View Full Version : Any CD player recommendation to match NAIM SuperUniti?
Still setting up my system here. I recently purchased a second hand NAIM superUniti for amp and stream. It is still on the way. I got from another forum member a pair of PMC GB1 last weekend. Beautiful sound and love it straight away (even with my basic Yamaha amp and cheap cable).
I am thinking about adding a CD player. Although it might sound out-of-date to some members, I still like its look and the feeling of having something tangible.
Now comes the question: which CD player should I buy to extract the best quality of the disk? Yet it is not occupying too much space. My budget is around 1k for a second hand one; perhaps stretching to 1.5k if it is really good (second hand).
First thought is another NAIM like CDX2. Second hand is just above 1k. However, I read it somewhere that it is not a good fit to superUniti. Any suggestions are welcome. Thanks.
£1.5K second hand will easily buy you the best CD player ever with change to spare.
What exactly that might be is open to question.
I'd avoid anything with valves, upsampling or any gold bling on the case - they are the tell-tale marks that show that the build cost has been spend on fripperies rather than sound.
Personally I'd go for flagship models from Sony, Technics, Pioneer - Naim are not a bad shout, they have at least paid attention to the power supplies and now everyone is into 'streaming' the used prices are no longer comical.
Oppo are also pretty good but don't quite have the pride of ownership.
£1.5K second hand will easily buy you the best CD player ever with change to spare.
What exactly that might be is open to question.
I'd avoid anything with valves, upsampling or any gold bling on the case - they are the tell-tale marks that show that the build cost has been spend on fripperies rather than sound.
Personally I'd go for flagship models from Sony, Technics, Pioneer - Naim are not a bad shout, they have at least paid attention to the power supplies and now everyone is into 'streaming' the used prices are no longer comical.
Oppo are also pretty good but don't quite have the pride of ownership.
Thanks Martin. There are not many discussions on Japanese made products here. I have looked into Onkyo and Denon alike, but reviews are limited. What do you think of them vs British brands regarding CD player?
All British CD players are made of Japanese parts bought in so don't put too much stock in that. Also the smaller Jap brands just bought their parts in from the bigger ones like Sony and Panasonic. Marantz tend to be Phillips players tweaked and re-badged because they were part of the same group for many years.
I'm hesitant to recommend Marantz as they have a distinct sonic flavour not everyone is keen on (me included).
Like I said go for a Japanese flagship model from about 1987 through to 2005 because they will have pulled out all the stops on that. The make is less important than how far up the range it is.
You see people asking stupid money sometimes, don't pay it! CD players will go the way of 8 track within the next 10 years so I'd say set a budget of £800 max and that is for a minty-mint flagship player that was about £5K new.
Stryder5
26-11-2018, 16:59
Buy a Cambridge CXC transport, the Naim already has a DAC I believe.
Gary
£1.5K second hand will easily buy you the best CD player ever with change to spare.
What exactly that might be is open to question.
I'd avoid anything with valves, upsampling or any gold bling on the case - they are the tell-tale marks that show that the build cost has been spend on fripperies rather than sound.
Personally I'd go for flagship models from Sony, Technics, Pioneer - Naim are not a bad shout, they have at least paid attention to the power supplies and now everyone is into 'streaming' the used prices are no longer comical.
Oppo are also pretty good but don't quite have the pride of ownership.
I completely disagree with this. The Lector CDPs, CDP5, 6 and 7 and above, utilise valves and are by far the best CDPs I've heard. If you can hold out you may be able to pick up a second-hand Lector CDP7 MK3 for around £1600. The sound is sublime...
I completely disagree with this. The Lector CDPs, CDP5, 6 and 7 and above, utilise valves and are by far the best CDPs I've heard. If you can hold out you may be able to pick up a second-hand Lector CDP7 MK3 for around £1600. The sound is sublime...
Well I did say 'I'd avoid' - There's always going to be personal taste involved. I mean some people love the Rega cd players, I wouldn't even contemplate one.
Thanks all. At least there are some directions here - much better than checking random reviews.
Well I did say 'I'd avoid' - There's always going to be personal taste involved. I mean some people love the Rega cd players, I wouldn't even contemplate one.
Now that I would agree with! I'd also add Cambridge and Naim to the blacklist..
Now that I would agree with! I'd also add Cambridge and Naim to the blacklist..
I had Cambridge's best effort and it was not for me. Naim players - only heard one once and it seemed okay. My personal favourite is the Technics SLP1200 but I won't recommend it on the grounds that I'm on my fourth and they've all developed faults. Fixable faults but it is a pain in the ass when you just want to listen to music.
I completely disagree with this. The Lector CDPs, CDP5, 6 and 7 and above, utilise valves and are by far the best CDPs I've heard. If you can hold out you may be able to pick up a second-hand Lector CDP7 MK3 for around £1600. The sound is sublime...
I also think Valve sounds great when I listened to them in the shop. However, as I just started my journey, I will leave them to later when I know everything better :) thanks for the advice
I have a basic Naim CD5i and I like it a lot. But it’s your preference that counts.
A second hand Naim Unitiserve plus a DAC V1 could be an option within your budget.
Floyddroid
26-11-2018, 21:51
Don't discount the Swedish players either. Advantage, Bladelious etc. They all play tunes rather well.
There's a thread just started regarding Marantz cdp, you could try one of these on it's own or play through your Naim, maybe save a good few pounds.
nonuffin
27-11-2018, 09:28
I completely disagree with this. The Lector CDPs, CDP5, 6 and 7 and above, utilise valves and are by far the best CDPs I've heard. If you can hold out you may be able to pick up a second-hand Lector CDP7 MK3 for around £1600. The sound is sublime...
"Sublime" is a bit of an understatement, Lector CD players are firkin awesome.
I had a play with the 707 last year and was mighty impressed by it.
researched on some Japanese vintage CD players. What a beauty! Machines made between 90' and 00' were solid, heavy and full of characters, though perhaps over-engineered a bit. But the downside looked like the laser pin might break and difficult to replace simply because of the age. Shame that they don't make these "giant monster" anymore.
Lasers rarely go. What happens is the player develops a fault and people assume the laser has 'worn out' as though it was just like a turntable pick up cartridge, and they dump the whole shebang. Whereas in reality it was probably just an easily replaceable component.
But it is true that you have to take reliability into account which is why I said don't pay too much. In my view it is worth it to get the extra sound quality on offer.
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