My guess is that there are many thousands of Naim CD player owners around the world, possibly oblivious to even the very existence of the forum (imagine that!), who are quite happy with their players, and will deal with their eventual demise as and when. In the meantime, they are getting on with their lives and enjoying their music.
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After some deliberation and perusal of reviews, I have just purchased a secondhand CD5 XS on eBay from an authorised Naim dealer. It’s coming with a three month warranty.
When it arrives, it will be connected to my NDAC.
The trick with, for example, the laser is to find out which other players used the same laser and buy one if necessary. Or track down said laser on its own. I once owned a Nakamichi OMS-7 II CD player (lovely machine with a very warm midrange) for which perceived wisdom held it was impossible to get a replacement Sony laser. Wanting a spare laser just in case, I tracked one down on eBay in Turkey of all places at a sensible price!
So anything is possible and I would not be put off buying the player I wanted, even if discontinued.
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I hope the best for you . Without wanting to spoil your enthusiasm, I have however to say that more than 90% of the mechs you will find on EBay or elsewhere will be rejected, or will be soon or very soon out of order. It’s what I read here on different threads.
With some chances Naim will get a new batch of mechs in the future, but it’s absolutely little certain.
Hope your Cd5x will last long.
Cheers. I have a lot of experience buying hifi from eBay.
You assume that items like amplifiers, record decks, cassette decks, etc will need a proper service with new caps, etc etc, no matter what the vendor says about it having been serviced. This is especially the case with older stuff.
The trick is to know the real world value of the item you are looking at, factor in maybe £300 to £400 of servicing costs, depending on the item, and add that to the asking price. Compare the total with the price of a genuinely mint item and see how the figures stack up.
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CD5x with a Flatcap is an excellent machine, fingers crossed it will last with no need for spares repair.
I had the very latest CD5XS/FC2XS, only excelled by a Rega CD, I did not dare to end up with a doorstop, hence sold on.
Naim HQ and Focal-Naim N.America can only provide laser mechs for the entry level cd players and 555 reference players. Other distributors may have inventory however. While Naim is searching for replacements, they have not been produced for many years, so finding them is improbable. My CDS3 has the same issue and I am contemplating having the laser replaced by an independent tech in Toronto. There is no guarantee however and it is sad that an excellent cd player may be kicked to the curb prematurely. Unfortunately there are several Naim owners in this predicament.
In some ways I almost prefer buying things that haven’t been serviced, knowing I will, than paying more for something that “has” and probably servicing it anyway!
I bought a UnitiQute 1 about a year ago, it was definitely at the low end price wise. It already had a failing display. I basically ran it for a year, it sounded great, the display got gradually worse until a month ago when I sent it for a service. It is now back, having had a major amount of work, looks amazing, and the already good sound is even better!
For me that approach works, I do not change gear often, I’m always going to have gear serviced, the sooner the better, so why pay top prices for something someone else has had the best out of?
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