Naim CDX2 CD-player

Naim traditionally does not announce many important parameters; however, it is known that the company always very thoughtfully approaches to the problems of power, shielding, noise immunity and mechanical reliability of the structure. Naim CDX2 uses improved transport, the creators of which have made efforts to minimize vibrations and mechanical resonances. New DACs, two Burr-Brown PCM chips operating in mono mode are also used. Externally, the player looks decently, it has a steel case except the front figured aluminum panel. The branded loading tray is pulled out and returned back manually. The kit includes a plastic clip for disks. The originality of Naim was fully manifested already before the device was turned on - more truly, in a number of unsuccessful attempts to do this. As it turned out, we should remove the transport screw from under the bottom, install a plug for the external power supply that was missing and use the remote control to select RCA output (because DIN output is active in the default mode). During the last operation, we were able to closely examine the display and the console. The display is a small window, in which one single position is shown in green digits at any given time - the track number, or the time, or some other data. A remote control is plastic, versatile and looks a bit cheap for a device of this price category.

The Naim CDX2 shows a very specific and unusual sound. First of all, it loves speed and drive and so much that all the time trying to fasten the pace of reproducible records. However, this subjectively perceived speed-up is not always appropriate. In particular, in subtle and lyrical vocals, or in dramatic tragic peaks like Dies Irae from Verdi's requiem, or in a triumphant emotion of soprano, tenor and bass trio in Lux Aeternae, a strange transformation of emotions takes place from the same place. In the tracks with cheerful mood, particularly rock, metal, the player succeeds perfectly well. Due to the rhythm and iron tempo, adrenaline overflows. The unusual elaboration of plans also attracts attention - they are poorly deployed in depth, and the scene is entirely concentrated in the middle.