Was thinking of upgrading 12 year old Meridian 200 cd transport/digilog dac for Naim cd player. Having recently upgraded to preowned 52 preamp, funds are a little bit limited! The cds3 seems to be the one to aim for, but would it make sense to (1)get cdx2 then later (2) add power supply and finally at some future stage (3) upgrade cdx2 for cds3, keeping power supply?
I suppose what I am really asking is how good is CDX2?
Would appreciate comments.

If you can get the CDS3/XPS2 now, go for it and avoid the intermediate steps. I only heard it once, but it sounded great. Just about everyone on the forum that has heard it thinks it is great. If you cannot swing the CDS3, the CDX2 is an excellent player. (It was a reach for me, but I fell in love with it and got one.) Of course, only through a demo can you decide if a bare CDX2 is good enough for you; to me, it is awesome.

Mike

There have been several threads around this of late Low. Here's one I started:

http://forums.naim-audio.com/eve/forums?a=tpc&s=67019385&f=48019385&m=113104182

What you are proposing is exactly my plan of action over the next 3 or so years. All subject to money, ears still working, nothing better worth going for etc...

How good is the CDX2? All very subjective. To my ears it's a very special player at it's price point - and that's before you add the XPS2. Quite a few people in here seem to have taken the plunge recently. If the search function works you'll find plenty of up-to-date views and reviews.

Have fun.

Cheers

Harry

Ive just been down that very path and i was delighted every step of the way... The CDX2 is a stunning player in its own right. For what its worth i did demo it back to back with a G08 before i bought it, and to my ears it blew the meridian away... ive not looked back since. Ive just recently sold the CDX2 having finally arrived at the CDS3 but before it went i plugged it into of all things a Linn Classik just to make sure all was well before i posted it... Even after having lived with the CDS3 for a couple of weeks it still sounded great and what was supposed to be a 10 min check turned into a couple of hours!?

anyway as ever, try one for yourself, your ears are the ones that matter..

Yes I'd also like to know how much better and in what way is a CDS3 better than a CDX2 with XPS2?

Regards
Mark

P.S. what Mike said. I don't have the money to do it all in one go but I would if I could.

Harry

quote:

---

Originally posted by mtuttleb:
Yes I'd also like to know how much better and in what way is a CDS3 better than a CDX2 with XPS2?

Regards
Mark

---

This is what i thought..

http://forums.naim-audio.com/eve/forums?a=tpc&s=67019385&f=48019385&m=874100672

Rgds

Neil

Thanks , appreciate all your comments. Obviously the CDX2 (with or without XPS2) is a formidable machine. Would also be interested in reading a review of same - haven't been able to find one on the web - can anyone point me towards one?

Here's a review

but it's in German though

http://www.music-line.biz/download/CDX2_image.pdf

I just added the XPS2 to my CDX2, so I'll be ready to start looking for a CDS3 soon. Along the way, the CDX2 has been an amazing cdp and I've been very very happy with it.

However, you have a 52 preamp that is known to be very revealing of the quality of the source components. I've heard rumors that a CDX/CDX2, even with their respective outboard XPS power supplies, are not fully satisfying when paired with this preamp and you'll just want to jump to the CDS3 sooner rather than later.

I'd suggest just saving your money until you can afford the CDS3 and make do with what you have. Now if you didn't have a good cdp to begin with, the CDX2 would make perfect sense as a stepping stone.

Also, have you considered a CDS2? You could probably pick one up for a little more than a new CDX2. (well, it would be a "little" amount for someone who is looking at a CDS2 to begin with).

Graham

Thanks Mtuttleb. Unfortunately can't read German, so will have to wait for translation sometime later.

Hi Low and welcome to the forum. I have owned the CDX2 and CDS3. I only listened to the CDX2 with XPS2 for a couple of evenings. The XPS2 did improve the sound of the CDX2 considerably: more detail, tighter and deeper bass, more lifelike. Hard for me to describe the sound of the CDS3 in comparison. It is simply a beast of a completely different species. Everything is better with the CDS3. If you get a chance to hear one, I think you will understand. In the meantime, you can check out Hawk's thread and others that have shown up on the forum lately.

