I doubt it would be worth getting the CD3.5 repaired. In any event, your SONY is a much better player.
I received my entire Naim system as a gift not long ago so have never listened to the 3.5. I certainly do like the Sony quite a lot. It’s solid and still works flawlessly.
Are you sure? I’ve had a few of the big old Sony ES CD players and while I’ve admired their great finish and overall physical presence, they have generally disappointed in their performance. I so wanted to love them, and try as I did, they just didn’t engage me, and lacked a sense of snap and rhythm. I even bought a Sony SACD player and compared the SACD layer of some dual layer SACDs played on the Sony to the CD layer played on a CD5, the latter being more enjoyable to these ears.
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My first ever CD player was a SONY. It was a good machine, beautifully made, one step down from their then top-of-the-range player, which cost squillions. (I think that mine might have had the model number 501, and their top player was the 701.) It didn’t use DIN sockets, of course, so getting a suitable interconnect was a faff.
I had a QUAD system, because I had a yearning to try electrostatic loudspeakers, and QUAD’s CD67 CD player was pretty good.
When Naim brought out their first CD players, a few years after the format was launched, I was able to return to the fold. of the righteous.
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That is interesting Richard. Meyer and Moran’s large double blind testing showed that most people could not tell the difference between the the hybrid layers on the same machine. Slightly more preferred the CD layer to the SACD layer. One opinion that I have heard expressed by an audio engineer is that making a machine to play both SACD’s and CD’s involves compromises which do not maximize the potential of both?
Its seems to me, to be a sad state of affairs when a CD player - such as the Naim CD3.5 - cannot be repaired - although I do understand why this is.
In contrast, most Turntables for the same era (Linn LP12) - and from much earlier (Garrard 401) - can still be repaired with relative ease.
Technology… hmm… 
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Different machines here RWC, same discs, different layers.
I would occasionally get some ERR messages on my CDX, so I cut a little circular ring out of paper as shown below and it did the trick!
(Hopefully this doesn’t fall foul of forum rules i.e. a modification 
)
It’s fine, although you’re probably better of sticking the paper circle to the discs that have been pressed thinner than redbook, otherwise it will not be optimal for all the other discs pressed top the correct red book standard.
Alternatively get a Clamp 5 and then use it for any problem discs and just be very careful when placing it or removing it from the spindle as it will stick like a limpet.
How much does putting and removing the puck contribute to transport degradation. I seem to remember there are guidelines on how to remove it so that the forces on the transport drive were not so strong
I’ll try citting a paper circle. I wonder if this issue is unique to the 3.5. It seems like if this is a known issue Naim would have offered some support to work around the issue.
Not impressive design work from the vaunted Naim design team though i do like the rest of the hardware.
Can you clarify what a “clamp S” is please?
From what I’ve read, this Sony 707ESD is still highly regarded selling for over $1,000 when one shows up . I don’t know, i don’t consider myself an audiophile but i do enjoy good music more than ever.
Clamp 5.
Ok, so what is a clamp 5?
Yeah, at first I would only use it on my “problem” discs but got lazy and just left it in place. Thanks for the info in the Clamp 5.
Clamp 5 rather than clamp 3 for 3.5?
The Clamp 3 is the correct one for a CD3.5. However, if you’re trying to play a CD that is outside of red book standard and pressed too thin around the centre, and you’re either getting skipping or ERR at the start, then using a Clamp 5 can usually help. I can’t recommend you use it all the time though as the extra magnetic force of two magnets (one on the hub, one in the clamp) can eventually tear the magnets out of their housings.
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The only thing I find odd about this is that it’s always suggested that problem discs have been pressed too thin rather than too thick. Given that my ERR discs sound very much like they’re not being gripped hard enough and slipping, that suggests to me the discs are too thick, making the magnets too far apart and, therefore, attracting less strongly and leading to slipping.
So what aren’t I appreciating here?
Mark