I post this review to end the reviews listing with a positive comment as the previous owner is so negative I am afraid its CD3 may have had some issues... The CD3 is a wonderfull CD player for the price, only beaten to my ears by the Naim CDX2 which has more soundstage and is more natural (more analogical if you like). It is also very reliable because it was strongly build with high grade components back in the 90s. If you buy it second hand now it is unlikely that you will get some failure ! Mine is free from any issue after 20 years of listening !

Of course DACs have strongly evolved since 20 years. You can tell it is "improvement" if you like. For me, the Philips TDA1541A S1 is still a geat DAC, providing a very natural and living sound. Not ultimate in definition, but I don't care, I am so much involved with the musical feeling providing buy the CD3 that I have never been tempted by any upgrade so far.

Build and sound quality is second to none.

None

This is for the Naim CD3.5 which has had the ALW-Audio super regulator upgrade. This is a considerable upgrade for the 3.5, and leapfrogs the player in terms of sound quality another dimension. Having heard numerous so called high end players, I can only conclude that the CD3.5 is the bargain of the decade. On it's own I was impressed with the CD3.5. I much preferred it to the CD5. With a Hi-Cap the CD3.5 sounded more refined with less sibilance and quieter background levels. The ALW-Audio regulator, on the other hand, gave more of the same as well as a considerable improvement in frequency extension, soundstaging and dynamic range. Bearing in mind that you can pick up a CD3.5 in the region of 500-600 pounds second hand, this is a player worth every penny. If you crave more, get it super-regged.

Similar Products Used:

Wadia 850, Sony SCD-1, Naim CD5, Meridian 506/24

All-round brilliance in every department known to man.

Sleep deprivation from not being able to refuse it''s demands for more and more music...

I always knew the Naim CD3 was an exceptional CD player but it''s taken me six years to prove it. Up until now, I''ve kept it hooked up to a Nait 2 as I had never been convinced to stump up extra cash for any other piece of kit to progress things along... Having tried all manner of combos including a plethora of Naim amps (pre & power), the improvement never seemed to warrant the extra expense. Well, I can proudly tell you now, that that''s all changed. Having always been a bit of a closet valve fan but not having the means or inclination to satisfy the urge. I suddenly found the inspiration to walk into the local audio specialist to ask a few probing questions regarding the Unison Research SR1 that I''d been oggling for the past two months. Finally, having gained the proprietor''s confidence, he insisted that the SR1 was an outragous piece of audiophillia for the money and suggested that I took time out to audition it with my starving CD3... So I did... and the rest is history... Never thought I''d describe the tones from a CD player as warm but trust me it is and that''s not all, I can honestly reveal that there''s been a ten-fold improvement in all other acoustic departments to boot. The detail, clarity, precision, stage, presence, depth, richness and any other high-fidelity adjective you care to choose are simply heavenly. No matter what your tastes are, I can assure you that you won''t be disappointed in the combo that I''ve fortunately stumbled upon. I''ve virtually thrown every flavour of music at them and they have to date, performed to the highest levels at a stroll. From Mozart to Limp Bizkit, Radiohead to Alicia Keys, Mercury Rev to RyCooder, Lou Reed to Feeder and on and on and on... You name it, it hits the spot effortlessly and put a grin on you face no matter what. The rest of the team comprises of Mission 752s, AQ Python, Original Monster Cable (Woofer), CableTalk Talk 4 (Tweeters) and a kick-butt AC cable.

Similar Products Used:

Too many to mention. Anyway, who cares, theyre not worth mentioning in the same breath. It''s a £20k outfit for a fraction of the price.

Detail, clarity, and absolute musicality

None

This review is about the CD 3.5. I decided to upgrade my system and spent the last couple months reviewing all sorts of products. Initially, I was going to get an amp, but then when I auditioned this player with the prospective amp (SimAudio Moon I-5), and then with other amps - an all Naim system and an Arcam Alpha 9, which I own - the decision was made. I would update my CD player.

