Need help Cary CD-308 or Naim CD5i

Again like a lot of things a matter of personal preference. The Cary much to my suprise is a great sounding player. Very good on bass. But the Naim, well, it's hard to beat their stuff. Detailed and just perfectly delicate sounding. I'd probably go with the Naim but the Cary I heard sounded very good with my Krell amp. I have a Rega Apollo but either of the two you mentioned would be my upgrade path.

I've gone up the Naim path from 5i to 5x to CDX2. The 5x is the sweet spot. For once a reviewer (Stereophile) got it right. If you go for a 5i, get the new version, which is now 5i (i in italics). Different DAC. The original 5i was all drive but low on subtlety. It's still more "listenable" than many players, though, and doesn't induce fatigue. I've since left Naim for tubes and have yet to find a new cd player. Naim players (up through the CDX2) all share these traits: darker sound, a bit too much bite on strings for my taste but organic sounding. Not bad overall. A bit low in resolution (particularly the original 5i) though. Go for a 5x if you can swing the cash, even for a used one (Naim's service support is very good, as is the build quality and durability). I don't recommend the CDX2, though. I've never heard the new 5i (italics), though, but definitely at least call Promusica in Chicago and get the straight dope on it. Promusica is the best, most knowledgeable Naim dealer IMO so if anyone would know, it'd be them.

Thanks that helped quite a bit, what I was actually thinking to do was I could the older 5i and later get a wadia separate dac, do you think that would make a big difference, thanks.

Paul

Paul,
I may be wrong but I'm pretty sure that Naim never puts digital outputs on their players. So the DAC idea is a non-starter. Someone please feel free to correct me if I'm mistaken.

The 5i does not have digital outputs. I looked at this DAC previously and while I think it sounded fine in an all Naim (save speakers) system, in my system it sounded too dark.

I have not done a comparison to the Naim, but the Cary 308 is a nice player, the 308T even better, but a few hundred dollars more if I recall.

Sorry, that should have been CDP, not DAC in my last post.

Jond's right -- there's no digital output on a Naim player. Naim says it's because you absolutely cannot improve upon an integrated cd player solution due to jitter and so forth. Sometimes I wonder if it's yet another Naim trick to keep you in their system approach "flock", though (Most people who own Naim own ALL Naim).

Well guys thanks I didn't realize there was no digital out so
I am going to have to scratch the Naim off my list I definitely want something with a digital out, I was also considering the Sony SCD 777ES even though its out of my price range, but one of my concerns with that player is there is not that many sa-cds out there and is the player capable of good redbook play back or would a wadia 830 be a better choice.

As a FYI, I don't think the Cary 308 has a digital out either. I have the 308T (tubed version of the 308) and it does NOT have a digital out and assume the standard 308 would be the same.

I haven't heard the Cary but the 777ES is fantastic in nearly every way. I really thought of replacing my AA Prima mk2 with one but in the end, the AA won for me. However, the 777ES is a real detail and resolution machine with superlative dynamics. It was all a bit too much for me actually - the Prima has better texture and more accurate timbre which are things I value more than detail for the sake of detail.

For an audiophile, the 777 is hard to beat for the money and its build quality is second to none. For a music lover however, the Audio Aero Prima Mk2 is the best I have heard in my system (and I've had a dozen CD players).

You should also consider the Musical Fidelity A308. It is massive but beautiful to look at as well as hear. It will be smoother and a little more forgiving than the 777 but still an outstanding player. I haven't compared it to my Prima in my system but I think they are fairly similar in style. But I am a tube guy and for digital, I find tube magic is essential.

Arthur

Do you think that the sacd format will be discontinued shortly
and do you think the sony would play redbook as good as the musical thanks a million.