PDA

View Full Version : Naim CDS2 and interconnect cables



No Regrets
29-11-2010, 04:27
Hello all,

I am contemplating buying a used Naim CDS2/xps cd player. From what I understand, Naim utilizes a din to din interconnect from the cd player to the preamp. Due to the fact that my preamplifier is NOT a Naim, I will need to purchase an interconnect with a single din connection at one end to be connected to the CDS2 output and the other end to have two RCA connectors to connect to my non-Naim preamplifier inputs. I will need the cable to be two meters in length.

Does anyone have any recommendations?

Thank you,
Don (No Regrets)

The Grand Wazoo
29-11-2010, 07:54
Naim always said to go to The Chord Co. - the one they supplied with my CDI was from there.

DSJR
29-11-2010, 10:30
The CDS-2 was one of my favourite CD players and was one of the very few which showed my own player the door through its bass articulation and power...

The output impedance of the Naim's well supplied (in this one) output stage will drive almost anything within reason and a Mayware type adaptor makes little to no audible insertion difference I found. At the time, we used Cable Talk Reference 3 interconnects, Chord Anthem (but they're a bit contrived and coloured by today's standards) and Signature, but to be honest, the differences weren't huge as they would be if the Naim's line buffer wasn't as good (interesting topic, matching impedances, as this is where many of the cable differences come from, once they've added their own flavour to the pot).

I understand that Mark Grant is able to somehow shoe-horn his HD1000 cables into a DIN plug and a set of these with either Neutrik or WBT plugs the other end would be a great and not expensive match - far better than anything under £300 from a Chord Co dealer I reckon.

Lastly, if you want to make summat yourself, try the Van Damme cable below -

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Van-damme-Blue-Series-Studio-2-pair-Multicore-per-metre-/350370220500?pt=UK_Consumer_Professional_RL&hash=item5193b149d4

I don't know what to recommend regarding wiring it, but with the Croft to Quad 33, I used one conductor for +ve, t'other for return and connected the drain/screen wires to the returns at the phono plug end. It may also be ok to connect the two conductors together for +ve and use the drains for return. Hopefully, one of the engineers here can suggest the best way to utilise the conductors - it's a good sounding cable and I used heatshrink to separate the two pairs at the phono end, with a short length of adhesive-lined heatshrink to neaten things up. I used the Neutrik/Rean plugs here and these are fine as well as cheap :)

No Regrets
29-11-2010, 15:44
Hello Dave,

Thank you for your reply. I have sent an email inquiry to the Mark Grant website and am waiting to hear a response. I do not know if they sell to customers in the USA though.

The Mayware type adaptor sounds like an interesting option that would allow me to use various brands of interconnects to let me look for that perfect synergy.

Would you happen to have a link to where I could buy this Mayware adaptor that you could share with me?

A question that I have is: I believe that depending on the Naim piece being used, they either use a 4 pin or a 5 pin din connector. Do you recall what the CDS2 used for their audio signal out?

As a side note, do you think the CDS2 is still a viable player today? I am primarily a vinyl guy, but would like to purchase a cd player that sounds great to play recordings that I do not have on vinyl. I remember hearing a CDS2 back around the year 2000 and it really left a nice impression on me. From my memory, it didn't have the typically digital nasties that I usually have heard. Seeing as how we are now a decade later, I wonder how digital players have advanced.

Thank you for your help.

Marco
29-11-2010, 16:48
Hi Don,

I'm sure that Dave will be back shortly to advise :)

I owned a CDS2/XPS (later upgraded to XPS2) for around four years and it is a superb CD player, sounding indeed somewhat like a good turntable. However, if you really want an 'analogue sounding' Naim CD player, then the one to go for is the original CDS, with CDPS PSU.

The CDS used the highly regarded Philips TDA 1541 single crown DAC chips, which in my experience are the most analogue sounding chips known to man - not in a warm & romantic sense, but in the sense that one is listening to real music, as opposed to an inferior facsimile of such.

The CDS also had the far superior 'top hat' puck, which really made a positive clamping connection with the disc - way better than the horrid round thing that replaced it!

The good news is that, if you can find one in good nick, a CDS/CDPS will cost you less than a CDS2/XPS - I would imagine £1200-1300 for the two.

Anyway, I just thought I'd chip in with that before Mr Randle contributes his erudite thoughts :cool:

I'm sure that Mark will be able to help out with your cable, too! Selling to US customers shouldn't be a problem.

Marco.

DSJR
29-11-2010, 16:52
A CDS-2 will blow most vinyl players away - IMO of course. it has a weight and authority that 99% of CD players either don't have at all, or they have the bass but it's splodgy and indistinct.

The output is a 180 degree 5 pin DIN wired on pins 2, 3 and 5 as convention dictates.

