upgrade cd player or speakers?

hi

at the moment im using a rotel rcd-961, densen beat b-100 mk5 and B&W 602 s3.

i am looking to upgrade in the near future and am usually a believer that source first is the way to go.

With this in mind i had shortlisted a naim cd5i, naim cd5x and densen b-400 plus.

i have also considered getting a second hand cd5 or cdx but i think i would prefer to get the cd player new as they always seem to be the components that go wrong.

Any other players that you think would be worth auditioning? also what interconnects would you recommend between these?

one other question on my mind is that although i beleive that source first is the best approach, with my kit it may be better to upgrade my speakers first as i have heard the bright B&W tweeter doesnt match very well with densen.

there arent any particular models of speakers i have shortlisted but brands i like are totem, neat, dynaudio, sonus faber, meadowlark.

i have heard totem spekers before and really liked them, i cant remember what kit they were plugged into though. sonus faber i have heard with an all densen set up and that sounded nice, preferred the totems though. the others i have not heard, but the comments made about them by forum members make me think they would be to my taste.

i would prefer a sound that is fast, punchy, grooves well and gets my foot tapping rather then one that has a good soundstage etc.

the thing i dont like about my system at the mo is it lacks finesse and can be a bit bright and shrill. also i live in the box room of my house and my speakers are possibly a bit too big which probably doesnt help the matter. however this wont be my permanent residence so im not commiting myself towards small standmounts or anything.

my budget would be about £1400

Thanks for your input and for taking the time to read my question!

Chris

 

I'd definately try some Neats. I like the mystique, but you could also try the petite/gravitas combo.

I am sure the meadowlark mafia will be along shortly, but personally, I am not a huge fan. However, they will certainly give you a big, powerful sound.

 

i'll just throw this into the ring. why not have a try with some pc audio? a squeezebox is about 200 quid, a decent dac can be had for about 500 quid and a 250 gig hard drive is another 100. that's 800 all in (i assume you already have a pc? if not then add another couple of hundered for a 2nd hand old beater - you may also need to spend about 50 on a wifi card or some cable if you don't have these things too).
i sold on my cd5 in favour of the above system and i think it punts a cdx2 into touch though my naim / b&w rig.
the convienience factor is also huge and i find i listen to a much larger cross section of my music collection.
cheers


julian

 

The B&W tweeters get better as you go up the ranges,the 602 is a cracking speaker,but the 700 will give you more.Heard a Naim nait 3 driving some older B&W 804 at the weekend,i thought it sounded very good.I would change the source first,then the speakers later as they will become the bottleneck.

 

What about Penance's Contour 1.1's I demo'd these on a Naim System and they were easily the best speaker I head that day. Grooved and rocked really well and really played above their diminutive box size.

For what its worth, I find Naim CDP's too much in your face, a bit too aggressvive when matched with Naim Amplification. . Not heard a Beat yet but they are getting rave reports. Agree with changing the DCP first, but don't rule out s/h I run a s/h Meridian 200 series only 12 years old and its great. I would add a s/h 500 series Meridian to your list. Theres a thread on here comparing one of this with NAim and Arcam units https://www.audio-forums.com/as-rediect/showthread.php?t=5558

Mr Perceptive

 

I would definitely do the speakers first. The B&Ws are great entry-level speakers but they are IMO rather crude and compromise-laden. With £1400 you could get yourself some SERIOUSLY good speakers.

The forum regulars would probably keel over with shock if I didn't recommend the ATC SCM-12s, so I shall - try them, they're fantastic sealed box standmounts at £999. Very accurate and neutral with great dynamics and integration, a great midrange, and tight, controlled but powerful bass. They should work very well in a smaller room, too.

If you wanted something bigger you could possibly wangle a secondhand pair of SCM-35 floorstanders (£2K new).

If you like the B&W sound, definitely try out the 700 series. They're an awful lot better than the 600s.

And Dyns are always an excellent recommendation. Contour 1.3 Mk. IIs can be had for £6-700 secondhand, which is a stunning bargain. Would leave some cash left over to put towards a new CD player, too.

Another brand to consider is PMC. Their new GB-1s are getting rave reviews. They're little mini floorstanders with their traditional transmission line bass loading. £1000/pair.

And yet another, less well-known consideration: Leema Xens (http://www.leema-acoustics.com/xen.html). These are fantastic little mini-minimonitors. Tiny, but dynamic and lively, and put out a big, open, outside-the-box sound. And again, should be easy to get them sounding good ina small room. £1000/pair.

Dunc

 

Check these ATC SCM35's out. On eBay at £1,000.... (at the moment)

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=5717655376&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT

Pair of Dyn's Contour 1.3mk2's for sale in the back of latest HFC (Heathcote Audio advert), with stands for £800 too....

Oh yes. Penance's 1.1's are certainly worth checking out. I've heard these (on demo at Audio T in High Wycome) and liked them a lot. Punchy and more (quality) bass than their diminuitive proportions might suggest.

 

unfortunately i wont be in a position to buy for a few months so cant go out buying yet im afraid.

just trying to make a shortlist of options to demo.

would there be a big difference in sound between a densen b400 plus and naim cd5?

 

Differences between CD players are relatively subtle, and £1400 is an awful lot of money to pay for a subtle difference if budgets are tight. For major presentational differences, speakers first every time. As for recommendations, it's all too much down to personal preference, size of room, musical taste, what you're aiming to get out of an upgrade, etc. I've quite liked the Totems I've heard, generally with Rega electronics, also worth hearing ATC, Harbeth, Neat, etc.

-- Ian

 

i agree with all those advocating speakers first. they certainly make the biggest difference to sound of a system, and until you get to an at least reasonable pair of speakers, you may not even notice the subtle differences of cd players in the 1k range.

 

I have just been looking at a review of the ATC's and it says an amplifier of at least 100wpc is required. my densen is 60w so do you think it might struggle a bit to bring these speakers to life?

 

Hmm, possibly, but I wouldn't think so. I certainly wouldn't write them off until I'd heard the combination. My local ATC dealer did a demo of the SCM-12s run off a 20-odd watt valve amp and to my amazement they sounded gorgeous! You couldn't crank it to silly levels without problems but as long as you kept it reasonable (but still satisfyingly loud), it sounded great.

ATCs have traditionally been very low sensitivity and quite hard to drive, but the current range of passives are much less demanding IME. They still like to be kicked up the backside with real power, but they don't require it in the same way the older ranges did if you see what I mean. Personally, I doubt very much if your Densen would have any trouble at all. But as always, prolly worth a try before you shell out.

Dunc

 

There's a chap on the HFC forum (see HFC Classifieds) selling a pair of nearly-new £900 AVI Pro Nine's for £400. Seems like an excellent price... The same chap, Jesse, has just bought himself a pair of Yamaha NS1000M's so I think he'll have a pair of Dynaudio Audience 52SE's for sale shortly...