Naim Uniti Atom & CD Player/Transport

slashert

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Hi I have a Naim Uniti Atom played through KEF LS50 speakers. I mainly stream from Qobuz and listen to Internet Radio.
I have recently been looking at my smallish CD collection in light of my partner saying she liked and missed playing CD's and
so have just started looking at CD players/transports. Have also looked at SACD players (I have no SACD's but am interested in the upscaling provided to give better sound?) But also aware of the increase in cost to get possible increase in sound quality.
I have looked at reviews of the following:
Rotel CD11 Tribute
Denon DCD 1600NE
Denon DCD 2500NE
Arcam CDs50
Audiolab 6000CDT

My questions are do I need a transport only and make use of the DAC in the NAIM or do I need a CD Player with Integrated DAC to test a different DAC against the
NAIM. Are SACD players worth looking at for improved SQ? I have a budget of approx. £500 so I realise I maybe looking at used equipment in some cases.
Not sure which way to go. Would be interested in any thoughts.
Thanks
 
If you want small format and can use the Naim digital inputs then have a look at the Tangent CDII or the Pro-ject CD boxes, save the cash and buy more cds. As you will be using them as a transport then there will be very little difference in the box just reading the disc. Or if you have an old CD/dvd/blue ray player not being used then just use that. If full size is ok then the Cambridge CXC is sufficient.

If you are ok with second hand one of the Pioneer stable platter machines will do a great job of reading the disc, using the Naim DAC. PDS904/901 are the top of the range but the PDS705 is also a good player.
 
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SACD players are capable of dragging that little bit more information out of a disc. Out of your list the Denon DCD 2500 NE is by far the best. You would be better off using the analogue outputs on that player as the Denon's AL32+ processor is a brilliant bit of kit.

You can pick one up for a penny under £1K which is an absolute steal. I own one as well as a Marantz sa8005 SACD player and it is the better player.

 
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Ugg10 & gibbsy thank you for your responses. As you can tell I am something of a novice regarding ’separates’. I do have a Blueray player and will try hooking this up to the Atom (when I get a cable delivered 😄) and see what the results are like. Should I be spending the budget on a transport eg the audiolab or the Pro-ject cd player as Ugg10 suggested, or is it wiser to up the budget and go used for a better cd/ Sacd player eg one of the Denons? At the end of the day I am trying for the best sq. Also not sure that I would be allowed to accommodate the pioneers, they look huge.
 
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The Denon 2500 isn't small either. It's the standard 434mm wide, 138mm high and has a depth of 331mm. No light weight either tipping the scales at 13.7kg. The Audiolab is a mere 5.4kg in comparison. To me weight means stability, a more rigid chassis with less vibration.
 
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Why not look at ripping your cd collection, or wouldn't that fulfill the yen to 'play a cd'?

A used Naim Unity Serve is small and available at or a little over budget.

I think you may be pleasantly surprised at results from the blu-ray player, in which case buy more cds:)

Jim
 
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