Description
Naim CD5 XS – 2016
Here, we have an unusually fine, and fairly late, example of the excellent CD5 XS CD player. Condition is exceptional, one owner from new.
Unusually for a Naim CD player, it’s armed with a digital output so can be partnered with the physically matching N-DAC or any other DAC of your choosing. Mind you, it’s pretty damned good just as it stands.
So that’s the good news out of the way. The bad, this is us talking after all, is that Naim can no longer supply replacement Philips VAM1202 CD mechanisms for this range. In use, they have proved to be long-lived but you have to accept that lifetime may be finite, even if it is unknown.
Serial number is 402124. Final RRP was £1950.
We will supply a 3 month warranty but, after that, you are on your own.
Comes in the original packaging with Naim mains lead, grey DIN interconnect, Puck, manual and handset.
Reviews
description: CD5 XS
Described as Naim’s premium entry-level player, the CD5 XS doesn’t just sound better than the CD5si: it also gives you more scope for growth. You can make its sound even more expressive by adding our FlatCap XS power supply component. Alternatively, you can use its transformer-coupled digital output to upgrade it with our external DAC. Add an ND5 XSnetwork player and Naim Audio amplification and you’ll have an accessible high-end separates system capable of delivering a seriously convincing sound no matter how you choose to listen.
The CD5 XS CD player has probably seen the most changes on the journey from its CD5x predecessor within the XS Series. Almost every element, with the exception of the mains transformer and the disc mechanism, is new or significantly revised.
Fundamental elements including critical analogue circuitry have been updated to extract yet more music from every CD. Also new in the CD5 XS is the inclusion, for the first time on a Naim CD player, of a transformer-coupled digital output that provides the choice of digital or analogue signal output.
Improving on the award winning CD5x was a tough ask, but through scrutiny and refinement of every last engineering detail, the class-leading Naim CD5 XS delivers newly dramatic and vibrant music.
The CD5 XS uses every possible development from earlier and more costly Naim CD players to help establish it as the reference entry-level CD player. The drawer and transport suspension is borrowed from the CDX2; a low inertia, resonance-controlling device that ensures rigid coupling and mild damping without adding to the task of the drive servo mechanism by increasing rotational inertia.
The zinc and extruded aluminium casework is a development of that used in the existing 5 series and results in an inert case with great resistance to pollution from external vibration.
The CD5 XS continues the trend of the latest Naim reference products by including RCA phono sockets alongside the traditionally used DIN sockets. RCA phonos allow easy connection to non-Naim amplifiers with a variety of interconnect cables allowing fine-tuning of the sound which is potentially beneficial when used in a budget non-Naim system.
| AUDIO OUTPUTS | |
|---|---|
| Analogue Outputs | DIN, RCA |
| Line Outputs Fixed (level) | 2.1V rms at 1kHz |
| Output Impedance | 10Ω maximum |
| Minimum Load Impedance | 10kΩ |
| Frequency Response | 10Hz – 20kHz, +0.1/-0.5dB |
| thd+n | <0.1%, 10Hz -18kHz at full level |
| Phase Response | Linear phase, absolute phase correct |
| De-emphasis | ±0.1dB referred to main response |
| Digital Outputs (type) | S/PDIF, 75Ω BNC |
| UPGRADES | |
| Power Supply | FlatCap XS, HiCap, SuperCap |
| Other | DAC |
| CONNECTIVITY | |
| Infra Red | RC5 |
| Remote Input | 3.5mm jack on rear (RC5) |
| RS232 | Optional (DE9 female) |
| FORMATS | |
| CD Formats | Red Book |
| Disc Compatibility | CD, CD-R |
| POWER | |
| Mains Supply | 100V, 115V, 230V; 50 or 60Hz |
| PHYSICAL | |
| Dimensions | 70 x 432 x 301mm (H x W x D) |
| FINISH | |
| Front | Brushed and black anodised |
| Case | Black powder coated |