The Mayware adaptor is also known as a Milty

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Milty-5-Pin-Din-2-RCA-Phono-Adaptor-/390258221901?pt=UK_Computing_CablesConnectors_RL&hash=item5add33e34d

...and I think from memory the left and right channels may be reversed too ;) Don't worry, it works a treat despite this and it really is as transparent as needs be until you get your interconnects decided.

DSJR
29-11-2010, 17:12
Hi Don,

I'm sure that Dave will be back shortly to advise :)

I owned a CDS2/XPS (later upgraded to XPS2) for around four years and it is a superb CD player, sounding indeed somewhat like a good turntable. However, if you really want an 'analogue sounding' Naim CD player, then the one to go for is the original CDS, with CDPS PSU.

The CDS used the highly regarded Philips TDA 1541 single crown DAC chips, which in my experience are the most analogue sounding chips known to man - not in a warm & romantic sense, but in the sense that one is listening to real music, as opposed to an inferior facsimile of such.

The CDS also had the far superior 'top hat' puck, which really made a positive clamping connection with the disc - way better than the horrid round thing that replaced it!

The good news is that, if you can find one in good nick, a CDS/CDPS will cost you less than a CDS2/XPS - I would imagine £1200-1300 for the two.

Anyway, I just thought I'd chip in with that before Mr Randle contributes his erudite thoughts :cool:

I'm sure that Mark will be able to help out with your cable, too! Selling to US customers shouldn't be a problem.

Marco.

Marco, I'm really worried about this fervour for the CDS and mainly because it has "the" Philips chipset. A more contrived and coloured top end player would be hard to envisage IMO and my Micro (my very sample when it was Ricardo's demonstrator), long before the support and clock updates it had in the late nineties, totally annihilated it in a Naim system at the time (wasn't just me who compared them either, but most of the S99 staff [with open minds] agreed at the time, back in the late eighties). To my ears, the CDS stomped its character all over every disc played, so much so that the early Naim CD's were apparently made from digital dubs of the CD master disc played on a CDS (if you get my meaning). To me, this machine sounds squidgy, ill-defined and neither involves you like a good turntable, nor has the clarity of a good CD player.

To my ears, the CDI was a far better machine, if a little "smaller" sounding (I did compare them) and it's a great shame that these latter players are nearing the end of their lives (until the mech gives out). The CD2/CDX weren't in the same league IMO.

No, for me at any rate, the CDS2/XPS2 was in a different plane altogether, offering real involvement, a 3-D soundstage when taken away from the flat-perspective Naim amps and crude connecting leads of the period and a bass power and depth to die for, which I doubt very many modern machines could approach, let alone better. I'm told the Rega Isis - Valve machine is probably where you should be looking these days possibly...

I'm not trying to be confrontational, but could never understand the original CDS I'm afraid. It was the CDS-2/XPS2 that showed me what CD could really do for music (the Linn CD12 only did this in top end systems and the giant Krells of the period just sounded larger than life to me). Having said this, the XPS could snarl like a hive of angry bees if the mains wasn't to its liking and operationally, the CDS2 is a toy by any standards when compared to its peers. If you can live with this though, you should find the sound superb still. Please remember that these machines are ten years or so old and may be getting crabby (like me :lol:)

Mark Grant
29-11-2010, 17:54
I have sent an email inquiry to the Mark Grant website and am waiting to hear a response. I do not know if they sell to customers in the USA though.


Hello Don,

I have just sent you an email, the prices are without UK VAT ( Tax) for export, we post anywhere :)

It will be the same cable as this:
http://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazine/equipment/0710/mark_grant_g1000hd.htm

http://markgrantcables.co.uk/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=43_1&products_id=165

But fitted with a Din plug and two RCA

Mark.

Marco
29-11-2010, 18:04
Hi Dave,

I'm not doubting what you heard, old chap, but we'll just have to agree to differ on this one. I also heard the CDS in an all-Naim system (52/135s/DBLs) and "squidgy and ill-defined" it wasnt.

It was quite the opposite, actually!

However, there are way too many variables to argue about what was happening in both the systems we were listening to years ago, so I'll leave Don to ask any further questions he may have on this subject or on Mark's cables :)

Marco.

No Regrets
29-11-2010, 20:19
Hello all,

I had just written a lengthly reply and for some reason it didn't post. I will try again, but it will probably be much shorter this time around.

Mark, I wanted to thank you for your email....I have sent a reply back to you.

Dave, Thank you for sharing the link to the Milty. Your description of the CDS2 is how I remember it to sound so many years ago. The weight given to the instruments and the solid foundation of the music was ingrained into my memory.

In regards to the Isis, even at the used prices, it is out of my budget.