Now I know it seems potentially foolish to buy a standard CD player at this time, but SACD has no titles that interest me and DVD-Audio is but a promise, and it will take years until there is suitable library of new recordings, so I figured why not go for the best CD player I could afford. This is it. It sounds superior to Arcam FMJ CD23 and roughly equivalent to the Wadia 830 (which was reviewed in a different system, but I heard its strengths). And it just blows away my Rega Planet.

The greatest strength is how it portrays music above all else. Anyone who has listened to Naim knows what I mean. It does portray detail incredibly well, and it images and soundtages incredibly well, and so on, but it portrays the energy and rythm of music better than every CD player I have heard. Granted I haven't heard the $4000, $5000, and $10000+ players, but I doubt they are that much better. I highly recommend this player, with any amp, and with any speakers. I'm using an Arcam Alpha 9 and Monitor Audio Reference 700 PMCs and the music I get now is just stupendous.

Similar Products Used:

Wadia 830, Arcam FMJ CD23

Clarity, detailed, accurate, musical, solid build, play CD-R

DIN connector

It is CD3 not CD3.5 which I bought it used throug Audiogon. I used to believe that CD player doesn't make a big difference of the whole system. Naim proves to me that I was wrong. It does bring the new dimension to my current system which I haven't discovered until now. I start going throug my CD collection, so far, it is very hard to turn them off. The bass is deep and tigh, the high is so delicate, the midrange is so clean, detail and all of them are blend-in to reproduce a total musical sense. I have been missing a lot so far. Naim also brings out the strength of my Krell amp and FT-Audio pre-amp which I couldn't have it with my previous Cambridge. Super performance with all kinds of music (Jazz, Pop, Vocal, Classical)

Similar Products Used:

Cambridge Audio, Krell

Clarity, realism, presence, detail; absolutely and totally musically involving. VERY difficult to turn off.

None to speak of though doubtless the higher-spec Naim players offer more of the above.

(Reviewing the CD3.5 here) I have owned and loved a mid-priced (ie expensive in Joe Public's book but not stratospherically so given what WE know is out there...) audiophile system with Naim Audio amplification at its heart for well over ten years. Back then (in the UK) legions of Flat Earthers were firmly ensconced on the moral high ground proclaiming loudly that anything digital was inherently inferior to analogue, and that the likes of Naim and Linn would NEVER stoop so low as to produce a CD player. Having a 2000-odd LP collection (which I still own but now hardly ever play) I chose an LP12/Ekos/Troika as my primary source. But I was also very curious about the new digital medium and wanted to be able to buy & play at least a few CDs, if only for comparison purposes and to keep abreast of things. My dealer was a bit disdainful but ended up selling me a Denon DCD-3520 - 'the only thing remotely in the same league' (he said) as my record player.

The fact that I waited until 1999 to purchase a CD3.5 says a few things. I am not the sort of person to be constantly changing components - I prefer to put the best system I can together within my budget, let it settle in and then live with it for a long period so that I can concentrate on what I enjoy, which is listening to (and collecting) music. As so many people have commented, in so many forums, Naim amps are extremely conducive to doing just that. The Denon of course was always sonically inferior to the LP12, but as time passed and more and more of the music I love (principally modern jazz but also some historical rock, folk and world) was released on CD-only, plus I became (I admit) lazy and seduced by the sheer convenience of CD... And of course it was a while still before the significant manufacturers could bring themselves to embrace digital anyway. Finally, the Denon was actually no slouch within its own frame of reference.

So the final nudge came when my son became a candidate for a hand-me-down ie the Denon. I confess I didn't try anything else, I just listened to the CD3.5 at my local dealer's (I now live in New Zealand) and bought it on the spot. Back in my own system it was (of course) a revelation! I suddenly realised what I had been missing all those years in all those CDs! It was almost as if the speakers had been in another room, or at least behind a thick, detail-absorbing screen. One of the most viscerally satisfying musical experiences available, IMHO, is solo double bass in the hands of a master such as Charles Mingus or William Parker. I now feel almost as if I can 'see' those ropes being plucked with my ears. Detail, realism, presence, depth, clarity are all present in abundance with none of the unpleasant side effects so obvious in the early days of CD. Ironic isn't it, how much the 'perfect recording medium' has improved?!

