转贴英国的HTK对CD5+HiCap，CD5X+HiCap和CDX2的对比结果：
Result.
If you want the short version, the CDX2 walked it.
If you want the longer version read on….
The lovely Hell (my wife) and I trundled off to Audience this afternoon and spent a slightly hot and sticky but enjoyable four hours exercising our ears. I took Rush, Garbage, Scritti Pollitti, Yes and Propaganda. She took Bowie, Peter Gabriel, Sisters of Mercy and Lou Reed. The set up (which is left on 24/7, they say) was 200/202 with Arrivas. We listened to our CD5 + Hi Cap, CD5x + Hi Cap and CDX2.
We first had to tune ourselves into the demo system so that we could get a reference point, so we listened to our CD5/Hi for a good hour until we were happy that it was performing consistently and had warmed up enough to be a reliable benchmark. The sound coming out after half an hour didn’t sound a million miles away from our home system. It didn’t sound as good as the home system IMO but it was close enough. In honesty, I though it was probably the Arrivas which were the weakest link. I get what they do and I see their strengths, but I don’t like the tonal balance. Hell didn’t mind it so much.
Anyway, we got ourselves aquatinted with the shop system and decided not to start swapping speakers over or adding Hi Caps/NapSacs, because it would blur the benchmark and take up too much time. All the foot tapping, smile inducing characteristics that I love about the CD5/Hi came through loud and clear (tonal balance notwithstanding) so after we’d given it the thumbs up the CD5x/Hi was swapped in. Not a subtle difference in both of our opinions.
The bass went deeper without slowing down and the highs opened up to give a much more airy, relaxed presentation. There was more detail all the way through. It sounded like a CD5/Hi with ‘taller gearing’. This should be noted in the context of the CD5/Hi’s already undoubted ability to bounce its way joyfully through most disks to feed it. It’s difficult to quantify. For arguments sake, let’s say it sounds like CD5/Hi + 15-20% at the top and bottom, with a slightly more open midband. A less strained result. You might not think a CD5/Hi sounds strained in the first place (I certainly didn’t) but the 5x suggests otherwise. Surprising. You can hear exactly where the extra money is going from the sound that comes out of it. Well worth the extra outlay and a no brainer if you stop there.
But we didn’t. The CDX2 beckoned.
To my ears, this is not so much listening to a better CDP as living on a different planet. I have a box full of adjectives and I don’t know which one to use first! Refined, unfussed, music shaking free of the Hi Fi, muscular, detailed blah blah blah….. This player sounds so smooth and relaxed (yet minutely detailed) that the music becomes the centre of attention, not the gear. Of course you should be listening to the music, not the Hi Fi in the first place. If you haven’t mastered how to make your brain do this, the CDX2 comes to the rescue. It’s not about bass extension, it’s about HOW it was played. Sure, the lows go lower which is part of it - the detail is startling. This applies right across the frequency range but it’s irrelevant because this player does MUSIC and EMOTION. The performance is projected out in a way that you can either sit back and let it bathe you or listen to an aspect of the performance that you want to follow. Crystal clear vocals out front, clever little flicks on the skins, or maybe the fact that the bass a very slight bit of reverb on it. You get the drift…… Everything I listened to on the CDX2 yielded a bit of insight or detail that I have not heard before. In all cases there was extra detail but again, you quickly get away from Hi Fi terms of reference and get more of a feel for what the musician was trying to do. I’ve heard descriptions along the lines of blackness around vocals and instruments. Yep, that tracks.
I went out for a leg stretch and fag break and left Hell feeding the CDX2 for 20 min. I was convinced of the clear advantages of the CDX2 but we tried not to discuss it too much so that we wouldn’t be egged on by each other’s preferences (if that makes any sense?). When I got back she pronounced that if we didn’t get the CDX2 she’d chain herself to it. Fair enough. Deal done. Yes a home trial would sensible, but we’d heard enough. There was no going back as far as we were concerned.
We received a better than expected offer for the old gear which was nice, but we’d already decided to let Audience have it unless they offered stupidly low, because of their consummate professionalism and extreme friendliness. Happily, this didn’t turn out to be an issue. The CDX2 should be with us by the end of the month – just in time for our birthdays – nice.
Usual disclaimer: this is all according to my ears, brain and preferences. Treat it with the usual healthy scepticism but if it serves as a guide for you I’m happy to share. I still believe the CD5 is an excellent player at its price point and the addition of a Cap gives more than the sum of its parts. The CD5x with a Hi cap is clearly in front of its predecessor, and by an amount you would expect for the extra money. And then there’s the CDX2…. Don’t get me started again! We’ll be looking at sliding in an XPS2 in due course, but in the mean time we’ve got enough enjoyment to be getting on with.
Cheers
Harry
