I Wish Naim Would Release a NEW CD Player!

No worries Nick and thanks for language praise, not always satisfied myself :sunglasses:

As for deliveries outside UK, I have no idea and not really interested in such solution.
The British EU exit did slow down my eventual box upgrades, or I found other ways to source the exiting stuff.

1 Like

Agree, I prefer CD playback over streaming ( each to his own) however no matter how many posts are made naim I’m sure have no intention or interest in starting production of players again the market is very small

1 Like

I recently bought the CD5si last year and I much prefer it over my old CD5. If you have Naim amplification and a DNI connector you can do no better for the money. I do wish Naim made a higher-end CD player, though, but as others have said it is about demand and parts. I have way too many CDs to try to convert to streaming, and you have to spend a ton of money to get decent streaming playback. The streaming I have heard (all more affordable options) sounded more flat and lifeless to me than CDs. I am sure the Naim streamers sound great,but I love the physical CDs. I also love Vinyl and that is where I am putting my next big purchase. CD is the backup if I cannot find the vinyl version or it is cost prohibitive. I still burn CDs after buying from apple music and play them on my CD player ha ha. I usually do that with the easy to reproduce music, though, like electronic and rock music.

6 Likes

I’m delighted that you are enjoying your 5si but I have to challenge you assertion that you can’t buy a better CDP for the same price.

Just bought a Marantz SA12 to replace my deceased CDX 2 for £1600 and it is at least as good as a bare CDX2

3 Likes

Same as you here, I prefer cd over streaming its the physical interaction with the disc and player being able to browse your extensive collection of cds. Perhaps putting a playlist together of various artists, giving some old cds an airing. The whole experience of listening to an album ( the musical journey the artist is trying to convey to the listener) Browsing the album insert, to me streaming will never do that, it’s that engagement with our player and system many owners still enjoy :heart_eyes::wink::wink::wink:

7 Likes

The CD5si is a wicked player. Number 4 in What HiFi? Magazine’s 9 all time Naim fave components. It easily has the better mech out of all the mechs post CD3/2/i integrated players onwards. Got to be the longest production run CD player Naim have ever made, and if i was betting man? reliably so would be my stake.

3 Likes

I really like my CD5si as,well. I wish people would give up on Naim releasing a new CDP. I don’t see it happening.

5 Likes

That makes me pleasant :innocent:

1 Like

There are plenty of good CD players comparable or better than the CD5si. Just nothing better from Naim unfortunately.

1 Like

Given the number of really good CD players on the market, what is the obsession with demanding that it must have a Naim logo?

Not having higher end CD players is Naim’s loss, not ours. If someone wants a CD player of exceptional quality, there are plenty to choose from at many price points.

Are there people out there who’d rather have no CD player than one without a Naim badge on it? And if they made one, there’s no guarantee you’d like it.

4 Likes

Other than Burr Brown DACs have not existed for over a couple of decades now
… the company/IPR was purchased by Texas Instrument in June 2000. It simply is a brand of Texas Instruments now…

But yes there are some new interesting CD players coming onto the market now as CD’s popularity has risen again in very recent years.

I guess for Naim it depends on the available product dev budget and return. We saw the limited run Nait50 being developed, as an absolute cracking amp that competes in some respects at the 500 level … however I suspect that was cheaper to develop than a CDP would be.

As we know a key part of a CDP is its audio reconstruction and sonic character… so seeing a new Naim CDP capturing the current Naim sonic styling would be interesting.

1 Like

@omegaman , very well put. It’s all this and more for me. Invariably when I play a CD ( that now I will have had for some time ) I often reminisce about where and when I bought the CD and the musical history of the group.
I don’t stream and to be frank the software issues that I read about validate that decision in my mind but when I go to hi fi shows and see streamers being used or on the odd occasion that I am invited to pick some music myself it seems like a soulless process.

4 Likes

You are spot on when you describe music streaming as soulless compared to vinyl & cd use.

4 Likes

Interesting statement coming from someone apparently with a Qb2, Sonos and LMS…! :thinking: :rofl:

Besides, haven’t we heard all of this before 30odd years ago when Vinyl was ‘dead’ and CD was the brave new world…How many full circles do we really need to go round…?!

