Is it possible for a CD5XS to be"incompatible" with naim amps?

Hi-Fi Corner
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Weird request & a follow up to a recent post.

I bought a 10 year old CD5XS that, after a couple of days playing perfectly, decided to only transmit a high pitched tone through the speakers. I reinstalled my old CD3 on exactly the same system which had no problems so I returned the CD5 to the retailer, a well known Naim main dealer. Their engineer has tested the CD5 & could find no fault, it played perfectly! They could only suggest the fault could be “system matching” or “an interaction within the setup”. My amps are the classic 72/hi-cap/140. Has anyone ever heard of a Naim CD player not “matching” with an amp setup? I’m at a complete loss trying to get my head around this.

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The problem you experienced cannot possibly be a compatibility issue. Any Naim source has a line level output that a Naim preamp can accept.

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Just curious, if you have a working CDS3, why would you want a CD5XS, for a second system?

I’m still in mourning over the loss of my CDS3.

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Oops, my bad, you said CD3, not CDS3.

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Thanks….that’s what I thought & why I can’t understand the dealer not finding any fault with the player. If a CD3 has worked for years with my amps so should a fully functional CD5XS using the exact same system.

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Did you use the same input on the 72, and the same cable to connect them? Other than that, possibly an intermittent fault.

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My CD5XS has worked and sounded excellent with all the Naim amps it’s been paired with, from Nait XS, its original partner, to current Nait 50. No incompatibility issues at all.

Roger

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Strange things happen. I had a CD5si which stopped emitting sound. The dealer’s tech did a home visit and tried lots of different things. Yet, when he took it back to the dealer, it played without any problems. Since it had a history of problems, I moved on to Luxman.

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Yup, same snaic cable that came with the CD5XS as well as my old cable & same input plus I tried one of the tape inputs…..same problem with them all. It’s strange that the player was initially good before the fault developed irrespective of how long it was being used. Thanks for your kind replies Chris.

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Thanks Jaybar. It’s somehow reassuring knowing that these things happen.

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They are blowing smoke. The CD5XS is defective. The fact it worked briefly at their location is irrelevant. Return it.

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