my LP12 from "very basic and 20 years old" to EkosSE/Kore/Lingo3 level, and I assumed vinyl was - to me - on par with streaming. I did not listen to a CD for at least 3 years, but a lot to ripped CDs, radio paradise and vinyl.
But I kept missing my CD-collection. I had them stacked away in some old boxes, some 2.000 discs. So last week I bought a used CDX2.1 at a very tempting price to set up with XPS2 power supply I had lying around. Yesterday evening the CDX2 arrived from Holland. I enjoyed very much the task of setting it up, plugging everything in. I was relieved that I had found the necessary Burndy cable in my box of unused cables and picked up a random collectio of my old CDs to see wether that old CDX2 would still work.
And boy - does this machine work! That bass control! That warmth! The first CD I found was a Deutsche Grammophon recording of Bach's Toccata und Fuge. I was stunned! It felt like sitting alone in a huge church, that pipe organ hitting my stomach with force, the air moving in my room. WOW! I left everything which I originally wanted to do whilst listening and just sat down, listening to the whole CD. Then I grabbed another CD... Dvorak's Cello concerto: the beautiful warmth of the cello. I could not move away from my speakers.
When - after some glasses of red wine - I changed the music style, it became even better. Soko's "I thought I was an alien" album set her singing in the middle of my living room. Then, the Decemberists' "Shanty for the Arethusa" took me aboard an old sailing vessel, while "I was meant for the stage" form their live album made me sing along loudly. Luckily I was alone ;-) The evening ended more quietly, with Sofie von Otter and Elvis Costello singing "For the stars." Sometimes, nights are too short!
While I really enjoy my NDS, and there's nothing wrong at all with my LP12, that venerable old CD player from Salisbury really made my evening! In comparison, I think there is a little more bass coming from the CDX2 than from the NDX, but that could be my imagination. It might sound weird, but I think that the CDX2 produces a very analogue sound.
Anyway, I just love playing CDs again and am already planning this evening's playlist and the purchase of a neat CD-storage-thingy for my listening room. Neighbours, be prepared: there will be some loud music, some singing and a lot of good mood coming from that little house over there this evening! Putting that CDX2 to work again!