Marco, I truly appreciate your comments as well. I have never heard the original CDS, but have heard players with the TDA1541....even my lowly Rotel 955 uses it and does a fine job for use as background music at least. I'm sure with everything that Naim does with their R&D that they can make the most out of that chipset.

I have always believed that all of us have an uniquely individual set of ears, which result in each of us hearing things at times differently from one another. Also, we each quite possibly listen for different aspects of the musical presentation....meaning some aspects are more important to one than the other. So with that in mind, I greatly respect everyone's opinions and am truly greatful for people willing to share what they hear with others.

As nice as the original CDS probably is, I will not pursue it because not only does it still fetch a great deal of money, it no longer is serviceable. So once it no longer works, it is nothing more than a very large paper weight.

The CDS2 is even more money and is truthfully stretching my budget more than what I am comfortable with for a digital product, but is much less than a used CDS3 or 555. The CDS2 is still serviceable at the present time...for how much longer, I do not know because they are no longer making the transport mechanisms for this machine. They have a supply in stock, but it is of course a finite supply. I'd be lying if I didn't say that this bothers me.

Has anyone heard the Yba Lectour CD2 Delta player? I haven't been able to find much in the form of reviews yet, but am told it has an analog presentation.

Best regards,
Don

P.S. Please forgive my double posting if the other one missing in action eventually shows up.

No Regrets
29-11-2010, 20:53
Hello all,

I had just written a lengthly reply and for some reason it didn't post. I will try again, but it will probably be much shorter this time around.

Mark, I wanted to thank you for your email....I have sent a reply back to you.

Dave, your description of the CDS2 is how I remember it to sound so many years ago. The weight given to the instruments and the solid foundation of the music was ingrained into my memory.

In regards to the Isis, even at the used prices, it is out of my budget.

Marco, I truly appreciate your comments as well. I have never heard the original CDS, but have heard players with the TDA1541....even my lowly Rotel 955 uses it and does a fine job for use as background music at least. I'm sure with everything that Naim does with their R&D that they can make the most out of that chipset.

I have always believed that all of us have an uniquely individual set of ears, which result in each of us hearing things at times differently from one another. Also, we each quite possibly listen for different aspects of the musical presentation....meaning some aspects are more important to one than the other. So with that in mind, I greatly respect everyone's opinions and am truly greatful for people willing to share what they hear with others.

As nice as the original CDS probably is, I will not pursue it because not only does it still fetch a great deal of money, it no longer is serviceable. So once it no longer works, it is nothing more than a very large paper weight.

The CDS2 is even more money and is truthfully stretching my budget more than what I am comfortable with for a digital product, but is much less than a used CDS3 or 555. The CDS2 is still serviceable at the present time...for how much longer, I do not know because they are no longer making the transport mechanisms for this machine. They have a supply in stock, but it is of course a finite supply. I'd be lying if I didn't say that this bothers me.

Has anyone heard the Yba Lectour CD2 Delta player? I haven't been able to find much in the form of reviews yet, but am told it has an analog presentation.

Best regards,
Don

DSJR
29-11-2010, 21:48
The "original sound" is the original sound, no matter how our ears interpret it. I love and respect the CDS-2 as it fully addresses the main criticisms of the CD medium - spatially flat, lean and unexpressive bass and bleached tonalities. This comes through almost irrespective of system it's connected to and to me that's special indeed. Maybe "the truth" isn't quite like this either, but in this instance I don't care, as when listening for hours to the CDS2/XPS2, I was able to completely forget the mechanics of CD playback and just enjoy the copious CD's I played on it. I can't really say any more in its favour - it just did it all at the time.

I'm sure there are other players out there which do the above and maybe Marco's ton-up vintage Sony pair are loads better in sonics (I'm taking the lush construction and operation for granted here) and if you can find them and get Audiocom to update them, the total cost may well be less for all I know.

Sorry, I still feel the original CDS is pants as a decent CD player. It was just the first with a Naim badge on it, so the first machine that the flat-earthers would take notice of as being any good (been there and witnessed it - Messenger, Frankland and Steward have a lot to answer for IMO).

No Regrets
30-11-2010, 01:00
Hi Dave,

Thank you for sharing your additional comments in regards to the CDS2. I have made an offer to purchase the unit that we have been discussing. Hopefully he will accept it. If not, the hunt begins all over again.

Best regards,
Don

DSJR
30-11-2010, 09:24
Good luck :) I hope our memories haven't let me/us down.

No Regrets
30-11-2010, 13:24
Thanks Dave,

I'll let you know if I get it. I appreciate your help.

Marco
30-11-2010, 16:16
Hope it goes well, Don - keep us posted :)

Marco.

No Regrets
30-11-2010, 16:44
Thank you Marco for the well wishes as well to everyone who was willing to help me with this.

