CDX2 repair failure

So, I have recently received my CDX2 back after a repair and service when the original mechanism finally failed after 17 years of flawless service. The player was away with Naim for about 4 months and returned with a shiny new VAM1202 mechanism, analogue capacitor replacement and a new screen for about £750 all in.

Initially back in place, the player was stunning in quality of sound and was clearly in need of a service regardless of the mechanism failure. Only trouble is, it tends to ‘micro-skip’ much of the time (momentary time-slips but not the usual big jumps or repetitive noises) and clearly cannot read the disk correctly. Some disks that were used had very minor marks and so they were replaced with new copies, but even brand new disks have the same result over 50% of the time. It will also suffer larger skips too and clearly needs a trip to Specsavers…

My dealer has been back in touch with Naim and doubtless it will need another trip back to Salisbury. My question is to Richard or anyone who has experience with laser tracking issues - is this potentially a focus adjustment issue for better reading ability, or an intrinsic fault with this particular mechanism that means the whole unit is likely to need replacing again?

In the meantime, it’s back to my 22 year old trusty old Marantz CD62 OSE which happily reads all of the same disks fault-free once its own drive gears warm up from cold for a couple of hours.

Any advice or help much appreciated!

Tagging @NeilS

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It’s interesting that the mass-market CD players (Sony, Panasonic, etc) appear to last forever while the specialist players (Naim, Linn, etc) are much less reliable. I guess this must be one of those rare “inverse” relationships?

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Much the same as my mates Lotus Esprit that broke down twice a month …

Firstly, apologies for this. As I’m sure you are aware, we cannot listen to each player for extended periods & have to rely on a short listening test, followed by the in-built soak mode to pick up any problems. I can only guess that these micro skips are below the threshold to return an error!
The next step (as you say) is to return the player for a warranty repair - a pain I know. :frowning_face:

Regards
Neil.

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Excellent, this bodes well for my CDX2 which has been at Naim for 13 weeks now!

mij29 did you notice the micro-skipping straight away?

I’m glad to hear the repair has at least a short warranty/guarantee period, not least because my CDX2 is still on its 2002 mechanism so (according to some forum doom-mongers) should have failed years ago.

Picking up on the ‘inverse’ comment, over many years, I’ve noticed cheaper CD and DVD players being considerably less fussy about the state of discs they were fed. In the days of DVD rental-by-post, about 15 years ago, I specifically held onto a cheaper DVD player because it was virtually guaranteed to read discs that its much-more-expensive replacement refused to have anything to do with. Similarly, I have a much-loved CD with a nasty scratch that my CDX2 refuses to gloss over, yet my Denon player in the bedroom is fine with.

My explanation for this is that cheaper players have harsher (more forgiving) error-correction so are happier to fill in the blanks with scratches etc., whereas more expensive players are stricter about only playing what’s on the disc. So, yes, I’d say there is an inverse relationship, but that it’s a feature rather than a fault.

Mark

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Yes, my wife certainly pointed it out on pretty much all the CD’s she listened too and then it did it with several disks of my own including a later Mark Knopfler disk - maybe it just doesn’t like his folky direction after Dire Straits!:rofl:

If Naim can repair a CDX2 now, can they also fix a CDS II?

I thought that all relevant mechs for the CDS II had gone, but it has been suggested that I return my unit to Salisbury, so that they can see what is possible.

It must surely be possible for someone to fix my lovely CDS II, otherwise I’ll have to resort to my Linn LP12 or my NAT01, which is currently receiving some Salisbury TLC.

Your CDS2 uses a VAM1205. Best check with Naim as to whether they have any spares left.

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Hi Graham,

Yes, we can still fix the CDS2.

Regards
Neil.

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That’s great news, Neil. I’m in a convalescent home, just getting over a stomach disorder, but I hope to be discharged soon. I shall get in touch with Audio T in Brighton, to arrange for the player to be boxed up and sent to Salisbury.

Incidentally, I assume that you just need the player, and not the XPS power supply?

The XPS can cause disc reading problems if a capacitor has failed, so it might be a good idea to send both, especially if you intend to have the head unit serviced - we can do both at the same time.

Wishing you a swift recovery.

Regards
Neil.

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Just checking it’s not something as simple as a puck issue?

Thank you, Neil, I’m glad that I checked.

Thanks also for your good wishes. I think that I’ve recovered, and am pressing to get home (if only to hear the LPs that I’ve been buying).

If the ‘puck issue’ point was addressed to me, no, I don’t think so (as I have three pucks to rotate in sequence, to avoid the rubber bits getting flattened).

But I do love the ‘puck issue’ phrase, and I shall try to drop it into general conversation whenever I can over the next few weeks, particularly if I am able to bump into Nick Cave (see separate thread).

X) it was aimed at the OP, but if it raises the likelihood of the phrase entering a broader lexicon, then that’s a happy consequence!

Wishing you a full and fast recovery too.

Hi, no, the VAM1202 has the super strong magnetic clamp without the rubber parts, it grips like nothing else! Thanks though :+1:

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My Yamaha player bought in 2005 had the mech die on me in 2009. Yamaha claimed that spare parts of the Sony mech used were only kept for 2 years production ended in 2005.

So no, cheaper mass produced stuff doesn’t necessarily last.

In fact, most have plastic lenses which will fog, even just sitting on the shelf so when these players last for 10 years, it is the exception, not the rule.

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I suspect I’ll just have to wait and see what happens when my unit is returned. I might just ask the dealer to set it up in the store and try it out to save taking it home and returning it…just in case

Hopefully it’s less fussy with Metallica than Mark Knopfler :wink:

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