Whoo Hoo. My Naim CDI is back and working perfectly :)

[Spectral Morn]

Hi Paul

Thanks for the info. Not being into Naim ( I prefer valves to solid state) I must confess to having poor knowledge of the product or its history. However my first thought was that the early Naim players used TDA 1541 but I then doubted myself. Had a hunt and couldn't find info to confirm this, but only to put doubt on it. Sometimes ones first thought is the right one...though not always.

Bottom line, glad your players back fixed....


Regards D S D L---Neil

[pjdowns]

Hi Paul

Thanks for the info. Not being into Naim ( I prefer valves to solid state) I must confess to having poor knowledge of the product or its history. However my first thought was that the early Naim players used TDA 1541 but I then doubted myself. Had a hunt and couldn't find info to confirm this, but only to put doubt on it. Sometimes ones first thought is the right one...though not always.

Bottom line, glad your players back fixed....


Regards D S D L---Neil

Fair enough Neil, thanks for looking into which Dac they used though, it is of interest to me

Thank you for saying that you are glad that the player is fixed ... I am currently beaming from here to, well everywhere ... I am having sooo much fun listening to my system again ... where as with the Squeezebox I regularlily got fed up due to fatigue....

IPaul.

[Spectral Morn]

Hi Paul

There is indeed something special about these earlyish multi-bit tda 1541 dac using CDP's. I agree not bright, for the most part though some can be. I have a Marantz CD 94 mk 2 which I have been playing about with recently(it had sat unused for 6 years or so) and the sound though not perfect, we are talking about a 20 year old cdp, has both amazed and thrilled me. I have a new review coming up soon in Strokes of Genius. There in I will go into more detail about this (plug over). Its nice to get thrilled and excited by the music we listen to and indeed, it is all the little details hidden by poor kit, that make the whole experience come a live.


Regards D S D L---Neil

[pjdowns]

Something that is for sure Neil is that I am in no hurry to upgrade my system now

The CDI has reminded me how good the Exposure/Naim/Epos combo work together

Consider the age of this system 15 + years, it is still very impressive

P.

[Marco]

Synergy is a great thing, Paul, when you get it right. Also, I've had much experience of classic systems outperforming some of today's gear, so don't be so surprised with the results you're getting - and don't be in a hurry to get rid of any of it either!

Being a long-standing ex-Naimee I'm completely au fait with their product range (at least certainly the 'olive' stuff), so I had a strong suspicion that the CDI used TDA1541s. I certainly knew the old CDS did, which is why many preferred it to the CDS2, as it changed to Burr-Browns.

But it has to be said that Naim do something very, very special to the CD players to make them sound so good

Also, they gave it a very nice clean. Thanks Naim.

The quality and efficiency of work carried out by Naim's service department is legendary. I no longer use their gear but I still have a big respect for the company and some of the people who run it. They are one of the hi-fi companies which make you feel proud to be British.

You've got top-notch classic CDP there, so enjoy!

Marco.

[pjdowns]

The quality and efficiency of work carried out by Naim's service department is legendary. I no longer use their gear but I still have a big respect for the company and some of the people who run it. They are one of the hi-fi companies which make you feel proud to be British.

You've got top-notch classic CDP there, so enjoy!

Marco.

So reference the service, what impressed me so much was in the way Sheila from Naim gave me a concerned call at work to say that they had had the CDI on test for over a week and hadn't found anything wrong with it. She rang to see if I could confirm the fault that I thought the player was experiencing and when I explained it through, she seemed almost put out that they couldn't find anything, which to me was very impressive, because she really cared .

Also, they cleaned the CDI so well. Much better than I could have done LOL....It looks like new again

Oh don't worry Marco ... I am currently and will continue to enjoy listening to this system

Also, I have always thought that the Exposure amp combo I have was underrated so with the CDI and playing through the Epos ES-14's the system is sounding so good

Currently listening to 'Dire Straits - Love Over Gold' and the acoustic guitar played by Mark Knopfler is quite something

P.

[DSJR]

Now Paul, have you set up the ES14's the way the designer intended? You know what I mean.........

I can also tell you that just 'cos the machine has TDA 1541's, doesn't guarantee a good sound, believe me. I can think of one or two "bitstream" players that creamed the cheaper Philips/Marantz "16 bit" players we sold at the time........

The CDS never sold itself to me and my Micro creamed it on a Naim system (I think the demonstrator we had is actually my machine...). The CD-I was a different kettle of goodies altogether and the CD-2 and eventually the CDX are horrible by comparison IMO.

[leo]

Totally agree with the above, the old classic TDA1541A is one of my favourite chips but I've heard so many units using these which sound crappy!
I've heard the Naim CDI can be turned into a bit of a beastie after being modified, after seeing some pics of the guts and layout it certainly looks to have potential

[pjdowns]

Now Paul, have you set up the ES14's the way the designer intended? You know what I mean.........

Hi Dave,

Nope, personally, I think the speakers sound average with the plugs in, to almost box like whereas with the plugs out, within my system you have a much, smoother, open sound, deeper bass and masses of control. I just don't like the sound with the plugs in, I have tried it on many occassion and always removed the plugs quicksmart . Also, IMHO, with the plugs out they are an extremely special speaker.

I can also tell you that just 'cos the machine has TDA 1541's, doesn't guarantee a good sound, believe me. I can think of one or two "bitstream" players that creamed the cheaper Philips/Marantz "16 bit" players we sold at the time........

The CDS never sold itself to me and my Micro creamed it on a Naim system (I think the demonstrator we had is actually my machine...). The CD-I was a different kettle of goodies altogether and the CD-2 and eventually the CDX are horrible by comparison IMO.

It is interesting to know that the TDA 1541 didn't work well in all machines, but I guess that it just the way things go.

Reference the CDS, I cannot comment because I have never had a chance to hear one, but I have a friend that used to have a CDS and then got it converted to a CDS2 a while back when Naim were doing a deal and has regreted ever since, he much prefered the 'warmer' sound of the CDS.

Also, I'd agree that the CDI is better than either the CD2 or CDX, neither quite had the edge that the CDI has. The CDX2 though is at least on a par, if not better than the CDI.

For me, I'd guess, I'd have to go for either a CDS2 (Not sure that it work, see previous comments) or a CDS3 to get a significant upgrade.

The CDS3 cost over 8k now brand new so that's not likely to happen .

Paul.

[pjdowns]

Totally agree with the above, the old classic TDA1541A is one of my favourite chips but I've heard so many units using these which sound crappy!
I've heard the Naim CDI can be turned into a bit of a beastie after being modified, after seeing some pics of the guts and layout it certainly looks to have potential

Hi Leo,

I don't get how a TDA1541A in one machine could sound different from anther, but then again I have NO electronics experience whatsoever so it is like voodoo language to me LOL.

Intereted in the fact that you can potentially modifiy the CDI in such a way as to upgrade it, but then again, why bother, it is a damn good piece of kit on it's own merits

Paul.