I have talked with the seller today and he has accepted my offer. I will be bringing him the money and picking the player up in person tomorrow, God willing. He lives 3 and 1/2 hours drive each way from me, but I'd much rather transport it myself than trust the carriers service. Nothing but horror stories from what I hear.

Take care,
Don

No Regrets
02-12-2010, 20:13
Hello everyone!

Well, I made my road trip yesterday to pick up my new CDS2/xps. Wow, I cannot tell you how wonderful this gentleman was who sold me this. He and his family were so welcoming of me into their home. He had everything packed up so nice, but he said that he would like me to take everything out of the boxes to look at them in person to make sure that I would like their appearance, etc. It was important for him to know that I would be happy with them. He said that I should not feel pressured into buying them and that if for any reason I didn't want to continue with the transaction, that it would be totally fine. Let me tell you, I felt like a little boy unwrapping Christmas presents. With great excitement and anticipation, I very carefully opened the boxes, and gently pulled the units out of their plastic wrap. Wow, they looked like they were absolutely brand new!!!! Not a single mark, scratch, or blemmish. No fading....it simply looked like new. I can't tell you how excited I was. He took his time and explained to me about the various screws both in the bottom of the player as well as in the transport. He explain the connections and the directionality of the cables. Reminded me of the fact that this was the upgraded Super Black Burndy. He had two pucks that he included and explained they each have a different affect on the sound. He included a Chord Anthem din to din cable, which at the present time I cannot make use of because I do not yet have a Naim preamp. He then included a Chord Cobra din to rca interconnect cable so that I would be able to listen to the player as soon as I was able to install it into my system. What a great guy! He offered me all kinds of tips and advice in regards to setting up the player as well as the importance of various types of platforms etc. We then very carefully packed everything up securely, visited some more and talked about audio and various systems and sent me home with a tray of home made treats for my wife! What a great experience. He truly is a great gentleman.

So today, my wife took time off from work so that she could assist me with installing this into my system. She knew how anxious and excited I was to be able to hear it. Wow, this is such a great player. Right from the get go it sounds wonderful. No digital nasties, full sounding, with nice weight given to the instruments, dynamic, but plays with a certain ease about it....so effortlessly. I read so often that Naim equipment really improves over time as it warms up. All I can say is that if this is true....I will be over the top with joy because I am happy with how it is right now. It sounds exactly like how I remembered it to sound so many years ago. I can say that I have no regrets about this purchase!

Thanks for everyone's help and advice. It really means alot to me.

Best wishes,
No Regrets

Alex_UK
02-12-2010, 21:11
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!

DSJR
02-12-2010, 21:50
The CDS-2 doesn't need days and days and days and days and months and years to sound at its best :mental: 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.

No Regrets
03-12-2010, 00:14
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
04-12-2010, 10:45
The CDS-2 doesn't need days and days and days and days and months and years to sound at its best :mental: 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
04-12-2010, 11:28
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...) -

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q8/DSJR_photos/DSCF0606.jpg

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
04-12-2010, 13:41
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
04-12-2010, 18:08
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...) -

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q8/DSJR_photos/DSCF0606.jpg

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
04-12-2010, 18:10
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/showthread.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/magazine/equipment/0710/mark_grant_g1000hd.htm

http://www.adventuresinhifiaudio.com/02/06/2010/mark-grant-g1000hd-are-these-cables-as-good-as-some-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
04-12-2010, 18:12
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
04-12-2010, 18:18
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 :eyebrows:

No Regrets
04-12-2010, 18:51
was that here:
http://www.pinkfishmedia.net/forum/showthread.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/magazine/equipment/0710/mark_grant_g1000hd.htm

http://www.adventuresinhifiaudio.com/02/06/2010/mark-grant-g1000hd-are-these-cables-as-good-as-some-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
04-12-2010, 18:52
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 :doh: 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:)

No Regrets
04-12-2010, 19:18
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 :doh: 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:)

Thank you Ron for the advice...I will be very careful with the pucks. I will admit though that I would be very apprehensive to cleaning the laser.

I know my wife will become more comfortable with time playing the CDS2, she just knows how much I love the various pieces in my system and she would feel bad if she inadvertently did something wrong that would damage anything.....so she is just extra cautious. It's kind of like when you buy a new car. In the very beginning you tend to park away from any other cars for fear of receiving a ding in your car door....you are always more cautious of everything when you first receive them.

Thanks again Ron.

No Regrets
04-12-2010, 19:21
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 :eyebrows:


Sounds good Dave, I will keep one handy. Thankfully I have two pucks, but I will be very careful with them both, none the less.

Best wishes,
Don

DSJR
04-12-2010, 21:19
Naim suggested blu-tac for the little turntable and puck innards - depends what suits you best. Blu-tac is great for laptop CD/DVD drives I've found, as they can get similarly grunged up over the years.