This is my first post here, because I’ve recently bought a vintage CD5 and Flatcap 2. The CD5 is my first CD player for over 15 years. After falling in and out of love with streaming, I was looking to go back again to a tangible way to play my collection of around 300 CDs.
One main criteria was that I wanted a non-standard CD player that fitted my budget. And what I mean by that is that I was looking for something that stands out and makes changing the discs fun. I used to work in a Hifi Shop years ago where -amongst other brands- Naim was sold. I always loved Naim’s drawer and puck design, and therefore I am extremely pleased I now own one of these myself. I even found a recently CD5-FC2 combo that has recently been serviced by Naim. I called Naim before purchasing the units and inquired about the serial numbers, and to my surprise they answered additional questions about what work had been undertaken and serviceability. What a great and valuable service.
One small question I have is about attaching and removing the puck to and from the drawer. The magnetic force is reasonably strong and I was wondering if there is any danger that the player could be damaged in any way when being too careless in attaching / removing it. Is there anything to worry about or am I just a bit OTT here?
The CD5 with Flatcap 2 was a lovely player, and one I had for a while, and still have fond memories of how well it performed.
Re. The clamp, it’s best not to drop it onto the platter, just place it down on the spindle and the magnetic force will do the rest. A tip: don’t leave the clamp on a disc inside the player. The clamp uses little rubber loops to hold the disc just enough while not adding any extra weight/inertia and providing a little bit of damping. The rubber loops can get a bit squashed, so keeping them uncompressed when not in use and very carefully rotating them from time to time is a good idea. If the rubber start to harden then a replacement clamp is the best solution.
I should not worry about the puck in terms of putting it on or removing it. I have a CD5 and have had it for some 20+ years with no issues.
One thing to take note of is to make sure you do not leave a CD and the puck in the machine when not playing it. The puck has little rubber rings/buffers in it and these can depress over time which can effect the startup and playing of CDs if they go flat. You can leave the puck in the machine without a CD OK but I don’t do that either and prefer to remove the puck and keep it on the side and only put it in the drawer when playing.
If you do have issues with a CD playing or starting it can be the puck but you can often tease/fluff up the little rubber bands to mitigate the issue. If that only works for a while it is possible to get replacements online for about £20 just do a Google search for Tom Tom Audio. Naim used different types in different models so take care to get the right one it should be a CD Clamp-3
Great CD player.
Naim did some of the very best players, not cheap but little competition out there.
My very first Naim player were CDi.
Later on the two-boxes.
Unfortunately parts and spares are limited, making future support uncertain hence I went for a Rega CD.
Fingers crossed your serviced player are running for decades.
I still have my CD5/FC2 in the office system. Lovely player, one of my favourites especially at the price they go for now. I always considered it to sound like a scaled down mini version of my much loved CDS3/XPS2. Enjoy!
Re the puck, this is what mine looks like. I’m happy to leave it outside when the CD5 is not in use. But I’m slightly confused about the mentioned rubber rings, as I can’t seem to see any.
Ah, that’s a Clamp 5. It was designed for the VAM1202 used in the CD5i, CD5x etc… it has a magnet inside so I’d imagine when combined with the magnet in the hub if your CD5 it fairly grabs the thing out of your hand! It’s not the correct Clamp for your player but it can be used with caution. You just need to be careful it doesn’t pull the magnetic hub off the mech. Ideally though you want the Clamp 3.
In the meantime, remove the puck by gently lifting one side first. Don’t just pull it straight upwards. It’s definitely worth getting the correct puck, designed to work with the machine. My only thought is whether the mech has been changed over time, and that you actually have the correct puck. I don’t know whether that was ever done, but @Richard.Dane is the expert here.
I had a Uniti 1, and to remove the puck I placed the tips of a thumb and two adjacent fingers just touching the puck edge, and resting on the CD, then keeping them on the disc gripped the puck and bending my knuckles levered the puck from the CD, thus minimising any force on the drive spindle.
Hope this makes sense.
If they were having puck slip issues (often caused by newer discs pressed outside of redbook standard with thinner middles) that were affecting disc reading then the Clamp 5 can often help. Ideally though you would want to stick with the clamp 3.
Ok, just to confirm before I order a new Clamp 3, attached is a photo of my current clamp, mech and drawer. Is there anything changed or unusual about the spindle?
My understanding is -as explained- that the magnetic force is “doubled” by using a later Clamp 5.
That looks like the correct mech for a CD5 (VAM1205) and the hub looks OK from your picture. Yes, the hub has a magnet in it, so when you use the Clamp 5 the magnetic force is “doubled”.
