The New Naim CD5i (italic) CD player
In the two-channel audio arena, you can’t get more minimal than the turntable. A small motor, a thin belt, a platter, an arm, a needle. You can see all the parts and get a good idea of how it makes music. Place a record on the platter, move the arm into position and drop the needle on the record. Glorious music.
The Naim CD5i reminds me of a turntable. Its short, black, solid, square shape and minimal front panel elements remind me of a turntable’s plinth. The rear of the unit has provisions for a power cord, a DIN output and a pair of RCA outputs (no digital out).
Like lifting a turntable cover and moving an arm into position, you pull a small knob on the front left side to open the CD5i’s transport platform. You drop a CD on the platform’s spindle and place a magnetic puck on top to stabilize it. You then push the drawer back in and press play.
The Naim CD5i (with the italic “i”) is an evolutionary and improved version of the critically acclaimed original CD5 released in 2001 and the CD5i released in 2004. Digital sound across the board is a lot more natural and musical today versus 2001. Naim is a patient company that quietly releases their improved products on the public, allowing innovations from their benchmark products to work their way down the line as cost to performance ratios improve.
What's New
Naim is know for their strict attention paid to power, mechanics and circuitry. The new Naim CD5i has a new internal layout that further separates the sensitive components from the power transformers. They have revised the circuit layout and improved the earthing configuration. The user must choose either the DIN or RCA outs upon setting up the player. The one not selected is switched out of the signal path.
Most importantly, after extensive listening, Naim have chosen a new DAC chip, the Wolfson WM8706. Wolfson is headquartered in Scotland and supplies the same chip to Rega for their new Apollo and Saturn CD players. Linn and Cambridge Audio also use Wolfson DACs. All of these companies get very positive reviews for their CD players.
What's Good
The music is good… very, very good!
One of my favorite albums from 2007 is Patrick Watson’s, “Close to Paradise”. To get an idea of what this Canadian’s debut sounds like, think of a cross between Jeff Buckley and Sufjan Stevens with a delicate male vocal delivery and rich multi-instrumental, indie-pop arrangements.
On the title and intro track, “Close to Paradise” the song swells to life with a very tall and wide soundstage. The Naim CD5i has a fantastic ability to create an immersive three-dimensional soundstage that is totally natural and never artificial. In this dense arrangement, the instruments are delineated quite well. A sweeping guitar fills a perfect pocket in concert with the piano’s quarter note chords and ride cymbal’s eighth note hits. Patrick’s layered vocal floats beautifully within the sound space. The CD5i reveals its care for instrumental attack and timbre as the cymbals switch from ride to hat and back to ride. The stick movement on the cymbals is very clear and defined.
On track three, “Slip Into Your Skin”, Patrick’s light, almost whisper-like delivery pulls you in. The Naim does a fantastic job of capturing the build as the bells enter with the piano and eventually the drums. The build quickly drops back to an intimate verse and then builds again to an even bigger crescendo. Dynamics as evidenced in this recording and many others, is one of the CD5i’s greatest strengths.
Another dramatic male vocal recording is the Willard Grant Conspiracy’s 2003 release, “Regard the End”. Robert Fisher, the lead singer and composer has quite the deep voice. I saw him live in 2007 and the voice fits the build. “Regard the End” is a dark album and the last track, “The Suffering Song” is the darkest of them all. Robert’s voice is front and center supported by beautifully recorded acoustic guitar, piano and violin. Halfway through, a delicate yet purposeful female voice joins Robert. The song builds with intensity and impact to create the ultimate chill factor similar to what I’ve experienced when listening to Johnny Cash’s, “Hurt” from 2003’s “American IV” album.
The Naim delivers the texture of the acoustic instruments in a huge sound stage. The instruments emanate from and reverberate from clear outside the speakers and fill the entire room. There’s a lot of treble energy in this song and the Naim CD5i delivers it without ever sounding harsh, brittle or irritating. There’s also plenty of air and ambient information that sounds quite natural in this recording played back on the CD5i.
The Breeders “Title TK” sonically is as much about the silence in the recording as it is about the power. Engineered by Steve Albini, it is as straightforward and raw like as most of his other recordings. On track 2, “London Song” the spaces in the instrumentation are very revealing of the acoustic space where the recording was performed. No doubt this was an analog recording as the tape hiss is certainly apparent. Kim Deal’s vocals are right up in your face as they are meant to be. The Naim CD5i completely nails the acoustic drum kit. The kick is pounding, punchy and moving tons of air. The snare snaps and the cymbals decay like a nice vintage metal. The guitars really chug along and the bass has a much more noticeable growl than I have heard from other CD players.
The last example to give you and idea of the sonic qualities of the Naim CD5i is John Lewis’ (pianist from the Modern Jazz Quartet) “Evolution II”. Recorded in 2000, when John Lewis was 80 years old. I had the pleasure of seeing Mr. Lewis perform many of these songs with the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra only a few weeks before he died in 2001. The songs on “Evolution II” are simply orchestrated with Lewis’ elegant piano leading a small group of guitar, bass and drums.
With the Naim CD5i, on track 8, playing Lewis’ famous composition, “Django”, the piano in the soundstage sounds very natural and live. The drum kit is clearly behind and to the right of the piano. The double bass sits left of the piano and is very natural and accurate. The recording of this performance sounds very much like the live performance and more so than with any other CD player I have had in my system.
Can't Compare
Unable to compare the new Naim CD5i to the previous version, I can compare it to many CD players that have graced my system over the past eight years since the original Naim CD5 was introduced. The CD players I have liked best in my system have been the ones which were most neutral and engaging. They have conveyed a believable impression of real instruments in real spaces with rhythmic pace and dynamics. The CD players I have liked less usually exaggerated one aspect of the sound over another or delivered sonic information that distracted from the meaning of the music.
The Naim CD5i is a breeze to use and a joy to listen to. In both operation and sonic presentation, it reminds me of my Rega P25 turntable and Exact cartridge. That analog combo, although modest, never fails to engage me in the music and the tune. I’m not digging for sonic detail but it’s there. I’m not forced to hear individual elements of the recording if I don’t want to, but they’re there. My ankle muscles contract and release setting my feet a tappin’ involuntarily. The Naim CD5i does the same with those five inch silver plastic discs that the Rega does with twelve-inch vinyl records. Simply drop the disc on the platter, sit back and enjoy the music as it is meant to be enjoyed.
Naim is an institution in the high-end audio world. On average their gear is not the most expensive and certainly not the flashiest. The aesthetic of their gear is just about as subtle as can be. It’s obvious the Naim game is not about flash or status, but about music. The CD5i is a true example of that philosophy and a fantastic introduction to the Naim line.
Associated Equipment
Amplification:
Bel Canto M300 mono blocks
Preamplifier:
Bel Canto Pre3
Speakers:
Audio Note AN-E/Lx and Gamut Phi7
Cables:
Power: Shunyata Diamondback
Interconnects: Van Den Hul D-102 III Hybrid RCA and BelCanto (Cardas) XLR
Speaker: Audio Note and Straightwire