I love holding and looking at physical artwork (my wife is a graphic designer, I have photographer friends who worked for 4AD/Vaughan Oliver, I’ve designed books for other photogs, I could go on…) whether that be Vinyl, CD, Boxset et al…But for ‘soul’ and emotional reaction – I tend to listen to the music.

SC

2 Likes

I use LMS to enable cd play to variety of endpoints - one player serves Sonos, Muso & Ruark speakers as well as BT headphones.

Its interesting - I feel the opposite - but I realise it depends on the streaming service - but I feel more connected via streaming - as there is linkages to band social media / web sites, you can follow the artist, you can share your favourite works from an artists with other fans etc…

Perhaps it depends on your perspective - but I find streaming via certain services a great way to get closer to the artist and their community - after seeing them play and talking and even having the chance to talk with them - its the best next thing.

The main issue is with commercial music generally - not just streaming - is that often there are so many middle men taking their cuts that the poor artist and sound production staff dont tend to see much of the revenue…

It was poignantly illustrated on a thread on this forum - the fee a technician was paid to plug together consumer hifi products compared to the fee a sound engineer would receive for a session in an average recording studio, oh yes and the studio was thrown in and it was still cheaper…

Things have got very distorted… and to me that is the biggest part of being soulless - disconnected from the artists and the only connection via an industrial artefact such as an LP or CD bought from a retailer… and dare I say becoming obsessive on consumer replay products that are priced such that many if not most artists can not afford to purchase them…

1 Like

CD records are cheaper now than ever.
Very likely will we see a CD playback revival soon, my guess.

The physically medie, - tape, vinyl records and CDs attract many.
The recent decades of vinyl revival could indicate CDs live on.

I don’t believe Naim will re-enter the market.
Their success with turntable (Solstice made by Clearaudio) were limited, but reveal the price level they would operate within.
Not for me.
The CD5Si is priced midlevel but is an entrylevel performer.
I’m happy with my Rega CD player, its magnificent - and supported.

2 Likes

Be interesting to see if Rega get the same non stop heat from customers about not making streamers, which actually, is a stronger argument.
Move on…really.

But are they…? Perhaps it’s a Australian thing (smaller market) but the last album I purchased was about A$ 8.50 from Qobuz Download, and that’s for the 24Bit version…The single disc version at the local popular CD highstreet store is $25.
Sure, in UK/Europe/US ordering from the likes of Amazon etc is often a lot cheaper, especially for older titles etc, discounted offers and so on…But even so, you’ll do well to match A$9…

Current Vinyl costs are just a pure joke, and getting worse…
And they’re doing it with Tape Cassettes now…Really! :roll_eyes:

The market – and by that I mean the men in grey suits – will charge as much as they can for any percieved current trend…and the kids will pay it as they’re thinking to themselves that it ‘must’ be worth it and they want to be hip…and so the circle spins.

I’m currently working my way through ripping 30 odd years worth of CDs…As I was going along, I put together a box the other week of about 4-500 jewel cases, all mint condition, good titles ranging from Indie to Rock/Pop, plus a few Jazz here and there, which I’d decided I didn’t really want to keep any longer and that I’d offload to a record store used section etc…I made some enquiries – most places were offering about $1 per disc IF they wanted them and basically said they can’t offoad a lot of what they have already…One store said they were even having collections made from the local charity shops as they just could shift the stock.
If there’s a CD revival happening, I’m not sure everyone in the loop has been informed…!
Vinyl, I understood - it never really went away re SQ and at the end of the day it’s analogue, it’s not a straight comparison…

SC

2 Likes

Hi Simon

Is your point that artists are better renumerated by steaming? If so that’s a v unusual take

Problem I see for artists, is partly the human condition. We are programmed to seek reward by the shortest path. Streaming provides abundance, so much in fact that new artists rarely get a look in. We are not designed to be patient or invest in something for reward, if reward can be found immediately.

So streaming often means people lean towards what they know

With physical, people have invested £ and want a return. So they tend to be more patient-plus there is a physical aspect that limits ‘skipping’ ie vinyl