Anyone heard the GBP7000 NAIM CD Player?

There have been fantastic reviews of this seven thousand pound CD player in the UK Hi Fi press. One reviewer even said it was worth the two thousand pound "difference" in cost between it and the Naim CDX2 plus powersupply. Holy poo!!! Two thousand pounds difference .... there aren't those kind of differences in the cost of electronic parts.

Nevertheless, I would love to have one, but paying seven thousand pounds for a CD player is not an option for me .... nor I suspect, most of the users of this forum.

I live and work in Vietnam where I have no opportunity to compare non-Japanese products, but I'm sure if I lived in the UK or USA I could find a CD player near as good as the Naim with similar sound presentation for a tenth of that price. (I can't accept that Naim are the only company in the world who know how to make a good CD player)

I would value the opinions of forummers who have had an opportunity to compare the Naim - any Naim, with other brands and advise on those that get nearest to the Naim sound without the Naim cost.

 

:duck:

 

Whoo err a cds3......................... Roy G has one of those, editor Hifi+, we had one here for a while too, for naimies it's the pinicle of Sailsburys efforts, however has more round traits than ever thought possible to emerge from deepest Whiltshire, people on the Naim forum we're talking Air/space and blackness a bit like, Ferrari owners considering a bmw 316
You can do a lot better for the money, the player is £4600ish and the rest is the custom regulated psu that makes up the difference.
It's not that bad at all really, but you can do better for the cash, but as with all things audition at home is the key (Naim do also recommend, to extract the best from it you'll need the Nap 552 pre-amp @ £12k) Wm

 

Hi WM,
I trust implicitly that it's damn good ... I heard a CDX2 +PS +202/200 through Maggies at the Naim Dealer in Singapore about 3 months ago. Awesome sound ..... it leapt out and whacked you about the face and aggressive as hell. Certainly not music to relax to, but that's how I like it.

My problem living in Vietnam is there is nothing other than run of the mill Japanese/Korean/Taiwan or old recycled USA products to audition. A Primare importer has started recently but their stuff was bland an boring.

There's got to be something that will give the same "rush" as Naim without selling my soul to the bank.

Henry T: Love your little guy hiding behind the sofa. Probably quite fitting. I know how Naimees react when you question the price of their kit, but I gotta ask anyway. (Just hope Rico - the moderator with attitude, doesn't inhabit this forum)

 

I have always thought that talking about 'blackness' of silences with CDPs is deeply silly.

This must be the only area where all CDPs are equal - reproducing silence.

Or have I got it wrong agin?

 

Naim with panels eh? That's a new one on me!

If that combo really floated your boat and from what you say about the type of presentation you like, then the all new top of the range machine is really going to be "different" rather than being the best even by CDX2 + PS standards, by most accounts.

BTW, seeing as you're in Vietnam I guess it'd be appropriate to wish you a happy new year! :beer: :banana::cookie: :buddies:

 

henry,
iirc julian vereker was a big fan of quad electrostatics, i believe the nap250 was partly designed to drive them. also naim was designing an electrostatic loudspeaker (fl1?) but the project collapsed when the designer quit - i believe.
cheers


julian

 

Yeah, was very surprised to read about that in another thread on here a short while back.

Have they, Naim, changed there philosophy more than a few times in the past then (like going from olive box to the current reference series as some would accuse)?

It does strike me though, that something like a point source ESL is going to give the impression of inherently good timing due to the sound radiating pattern and the way it thus interacts with room. So yeah, kinda makes sense in some ways.

 

Strikes me that you either get a kick out of the Naim sound, or you don't. If you enjoyed the CDX2/202/200 combo, you'd almost certainly enjoy CDS3.

As for alternatives. All the ones I've heard that come close have a degree of compromise, i.e. bring a lot of advantages to the party, but lose some of the things that Naim put on the table. Purely a question of personal taste.

 

Henry, if you visit the naim factory (As I am sure other hifi factories) you will see they are checking out all types of things just in case, I suspect this is why the electrostatic was tried. They obviously felt it wasn;t worth persuing at the time though.

 

The story I read regarding the electrostatics in an interview with JV in one of the mags years ago, was that they were in serious development but JV abandoned the project as being too dangerous. Apparently, whilst testing a pair, he once saw a giant spark arc from one 'stat to the other. Upon seeing this he decided that electrostatics were not for him as he didnt want to get electrocuted, and they shelved the project.

 

John mak

Yes I have heard the CDS3 because I own one.

It is much better than the CDS2 and I would recommend it to you.

Regards

Mick

 

Robbo's tale

Is the generally accepted reason for the shelving of the FL1 electrostatic. One of the reasons for the danger was, I believe, that they used a higher HT than was normal for this type of speaker.

I believe Guy Lamotte was the primary designer - he was always flitting from ESL's to 'Bariks and wanted the best of both worlds.

A.

 

Electrostatics are obviously the best type of speakers. However it's not at all obvious how to make better electrostatics than Quads, either type, and they have well known limitations. IIRC the Naim prototypes used a horn loaded ribbon tweeter to tackle the dispersion problems of panels and had actively driven bass/mid electrostatic panels laid out like a Quad ELS57. I'd really like to have heard them...

Paulb

 

Hi,

Here's a piece on the naim speakers.

SCIDB

 

Hi Mr Sukebe,
You are on the right track for my original question.
Can you share with me any insights on which models you felt did get close to the Naim sound. Auditioning is out of the question for me and spending seven thousand pounds for a CD player is not an option.

Henry T: You are right, it is Tet (Chinese New Year) here right now ...... a hell of a night last night.
So - Chuc Mung Nam Oi to all.

 

John

The Naim CDS3 is a superb player, and if you like the Naim type sound you will not find anything comparable at anything like the price (or in fact any price)

Is it worth the cost, I think so that's why I bought one.

However, please don't make decisions SOLELY based on what someone (or several people) say on this forum (or any forum). No doubt someone (merlin probably) will come along and say buy CD XXXX it's a lot better than a CDS3 and only costs £1.27. If you go on the Naim forum you will be told you should look out for a cheaper (s/h) Naim CD player.

Everyone has different ideals and desires. If someone recomends something to you have a look what system they are using and guage how their ideal sound fits with yours.

Use these to maybe put togther a short list but please try to hear these somewhere (have you got any friends or colleagues with systems for example)

 

£7k for any CDP is ridiculous, especially if you consider the limitations of the format in the first place.

 

Sweeping statements

James

If you enjoy the product for what it is, then £7000.00 is money well spent.

Man cannot live by bread alone.

Regards

Mick......who is delighted with his CDS3.

 

Hi Mick,

It's only a CD player, by all accounts a good one, but it's still only a CD player. They sound remarkably similar to each other over, say, £1000. I'll bet that you couldn't distinguish the CDS3 blind from loads of others.

If your TT is as good as you say it is, don't you feel a little twinge of embarrassment every time you play a CD?

I'm sure Naim are delighted that you are delighted!

btw, sorry for getting you into hot water over those 'tings'.