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

---

[ Follow Ups ] Thread: [ Display  All  Email ] [ Digital Drive ]

---

[ Alert Moderator ]

---

Meridian G08 vs. Naim CDX2

Posted by Luminator (A) on May 11, 2005 at 10:00:45

I've written here about the Naim CDX2. But my other CD player is the Meridian G08. These two players are completely different from each other.

The G08 is packed with features; the CDX2 is bare bones. The G08 has balanced outputs, the CDX2 has DINs. The G08 is available in silver, the CDX2 is not. The G08 has a big silver remote, the CDX2 has a plastic Philips RC5 jobbie. The G08 has a DVD drive, the CDX2 has a swing out drawer. The G08 will eat CD tweaks, while the CDX2 requires a magnetic puck. The G08 is impervious to vibration, the CDX2 is as touchy and sensitive as mid- to late-80s Discmen.

I have access to several balanced preamps. I have identical XLR and RCA cables, some of which are top of the line (e.g., Kimber Select silver, Tara Labs ISM, Nordost Valhalla, XLO Limited Edition). I don't know if it's the player or the preamps, but the G08 sounds MUCH better via the balanced outputs. Balanced is simply more open, spacious, and focused.

The G08 and CDX2 sound completely different from each other. The G08 is about elegance, grace, harmonics (well, good for digital), poise, openness, detail, tone, soundstaging, and transparency. Audiophiles will love this type of sound, especially those who cannot tolerate distortion or any note out of place. But somehow, for all the class and smoothness, the G08 doesn't kick ass. It is afraid to get down and dirty. It doesn't have enough grip or traction. It doesn't bark and growl.

The solo CDX2 is tonally uneven, fuzzy, jumbled, choppy, and kind of black and blue. But you know what? When the music needs to be chunky and gravelly, the CDX2 delivers. There's simply more force behind the music.

I was listening to a bunch of Motley Crue tunes. Through the G08, the Crue were unambiguously clear. I've not heard scene where the motorcycle gets away [at the end of "Girls, Girls, Girls"] so vividly and accurately clean, expansive, and definitively clear.

Through the CDX2, the treble is tentative, and down in level. There's less air, so the whole work is confined to the small space between the speakers. But, Mick Mars' guitars are more sticky sweet, more greasy, more snarling and chewy.

On Neil Sedaka's "Laughter In The Rain," damn, the G08 makes the boundaries disappear, and listeners become light-footed, wanting to dance off into the imaginary rain... The CDX2 reins in the proceedings, the sound becoming lumpy and bumpy, not as emotionally stirring, inspiring, or satisfying.

The G08 perfectly captures the stunning open clarity on Belinda Carlisle's "Heaven Is A Place On Earth." The instruments play independently of each other, yet, as a whole, the song causes all of your body parts to play along. The see-through clarity is addictive, addictive, addictive. On the CDX2, this song is kind of a muddled mess. The lack of proper treble body, positioning, and decay robs the song's life, scale, impact, meaning, flow, and fun.

On Steely Dan's "My Old School," the G08 makes the performance seem distant, as if we're watching from afar. But on the CDX2, we're Right There, heads swinging side to side, singing boyishly along...

If audiophiles were forced to choose between these two players, I'd estimate that, all factors considered, out of 4 would pick the Meridian G08. Based solely on sonics, I'd guess that the ratio would narrow to 2 out of 3 in favor of the Meridian. But in the real world, shoppers are not limited to these two players. Having lived with both, I'm of the opinion that most people in this market will pass on both.

Still, I am fortunate to have the opportunity and length of time to evaluate both players side by side. If I want to slow down, and revel in classy audiophile sound, I'll use the G08. If I just want to get it on, and don't care about specifics, I'll use the CDX2.

Some people will like the G08, others will cling to the CDX2. It all depends on the rest of your system, your aesthetic tastes, your patience, and how important redbook CDs are in your musical diet. But do yourself a favor, and check out these two radically different machines. Bottom line, after properly matching the speakers ith your room, the source is THE MOST IMPORTANT, determining factor of the system. The source sets the table, dictates what the rest of the chain will follow.

-Lummy The Seahorse

This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors:

Parts Connexion

---

[ Top of Page ] [ Contact Us ] [ Support/Wish List ] [ Copyright © 2024, Audio Asylum, all rights reserved ]

---

[ General ] [ Speakers ] [ Tubes ] [ Vinyl ] [ Digital ] [ Hi-Rez ] [ Video Asylum ] [ Cables ] [ Tweaks/DIY ] [ Music ] [ Films ]

---