Naim CDS2 and interconnect cables

[No Regrets]

What a great story Don - lovely to read that not everyone is a get-rich-quick merchant, and there are genuine enthusiasts out there happy to pass on "the message" - restores your faith in humanity. Glad you are enjoying the player so far - long may it continue. Oh, and you have a great wife!

Thanks Alex,

I felt the same way. It certainly was refreshing dealing with this gentleman....he definately warmed my heart in the same manner as you suggest.

Thank you for the nice compliment to my wife. She is great, she is also my best friend, she is my life. Even if I could have the world's greatest audio system, it would mean nothing to me if I couldn't share it with her.

Best wishes,
Don

[No Regrets]

The CDS-2 doesn't need days and days and days and days and months and years to sound at its best Just switch it on and enjoy, turning it off at night, or when you're not using it.

My wife and I both find the Anthem to be OTT and very contrived sounding (I have an XLR pair that went back to the manufacturers for "tuning"). not an accurate portrayal IMO.. The Cobra will get you going, but in absolute terms there are better cables on ebay for UK £20 or less which will be better I suspect - A custom Mark Grant will annihilate it I promise you.

I don't think the pucks make a difference to the sound unless the disc is slipping somehow (happens on the original CDS/CDI puck), or the puck is upsetting the balance of the disc and causing vibration of some sort. there was a lot of totally unsubstantiated bull-poo spoken at the time about this - these darned pucks being more problems than they're worth, but Naimies refuse to be swayed about such things.

Hello Dave,

When you say a custom Mark Grant will annihilate it, could you expand on this a little bit?

One of my concerns is that I have read some comments elsewhere on the web in which people have thought them to sound hard and harsh. These certainly are characteristics that I would be looking for. But then here on the AOS, I read nothing but praise.

Right now I have just been using the cable the seller very graciously gave to me, so as to familiarize myself with this new player. I did order a Milty (have not received as of yet) so that I could compare the differences between various other brands that I currently have which are RCA/RCA.

I have been in contact with Mark Grant and have been impressed with his timely emails. I am waiting a brief time to place an order until I have had a little time to listen to the CDS2 with some of my other cables.

[DSJR]

If you're referring to the Mark Grants, then all I can say is that his HD cables are pretty neutral to my ears. I swapped my Canare to Jack cabls for the neutrik Pro to Jack (with consideration due to costs of plugs) and in some ways, I think I can hear a slight difference. Trouble is, I'm using the Quad II's at the moment with a home made concoction (thick Ecoflex 10 RF cable with the only phono's I could find able to take the diameter...) -



At the end of the day, the CDS-2's output circuit isn't too bothered by the bits of wire feeding the signal to the amp and in absolute terms, the Milty/Mayware adaptor ain't doing any favours either (), so a decent interconnect would definitely clean things up no end.

[JazzBones]

Hi Don, just a little tip on the usuage of Naim pucks....DON'T LEAVE THEM on the Cd player spindle when not in use. With time the three rubber stabilzers will flatten and you will get CD slippage, very irritating. I up end the puck onto small magnet on the shelf to secure it from loss. An occasional light clean with a cotton bud using Isopropnal VERY SPARINGLY on the three rubber disc retainers is what I use on my CDX2 + XPS2. Message, look after that disc puck and don't forget the ritual of using it on the disc for every play as without its use you could have a problem tell the wife about it and it soon becomes second nature My wife didn't believe me or forgot until I had to retrive a stuck disc!

Happy listening,

Ron aka Jazz

[No Regrets]

If you're referring to the Mark Grants, then all I can say is that his HD cables are pretty neutral to my ears. I swapped my Canare to Jack cabls for the neutrik Pro to Jack (with consideration due to costs of plugs) and in some ways, I think I can hear a slight difference. Trouble is, I'm using the Quad II's at the moment with a home made concoction (thick Ecoflex 10 RF cable with the only phono's I could find able to take the diameter...) -



At the end of the day, the CDS-2's output circuit isn't too bothered by the bits of wire feeding the signal to the amp and in absolute terms, the Milty/Mayware adaptor ain't doing any favours either (), so a decent interconnect would definitely clean things up no end.

Thanks Dave,

Now that I have reread my earlier post, I see that my wording isn't very clear to understand. Yes, I was referring to the Mark Grants interconnect.