As to the CDS2 as an interim arrangement. I'm not sure I would recommend that. I gave that some thought, thinking I might trade the XPS for XPS2, then the CDS2 head unit for CDS3. With CDS2s going for about $5K, slightly more or less, trading out pieces over time would have cost more that just going for the CDS3 all at once. Plus, you have the hassle of getting rid of the CDS2 components. There have been a couple of CDS2s languishing on Audiogon for several months now, with the prices drifting downward from an optimistic $5.4K to $5K and below. No, I think if you get a CDS2, you will have to plan on owning it for a good long time. Still, the CDS2 is supposed to be a formidable player in its own right. You can read the review that got me going in that direction on enjoythemusic.com: here The reviewer, Bob Neil describes the sound and experience of the CDS2 far better than I can (of the CDS3, that is).

Good luck whatever you decide.

Norman

quote:

---

As to the CDS2 as an interim arrangement

---

Sorry if I wasn't clear - I was suggesting the CDS2 instead of the CDS3, not as a step on the way to the CDS3.

Graham

Just checked Audiogon: There are three CDS2s currently listed. One I know has been up for at least three months.

OK, Graham, thanks for the clarification.

Lowcap,

If you are using a 52, I'd get the CDX2 and later, instead of upgrading it to a CDS3, change your preamp to a 282 or 252.

So long as a 52 in a signal chain, you don't get the all the benefits of CDS3. A bare CDX2 is an ok player but it is miles ahead of almost everybody with an addition of an XPS2. If funds are tight, you might be better off with a CD5X .

I'd change the preamp before moving onto the 'big one'.

How about this route (which I have done).

Get an XPS2 new (or ex-dem / second-hand if you can find them), knowing that eventually it will hook onto a CDS3. But, in the interim find a good priced / condition CDS2 head unit. It's not as good as the CDS3, but probably better and cheaper than a CDX2.

Regards
Allen

Lowcap

Your plan is absolutely fine in my view. The CDX2 is a great player. I would try to add the power supply sooner rather than later as it really does move the CDX2 to another level. You could try to pick up a used CDX2 to minimise your losses when you sell.

Nigel

Lowcap

I always read these threads with a big grin, because of the amount of money you need to spend on a retail player to get improvements. Well, you already have an excellent transport, and if you really want to spend more money, make sure your CD player has an optical out for newer/better performing DAC's.

I've listened to most of the Naim players, the CDS3/XPS2, CDX2/XPS2, Mark Levinson 390S, Wadia 861SE, and more recently, separate DAC's like the Chord DAC 64, and my current "it doesn't get any better" Benchmark Media DAC1 using a Meridian transport. So for the record...

The Chord DAC 64 (£1995) with a Meridian transport betters a CDX2/XPS2 by quite a margin IMO. It's far more engaging and truer to the original recording (perceived), though it does appear to boost bass response artificially, and can leave you a bit hmm...

The NEW Benchmark Media DAC1 (£800-900) is very special. Not only does it totally trash my Naim Headline/HiCap (direct from source) with its own headphone socket, but the resulting sound using either the optical or a high quality coaxial, is nothing short of embarrassing for Naim and other retail players.

CD reproduction becomes subjective at £800 basically.

quote:

---

Originally posted by PR:

[...].

I've listened to most of the Naim players, the CDS3/XPS2, CDX2/XPS2, Mark Levinson 390S, Wadia 861SE, and more recently, separate DAC's like the Chord DAC 64, and my current "it doesn't get any better" Benchmark Media DAC1 using a Meridian transport. So for the record...

The Chord DAC 64 (£1995) with a Meridian transport betters a CDX2/XPS2 by quite a margin IMO. It's far more engaging and truer to the original recording (perceived), though it does appear to boost bass response artificially, and can leave you a bit hmm...

[...].

---

Dear PR,

I read your post with a grin! If the Chord DAC simply does not have an even frequency response, (and let me say straight away I find a boosted bass both the most common fault in replay, and the most destructive musically), in what area is it so fine that it still has the edge over the CDX2 or whatever? I doubt it has much over some Cambridge graded machine from Richer Sounds at £50 in my book if it boosts the bass! How can a proper musical balance be achieved if there is a fundamental flaw as huge as a faulty frequency response?

Just curious as to what you make of this? Sincerely, Fredrik Fiske