Naim CD3

[iceman911]

Hi has anyone got a Naim CD3? If you have what's it like? I am looking at getting a CD player like this starting at around £400-£600. And i have found the Naim for £450 from a hi-fi dealer. Any other recogmendations apart from the Naim. I have also demo'd the Arcam CD73 and 192.

Thanks all.

Dan

 

[Mr_Sukebe]

£450 sounds like a lot for a CD3.
Note that the CD3 was replaced by the CD3.5 a good few years back. The .5 adding the option to upgrade with a *cap power supply.

Can't say that the CD3 is a favorite of mine. It's VERY boppy, fun and upfront, but part of the trade off is that it can come across harsh with the wrong recordings and especially so when matched with bright gear. Might be a good match with an MF amp or Spendor speakers, both of which are a lot more laid back.

 

[9designs2]

Did you try it in your own set-up, or with the same equipment at a dealers.... Was it better than the Arcam stuff ?
Also try a Linn Genki, Roksan or Rega for about the same money.

 

[iceman911]

I demo'd the Arcam's in the shop just quickly as i was passing by. Most likely going to go back and listen to the Arcam and the Link Genki as they both look good. Also quite like the look of the Cyrus as that is in that price range and gets some nice reviews. Seen the Cyrus CD6S for around £500. And the Genki for around £800.

Have either of your listend to the Cyrus or the Genki?

Thanks Again.
Dan

 

[9designs2]

I demo'd the Arcam's in the shop just quickly as i was passing by. Most likely going to go back and listen to the Arcam and the Link Genki as they both look good. Also quite like the look of the Cyrus as that is in that price range and gets some nice reviews. Seen the Cyrus CD6S for around £500. And the Genki for around £800.

Have either of your listend to the Cyrus or the Genki?

Thanks Again.
Dan

I'm a Linn owner so familiar with the sound, a bit over priced, they have now discontinued the Genki, it was about £1K, can normally pick a used one up for around £600. Not heard the Cyrus range in years. For this sort of money you can get new Rega Apollo.....heard one, it seems good.
Audiolab have just been launched on the market and are also getting some good reviews.... there's plenty to try out

 

[Mr_Sukebe]

I've heard the Genki. Clean and polite, really didn't do it for me. The Cyrus just left me a bit underwhelmed. Nice mid range, not great at the extremes.

If I were looking for a s/h CD player in that league, I'd be looking for a Quad 99. Took me a whole bunch of mods to my transport/DAC combo to be able to outperform one.

 

[iceman911]

Going to go and try the Cyrus CD6s at a hi-fi shop in Leamington Spa. Also going to try and compare the Arcam CD73 with it to get a better feel for them both, as ive been told that there isnt much difference in them. Also been advised that the Genki is a good machine, but really i want to get a Arcam Av350 amp as i would use this to connect my CD player and speakers through this. [I have the Kef3005's atm and connect them to my PC, through this prospective amp].

Thanks for all your help, and will let you know how the Cyrus goes tomorrow evening!

 

[-Ad-]

Audiolab are a sub-division of TAG Mclaren. They aren't particularly well know but are apparently good. The CD3 for £450 is a complete rip off, as ive seen them on that auction site for much less, with the Cd5 up at that price range.

I demo'd my MA B2 speakers with an arcam A65 and CD73 hooked up to them which sounded pretty good. But even with that setup, stands and the room in sevenoaks, it doesn't come close to my old skool setup:


- Arcam delta 290 integrated. 10 years old and is identical for the far more expensive alpha 9 (cost £100).

- Heavily modified marantz cd-63SE. Cost me £12 to buy a broken one, which i fixed. Cue £250 in new parts ranging from a new audiocom superclock 2 + custom PSU, replaced all caps with rubycon ZL's, new op-amps, 0.1% tol resistors, loads of audiocom voltage regulators. Anyhow, i would like to see if any of the CDP's in the OP can come close to sound produced from my player now

 

[Mr_Sukebe]

Audiolab are a sub-division of TAG Mclaren. They aren't particularly well know but are apparently good.
The CD3 for £450 is a complete rip off, as ive seen them on that auction site for much less, with the Cd5 up at that price range.

Tag sold off Audiolab a couple of years back, hence why they're now back in their original cases. They're also now built in China (not that it's a bad thing, but hey). Part of the result is that they're comparatively cheap against how much they used to cost. Whether they're any good is again down to personal preference.
Ref the cost of the CD5, I agree with that. I sold my own 5i for £550, and have no doubts that it was a good deal better than a 3.

 

[iceman911]

Got back from Leamington Spa earlier. The demo went well and the Cyrus is very impressive for £600, seems to have a lot of clarity and detail in there. Quite amazed at the size of it [its really small!] Tryed it with one of the Cyrus amps, cant remember the name but it will be the cheapest one.
Quite a good demo overall because they had the same speakers as i have [Kef3005 not ideal hi-fi speakers but very nice home cinema speakers, they connect to my amp then to the Computer ]

Also going to try and demo the CD73, and possibly the CD192 as i may be able to stretch to that in early next year.

Thanks.
Dan