Naim CDX2 Follow-Up

Digital Drive

Upsamplers, DACs, jitter, shakes and analogue withdrawals, this is it.

[Exasperated sigh]. The solo Naim CDX2 has got to be the most finicky CD player I've witnessed since the old Sony D-10 Discman.
Despite the swing out drawer and metal case, this thing is sensitive to vibration. Not only does the quality of the rack matter, but so does placement within that rack! Regardless of which rack I used, the CDX2 does not like to be on the bottom shelves, where it is prone to feedback from the loudspeakers. The CDX2's treble disappears, when placed on the lower shelves.
I've tried countless pucks, rubbers, plates, woodies, cones, squares, sandboxes, platforms, et. al. Each effects changes, but those changes don't mean improvements. I just get a different sound with each. In general, the softer materials suck the life and air from the CDX2, so either choose a hard material, or simply dispense with these tweaks all together. When pressing buttons and handling the tray, users often displace the CDX2. Thus, you might need something to anchor the unit firmly to the shelf. Gluing little metal cone cups (which accepts the CDX2's points) to the shelf is a simple, cheap solution.
Never before have CD greenbacks made such a difference. Fans of these and the AudioPrism Blacklight will jump up and down with glee. But again, I must caution that these changes don't necessarily translate to improvement. I only marginally accept fiddling with the magnetic puck. Adding a CD greenback further and unnecessarily complicates matters. Who wants to fumble with these things, while eager to get on with the music? Just as I did away with anti-vibrational tweaks, I've done away with CD greenbacks. But do note that if you like the not-so-subtle changes wrought with CD greenbacks, you may rather like using these tweaks.
The solo CDX2 is sensitive to both powerline conditioning and aftermarket powercords. Many powerline products tamper with tonal balance, movement, transparency, and dimensions. Avoid these products. Find the ones that allow the CDX2 (and anything else plugged into them) to perform as it should.
I don't know about DIN interconnects, but the CDX2, like all good high-end pieces, is sensitive to RCA interconnects. If you get a sufficiently neutral interconnect, you will quite easily discern the solo CDX2's true character. Tonally, it is off. True deep bass is attenuated. The unit unnaturally places treble instruments 2 feet off the ground. Regardless of speaker I use, the CDX2 loves to put cymbals near the floor. It's as if I'm looking down on cymbals. That also means that soundstaging is majorly screwed up. Finally, instrumental texture is washed away. Everything sounds buffed with steel wool. There's no difference in texture between a new violin, a recorder, Belinda Carlisle, Ozzy Osbourne, a Steinway, a Casio keyboard, Bonham's Ludwig drums, Lars Ulrich's Tamas, Reb Beach's late 80s Kramer guitars, or George Lynch's ESPs.
The display is among THE WORST I've ever seen. You scroll between track number, elapsed track time, and display off. It really sucks not to show remaining time. In a product that retails for over US$5300, this is simply inexcusable.
The remote sucks. The buttons are not laid out logically. Even in broad daylight, you have a hard time telling which way is up.
I compared my unit with a well-worn unit and a brand new unit. From what I can tell, the CDX2 takes a looooooooooooong time to burn in. The new unit, which now has over two weeks' worth of playing time, still does not sound as open, tactile, and free as the well-worn unit. It's like the difference between using a public restroom and your own. The new unit is like the public restroom, where you're afraid to touch things, skittish to sit down, even after you've lined the rim with paper. The well-worn unit is like being in your own bathroom, where you just put the seat down, drop your pants, and sit down.
If you only audition the CDX2 by itself, you may have a hard time coming to conclusions. But when you compare it to others in its price range, like those from Cary, BAT, Krell, Ayre, Arcam, Simaudio, Meridian, Linn, and so on, the solo CDX2's pluses, minuses, and mediocrities are clear.
Even after compensating for all these players' various output voltages, it's amazing how different they sound from each other. I guess this is a good thing. The variety gives us more to choose from. Somewhere out there is a player that fits your budget, sonic needs, aesthetic style, and ergonomic preferences.
Playing around with the solo CDX2 reinforces the fact that, other than room/speaker interaction, the source, because it sets the table, is of utmost importance. Screw up the source, and nothing we do downstream can ever recover the lost music.
-Lummy The Seahorse

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Kimber Kable

Topic - Naim CDX2 Follow-Up - Luminator 10:31:03 05/05/05 (4)

Re: Naim CDX2 Follow-Up - Bombaywalla 09:30:28 05/11/05 (1)

Re: Naim CDX2 Follow-Up - kuma 14:06:29 05/11/05 (0)

Re: Naim CDX2 Follow-Up - zanash 00:49:12 05/06/05 (0)

Yup - LarryI 13:27:18 05/05/05 (0)

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