Hi all ,is the cds11 unrepairable these days lads
The most reliable answer will be from Naim via a dealer.
Have you spoken with a dealer as it would have to go via them anyway.?
1 Like
Its a second hand one mate im considering 
1 Like
Re. factory support, AFAIK, Naim have finally exhausted their stocks of VAM1205s, and apart from some rather dodgy ones still available from the usual places, reliable stocks have been unavailable for many years now. Otherwise, I believe everything else is still repairable/ supported, although I’d probably have to defer to @NeilS here, especially regarding the BB DAC chips.
Lovely player but a big risk in my view.
No transports & no DACs for these now. 
Regards
Neil.
2 Likes
OK thanks Neil.
Lets hope my cd x lives on ,cant imagine not having a naim cd player in.my set up lol
You can buy another one second hand when yours be kaput.
@Dan_M bought a second CdS2 if I remember well. Or the 3.
1 Like
I have had 2 CDS2s and a CDS3. Lovely CD players. They all worked okay. I found they all had problems reading CDs from time to time.
They just didn’t seem to reliably play my CD collection. They had new mechs as well. Very irritating as it would all sound good then randomly start stuttering on CDs in good condition. I found them temperamental but great sound.
Marantz SACD player seems very good so far. Reads even scratched CDs no problem at all.
Not quite the same feel and sound of a Naim CD player, but I have a 2nd Marantz CD player which is still going after 36 years in my son’s system.
Naim no longer support these machines so now they are destined to be doorstops unfortunately.
If you buy one you’re taking a big risk. I got rid of my CDS2 when I got the 500DR. Partly to fund it and other upgrades. I also sold it because I feared it was on the way out with stuttering and error messages now and again.
1 Like
To be more accurate, Naim cannot now fully support these players as their once extensive stock of certain key parts like the mech and the DAC chips is now exhausted and legitimate replacement parts have been unobtainable for many years. Otherwise Naim are able to repair and service other parts such as the regulators, caps etc., and also fully service the power supplies.
Notwithstanding forum rules, it’s worth noting that there are independents who try to keep these old players going, I guess by scavenging from other old players and even using some of the new parts of indeterminate origin that you see being sold online, but I can’t vouch for how successful they are in this regard, or how much performance may be compromised as a consequence. But at least they provide a possible avenue to explore if you really wish to keep a much loved old player going.
2 Likes
Had them myself and nothing really came close.
So nice players.
We can fly to the moon but obviously not get these players working continuously.
I don’t believe Naim will release CD players in the future.
Even a CD “revival” comes in, I doubt it.
Perhaps a future business idea for visionary souls, buy them old CDS 1, 2 & 3 editions up and get going please.
Are the original Philips manufacture tech machinery scrapped ?
I fear that I will soon be following you, Dan.
I have had a CDS2 about 25 years, replacing a CDI (which still works). It is starting to get temperamental about which CDs it reads, which the old CDI has been for a few years.
When the CDS2 gets worse or stops working altogether, I’ll pick between a CD player (your Marantz), a pure streaming transport (Audiolab?) or a ripper-server (Naim Core?). I am still swithering of course, but my guess is that I will get a Core and rip my CDs (again).
We have previously tested a Core into NDX2/XPSSR and it is not obviously worse than the CDS2 (1% less sweet and 1% quieter and more dramatic maybe).
If I go down the Core route (cheap!), I also feel justified in indulging myself by swapping a 555DR in for the XPSDR on the NSX2.
2 Likes
For more than 20 years i relied on a Naim CDi to play cds. It was glorious. Amazing sound and build quality. Eventually of course it started to have problems. My dealer kept it going for several waves but eventually it was done. I was pretty upset. My dealer suggested going to a Core and Dac. I resisted…didn’t want another computer in my life. But eventually i gave in. Smartest thing i ever did. The Core with my Questyle CMA Fifteen DAC connected with the Naim DC1 cable sounds incredible. Better than the CDi. Not only do i have all my cds on there, but also tons of downloads in sometimes very high resolution. All at my fingertips. It is a music lovers dream. I still have the dead CDi in my listening room - it reminds me of many many great listening seasions. A true classic that finally made digital work. But time does move on.
1 Like
Moving to a DAC fed by something like a Core is a good move. What’s more, if it’s a Naim DAC then the XPS from the CDS2 could be used very effectively to upgrade the Naim DAC.
2 Likes
I am using the Marantz SA12SE SACD player mainly as transport into ND555 and 2 555PSDRs. It sounds better as transport with new firmware nowadays. Previously I used it as analogue into 552DR.
It reads all my discs and is extremely well built. Highly recommended.
I have used the DAC with Limetree Bridge, becoming a streamer from Marantz and it is no slouch as a DAC. Different sound signature being warmer sounding than Naim.
I loved my 4 Naim CD players (CDSi, 2 x CDS2s and CDS3), but I don’t see any future in buying one used nowadays. They are lovely, but ultimately you’re looking at a doorstop. My favourite was CDS2. Sounded so sweet and so olive with 52 and 135s. Lovely set up.
If you have a CDS2 working well then by all means keep it. I don’t think you’ll find anything that sounds quite like it. Stunning ! I really loved mine.
NDS and ND555 have been main sources since and LP12. But I make good use of the Marantz. It cost me about ÂŁ1800. Good value as far as I am concerned.
If you are going source only and don’t want to stream and want a premium CD player only I would consider Luxman, Marantz and Accuphase CD players. Then of course there’s Esoteric offerings at cost.
The Marantz was bought primarily as Transport and as ND555 and LP12 are main sources, I did not want to spend big money on one. For me it works and blends reasonably well on the racks!
For me it works well as transport and analogue. It’s substantial and I bought it new half price. Hopefully it will last me many years.
2 Likes
I was a late adopter to the CD format and my first CD Player was a Kenwood (can’t recall the model name). Then I upgraded my NAD amp and Kenwood CDP to an Arcam set up. Alpha 8 Amp and Alpha 8 CDP. Upgraded a couple of years later by getting an Alpha 8 Power Amp and having the 8 CDP upgraded to the 8SE CDP.
Some years later sold all this and got my first Naim system. NAC 152 / NAP 150 / FlatCap, also got the CD5XS. (At the time, demoed the CD5SI but there was a significant improvement getting the XS over the SI). Years later and after amp and power supply changes still had the CD5XS when I part exchanged the LP 12 for the Linn Klimax DS/2 Katalyst.
Interestingly, the dealer did not want to take the CD5XS in for part exchange, he explained that there could be potential issues ahead regarding repairs, so he could not take that risk. Now given the heads up with potential future problems with the CD5XS, I sold it on via eBay whilst it was still working well and got a good price for it.
And that was the end of my CD journey.
DG…
This topic was automatically closed 60 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.