I am aware that this topic has been discussed before. However in the most recent thread, supply shortages connected to Covid were mentioned as a problem in terms of Naim being able to service/repair CD players. I assume those problems have been resolved. As someone who is wedded to the CDs and players, it would be useful to know what the current postion is.
I assume there is no problem with the only CD player Naim currently sells; the CD5 si. I had understood that the CD 555, the CDX2 and the CD5 XS can all be serviced and repaired by Naim. Is this still true? I assume that none of the many earlier CD players can be serviced/repaired.
It wasnāt just that there were supply delays through COVID, but that some parts such as mechanisms are no longer being manufactured. The only way to be certain in relation to individual players is to consult with Naim support.
In relation to replacement mechs itās my understanding that they are only available for the CD5 si and the CD 555 (although hopefully someone can prove me wrong) which is a shame as I have a CD5 XS feeding an Ndac and it sounds great and when/if it dies I will have to look outside Naim for a replacement.
Thanks for that Hanuumike. I was planning to going down the same route. But if maintenance is not available for the CD5 XS, then its a bit pointless. Does Richard know more?
Bear on mind there is another long thread about CD options for Naim and while no thread has much concensus, it seems clear that a reasonable way forward if you want more assured consistency of presentations as a Naim source, is to pair a quality transport (Audiolab, TEAC VRDS, etc.) that is still in production with a Naim streamer to effectively get as close as you can to a Naim CD player.
Richard will advise speaking to Naim support - nobody here can answer your question because they donāt know what the current stock situation is for parts at the factory. And itās not just the mechanisms - someone recently had to have both DACs replaced on their CD player.
Yes I have been hearing CD players are become more fashionable again with millennials ā¦ I think all part of this āphysicalsā revival ā¦ still a long way down from the heights and not as fashionable as vinyl, but for some that makes it more fashionable!, so there are slowly increasing numbers of newer models to choose from now from the likes of Creek, Marantz, Cyrus, Arcam, Technics and many more, some of the newer models are digital out only, but it doesnāt help if you have an older Naim product where its particular servo transport, along with its DAC chips have long been out of production.
As far as iām aware the CD5 XS mechanism is not available any more and hasnāt been for some time.
On that basis, a few months ago i replaced my perfectly working CD5 XS with a Hagel Viking.
I did that for two reasons, 1) because the Viking is a much better CDP, 2) because i could still get a good sale price on my CD5 XS. Once the mechanism stops working the CD5 XS becomes worthless and the older it is the more likely it will stop working. This is always something to keep in mind with older players.
Well, to add a bit more colour to that scenario, CD never went out of fashion in some places so itās less a revival and more BAU. Especially in Japan where a lot of decent players are still made.
One reason for this is streaming distribution was hugely hampered by the all controlling rights organisation, Jasrac. Streaming services and digital downloads are even now severely hampered. So the idea that there is a realistic alternative to CD hasnāt really found traction. Thereās no Tidal, Qobuz, web radio is a bit iffy. The legal issues are nearly insurmountable without deep pockets. Jasrac is nearly evil in my opinion, I came up against them in a previous company I worked back in early 2000s where they refused rights to launch our streaming software.
VPNs get around this for the audiophile of course, but thatās not a market viable solution.
Hence my point about CD, in a country that is another nexus for HiFi, hasnāt seen a revival. It simply remains the only realistic game in town unless you are buying compressed mp3 downloads.
So afraid of falling foul of Jasracās long arm of litigation, even HiRes downloads are hampered here. There are a couple download Sites run by Sony, JVC, and Onkyo but the content is tiny. HD Tracks and similar are geo blocked. I use my work VPN to use them but recently HD tracks have stopped allowing downloads they detect as going via VPN endpoints. Itās all very time consuming to resolve. Buying and ripping CD so much easier.
Iām afraid the situation is worsening - we are now nearly out of VAM1205 laser assemblies for the CD3-5, CDX, CDS2 & CD5 too.
As above, CD5si, Uniti2, UnitiLite & CD555 are all ok, along with the Teac loaders used in Unitiserve/Core/Star.
That uses the VAM1202 which we have been unable to reliably source for a long while now. Obviously they can be found, but frankly, itās a lucky dip.
Not a viable option for us unfortunately.