So how does it compare to the LP12? I hear you ask. I'd say it's generally on a par; I prefer the CD 3.5 in some instances and the LP12 in others, and I haven't really looked further than that. Maybe it depends on how I'm feeling that day!

That's all I really want to say folks.

OOps, almost forgot, I added a FlatCap two weeks ago! Another layer has been peeled away! What I thought was real is now really real!

Linn LP12/EKOS/TROIKA
Naim CD3.5/FlatCap
Naim NAC-72/HiCap/3 x NAP-250
Ruark Accolades

Pace and rhyth is amazing, also smooth presentation, not at all digital sounding

Weird DIN connector limits cable choices

This is for the NAIM 3.5 w/ the flatcap. I absolutely LOVE this player. I dont know what it is, but the British players (esp NAIM and Meridian) are so much more natural and musical sounding than many of the top american units.

This rel. affordable players stands up there with the best anyone has to offer. Sure there are differences with players costing MULTIPLES of what this player costs (e.g., the Wadia throws a better soundstage, the Linn has a smoother, more defined midrange, the Krell offers more detail), but overall, this thing performs so close in any of these departments, and actually outperforms them all in the 'rhythm and pace' department, and is second only to the Meridian in terms of overall musicality. It was class A for a reason... I ultimately decided to save a couple grabnd and upgrade cables as well,, rather than spend the extra $ on a player that is only marginally better in some (less important) domain than the NAIM, dig?

Just me $0.02, but if you can get a hold of this player, with the flatcap, used, your return on investment will be very very high.

Similar Products Used:

Wadia 830, Meridian 508.20, Linn Ikemi,lots of other auditions incl Krell, Proceed, Theta

I have auditioned many players before settling for the NAIM CD3. Nothing in the price range comes close to its pace, rythym and sheer excitement. Forget about the components, just sit back and enjoy the music. Forget about air, soundstaging and all that. (Although using my Epos ES12 at the end of my system does offer a slightest hint). NAIM is all about the excitement, foot-tapping nature of music and the CD3 delivers...

I bought the NAIM 3.5 about 3 months ago. It is brilliant. If you wantsubtlety forget it. If you want a player that makes you want to play it
again and again and just listen to the music and not the machine then buy
it. The only problem so far is on poor recordings you hear everything
including tape hiss! This can be annoying.

here is a message that I sent to one of my friends regarding the Naim 3.5 . I decide to put this email on the board instead of a straight review because i type poorly and I think this represents my feelings:


I got the afternoon off
today. i found a store that carried naim, linn, arcam, and had a
planet. I had them set up so that i could compare the 3.5 and the
mimik about $600.00 less than the Naim. I did not check out the arcam
and have already heard the rega. started with the Naim. Listened to a
couple of cd's. really enjoying myself while i was listening to the new
cake cd the owner walked in.
he really liked the cd and asked if it was ok to switch it to
the linn. no problem. the music changed i was not aware to what degree
it had changed. the vocals became a little clearer and the soundstage
more focused. at first i thought that the linn sounded better. the
answer is yes it "sounded" better in the way Watt/puppies sound. i
listened to the sound and stopped rocking in my chair.

not completely
but noticeable. the naim as art d says just plays tunes better. it is
an amazing machine. If I can't find anything better this is the player I
will buy.

you become almost totally immersed (sp?) in the music. it is as if you
are closer to the feelings of the players. the soundstage can be lived
with, it is not that bad. I think you said that you have heard the naim,
if so you know what I mean. the anthem that I was so impressed with a
while back was on sonic terms. I don't remember tapping my foot once.
with the naim my whole body was moving and I was mega-guitaring it and
singing and happy. it makes me feel the same way that my linn does. the
planet has some of these same qualities, but i will have to bring home
both to see which is better. the build quality on the naim is wonderful
compared to the linn. dont get me wrong the linn is a good player with
some nice rythmic abilities of its own, but the naim is for me. the
meridian 508.24 does alot of the samethings that the naim does and alot
better but that is out of the bear's reach. i can't wait to get one in
house. it may never leave esp with the power supply upgrades.

I am giving four stars beacuse of power supply upgrades and this is the lowest model.