I agree that the Milty would not be used for a long term fix. I ordered one because at the time I did not have a din to rca cable to use and I thought by having the Milty I could start listening to the player sooner by utilizing one of my existing cables...as well as using it as a tool for me to compare various brands of cables to give me a general idea of how they interact with the CDS2 in my system.

I have read that many of you were given a trial period with the Mark Grant cables. I do not know that Mark has offered that to me.....I should send him another email and ask.

Thanks again Dave,
Don

[Mark Grant]

One of my concerns is that I have read some comments elsewhere on the web in which people have thought them to sound hard and harsh.

was that here:
http://www.pinkfishmedia.net/forum/s...ad.php?t=78582

Joe did not get on with it No problem though, at least he tried it.

The cable is actually very neutral, the scientifically measured frequency response is completely flat right up to 30 something khz.
I have a jpg of the plots somewhere that someone did for me

As always the only way to be sure is to try.

These two reviewers liked it:

http://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazin...nt_g1000hd.htm

http://www.adventuresinhifiaudio.com...-say-they-are/

I would suggest to stick with what you have for a while, tweak if needed later

Can always be returned for refund, although not as easy when you are in USA as post can cost a bit.

Mark.

[No Regrets]

Hi Don, just a little tip on the usuage of Naim pucks....DON'T LEAVE THEM on the Cd player spindle when not in use. With time the three rubber stabilzers will flatten and you will get CD slippage, very irritating. I up end the puck onto small magnet on the shelf to secure it from loss. An occasional light clean with a cotton bud using Isopropnal VERY SPARINGLY on the three rubber disc retainers is what I use on my CDX2 + XPS2. Message, look after that disc puck and don't forget the ritual of using it on the disc for every play as without its use you could have a problem tell the wife about it and it soon becomes second nature My wife didn't believe me or forgot until I had to retrive a stuck disc!

Happy listening,

Ron aka Jazz

Hello Jazzbones! I love your moniker! Thank you for sharing your tips in regards to the puck. Great advice....I appreciate it.

I can see that my wife is feeling a little nervous around this new player so I think I will be leaving my other player still hooked up to another input for her to use when I am not at home until she starts to feel more comfortable with the new one.

Thank again Ron,
Don

[DSJR]

Ron's correct about the rubber sleeving used as "pads" in the puck - easily squashed. As he says, better not to get them damaged in the first place, although I always kept a set of tweazers handy for emergencies

[No Regrets]

was that here:
http://www.pinkfishmedia.net/forum/s...ad.php?t=78582

Joe did not get on with it No problem though, at least he tried it.

The cable is actually very neutral, the scientifically measured frequency response is completely flat right up to 30 something khz.
I have a jpg of the plots somewhere that someone did for me

As always the only way to be sure is to try.

These two reviewers liked it:

http://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazin...nt_g1000hd.htm

http://www.adventuresinhifiaudio.com...-say-they-are/

I would suggest to stick with what you have for a while, tweak if needed later

Can always be returned for refund, although not as easy when you are in USA as post can cost a bit.

Mark.

Hello Mark,

Yes, I think you are correct that I read those comments on the Pink Fish. I agree that the only way a person will truly know if it will be a synergistic match is to try them in your system. I think I will try to spend a little more time getting to know my new player with my existing cables, but I highly suspect that I will be placing an order to try yours as well in the very near future. Do you have any idea how long it would take to receive them at my location in the US?

Thanks Mark,
Don

[JazzBones]

Hello Jazzbones! I love your moniker! Thank you for sharing your tips in regards to the puck. Great advice....I appreciate it.

I can see that my wife is feeling a little nervous around this new player so I think I will be leaving my other player still hooked up to another input for her to use when I am not at home until she starts to feel more comfortable with the new one.

Thank again Ron,
Don

Hi again Don, those little beasty pucks were put on this earth to torment us, don't drop one as they are like contact lenses, hard to locate thats why I use a magnet to keep 'em safe. DSJR is familiar with these pucks as he use to sell Naim gear in the last century... makes you think how time flies? I use a wood tooth pick, once again to ever so gently, to pry open the rubber into shape again and with practice I hold the rings open whilst giving them a clean. I can't say it too often, be careful!

It will become second nature for your wife to use the Naim cd player.

One last tip, and this is from Naim themselves, to clean the lazer gently use white tack, it might go under a different name (no pun) in your corner of the planet earth, by dabbing the lazer lense gently to lift off debris... go carefully and with a steady hand.

Enjoy your new CD player

Ron