Here's the feature I liked best: The 7.1-channel Analog Direct input uses the channel-balance adjustments specified for the digital inputs and adds analog bass…
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Other setup pages permit the user to define inputs by name and to select video source, digital audio source, analog audio source, gain offset, and audio preset (tone controls, channel trims, and lip-sync offset) for each input. Preferred processing modes (DPL IIx, Neo:6, Dolby EX, Surround 6.1, etc.) can also be preset, and are accessible from the remote control. All in all, the Controller is extremely logically structured.
Sidebar: Recordings In The Round
SCHUMANN: Piano Quartets in E-flat Minor (Op.47) & C Minor
Trio Parnassus: Yamei Yu, violin; Hariolf Schlichtig, viola; Michael Gross, cello. With: Chia Chou, piano.
MDG 903 1414-6 (SACD/CD)
Yet another glorious example of near-ideal re-creation of chamber music in multichannel sound. MDG's warm yet detailed recording presents the ensemble as a coherent group across the front of a room that seems not much larger than a small rehearsal hall. With this intimacy, the augmented Trio Parnassus delivers spirited and big-hearted performances…
THE SHINS: Wincing the Night Away
Sub Pop SP 705 (CD). 2007. James Mercer, Joe Chiccarelli, prods.; Phil Ek, Sean Flora, Hiro Ninagawa, Brian Deck, Lars Fox, engs. AAD? TT: 41:52
Performance ****
Sonics ****
Sub Pop SP 705 (CD). 2007. James Mercer, Joe Chiccarelli, prods.; Phil Ek, Sean Flora, Hiro Ninagawa, Brian Deck, Lars Fox, engs. AAD? TT: 41:52
Performance ****
Sonics ****
Being in a pop band is easy, right? You just strum up some lightweight melodies, layer in some delicate harmonies, add a touch of minimal drumming, and Poof! It's "(Listen to the) Flower People." Yet another foofy guitar band singing about Luddites and lollipops.
Guys in real bands—you know, rock'n'roll, punk, or just rock bands—think of pop-band dudes as dreamers…
Finding myself in the Northwest on business, I reckoned I'd grab some Seattle dim sum with my nephew before heading my rental car south on I-5 to visit old friends in Oregon. "You live here," I said to Sean. "What are the good radio stations?"
"I have no clue," he said. "I never listen to the radio."
What My nephew lives in Seattle because he's getting a doctorate in ethnomusicology at the University of Washington. I know he loves music—heck, he practically eats, breathes, and dreams music. "So how do you hear new music?"
"Mostly, I don't," Sean said. "My friends burn me…
Naim's new "statement" CD player, the CD555 ($20,300 by itself, $28,150 with PS555 power supply), breaks no new technological ground. Rather, in typical Naim fashion, it attempts to optimize 16-bit/44.1kHz CD performance by paying fanatical attention to the devilish details. It doesn't play the DVD-Video, DVD-Audio, or SACD formats, nor does it have a digital output—and it doesn't create an illusion of higher resolution by upsampling the data.
Encased in an almost forbiddingly heavy, precision-milled box of black aluminum with edges that are almost sharp as razors, the CD555…
Listening
Virtually everything in my system has changed since I last reviewed a Naim CD player: the CD5, in April 2001 (footnote 1). Since then too much time has passed for me to make any comparisons, but the CD555 delivered all of the sonic attributes for which Naim is known: taut, punchy bass, rhythmic agility, transient clarity, exceptional resolution of low-level detail, and overall transparency. Like other Naim CD players I've heard, the CD555 managed all of this without sounding etched, bright, or harmonically bleached, and delivered weight and body while never sounding "zippy."…
Virtually everything in my system has changed since I last reviewed a Naim CD player: the CD5, in April 2001 (footnote 1). Since then too much time has passed for me to make any comparisons, but the CD555 delivered all of the sonic attributes for which Naim is known: taut, punchy bass, rhythmic agility, transient clarity, exceptional resolution of low-level detail, and overall transparency. Like other Naim CD players I've heard, the CD555 managed all of this without sounding etched, bright, or harmonically bleached, and delivered weight and body while never sounding "zippy."…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: CD player with outboard power supply. Formats supported: CD, CD-R, CD-RW. Analog output jacks: RCA, DIN. No digital outputs. Maximum output level: 2.0V RMS at 1kHz. Output impedance: 10 ohms. Frequency response: 10Hz–20kHz, +0.1dB/–0.5dB. Distortion & noise: <0.1%, 10Hz–18kHz, at full level.
Dimensions: 17" (432mm) W by 4.5" (114mm) H by 12" (314mm) D. Weight: 50 lbs (23kg), CD player; 17" (432mm) W by 3.6" (90mm) H by 12" (320mm) D. Weight: 31 lbs (14kg), power supply.
Serial Number Of Unit Reviewed: 236803.
Price: $28,150 total (…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog Sources: Continuum Audio Labs Caliburn, Kuzma Reference XL, Metronome Gaia turntables; Continuum Audio Labs Cobra, Graham Phantom, Kuzma Airline tonearms; Lyra Titan (stereo & mono), Lyra Skala, Air Tight PC-1 cartridges.
Digital Sources: Musical Fidelity kW DM25 DAC & transport, BPT-modified Alesis Masterlink hard-disk recorder.
Preamplification: Manley Steelhead, ASR Basis Exclusive phono preamplifiers, Musical Fidelity kWP preamplifier.
Power Amplifier: Musical Fidelity kW monoblocks.
Loudspeakers: Wilson Audio Specialties…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I tested the Naim CD555 from its RCA jacks. The maximum output level was 2.04V RMS and the player preserved absolute polarity; ie, was non-inverting. The error correction was good, though not in the same league as the best players I have measured; the CD555 produced audible glitches when the gaps in the data spiral on the Pierre Verany test CD reached 1mm in length. The Naim ran very slight fast, with a positive frequency error of 286 parts per million (0.03%), though this is not enough to be audible as a pitch error.
The player's output impedance was very…
Art Dudley wrote about the Naim CD555 in October 2007 (Vol.30 No.10):
As recently as two weeks ago, I was moved close to tears by a lo-fi recording—Martin Newell's "I Will Haunt Your Room"—played over the standard-equipment CD player in my 2001 Subaru. As recently as five days ago, I was bored out of my underpants by the same song played through a $3500 CD player, a $6000 integrated amplifier, ca $2000 loudspeakers, and various tarted-up cables. The total cost exceeded the current used value of my car, whose ability to do more than just play music requires little in the way of discussion…