How do these older CDS players and power supplies measure up . I have a newly serviced naim Nait 2 and would like to know if these would be a good fit?
Would it need servicing ?Is it possible ? and what are the service intervals… Thanks all
No service anymore and no repairs. Through Naim.
It can quickly become your door stop.
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Even good salvaged mechs are very hard to find for the CDS, and other parts such as the selected TDA1541A DAC chips are prone to eventual failure, so keeping these players going can be challenging. Naim themselves can no longer offer mech service since their NOS stocks were exhausted, and AFAIK other parts are in short supply or also exhausted nowadays. @NeilS can give a current state of play on this.
if you are tempted you would be reliant on small 3rd party repairers scavenging parts to keep these old players going, so bear that in mind and pay accordingly.
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No transport mechanisms & no DACs for these players now.
Shipping one of these players solely for routine servicing is a bad idea these days & for that reason, I don’t believe we are raising RMAs for them any more. 
Regards
Neil.
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My CPDS was serviced by Darran and running strong, shipped to few countries and not a single issue then.
Only 2 months ago a very cheap Philips cap in the head unit died due to heat in last 35 years, and it led to something wrong with the display as well. In the end it was repaired by 3rd parties as Richard had said, fully recapped to Naim’s spec, and then it came back working just like the Stereophile’s review said in 1992.
I previous had a CDi and the current CDS1 plugged into a 32.5 and didn’t find day and night differences, not until the arrival of a 52 and knew what a CDS1 capable to do.
Now it’s on 24/7 and ready to play great music every day. If you love it just get it, and be prepared to upgrade from a Nait 2 
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Thanks Neil
Is CDX2 still serviceable at Naim?
I don’t think Naim will do mech replacements any more - too much risk with the dross that’s available - but any other issues should be repairable I would have thought.
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Other than DACS of course.
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Ah yes, I fogot about the PCM1704K. Luckily, while failure is still a possibility, it’s much more reliable than the older Philips TDA1541A.
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If you have one and can keep it going do so. It is a very musical player even if a little lacking in detail.
So lovely.
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I haven’t heard the CDS for decades, but I recall around the early 90’s being hugely impressed with it at a dealers. Compared to every player or transport/DAC I’d heard/owned up till then it was a revelation. Here was a CD player that actually played music, rather than something that sounded similar to music. We couldn’t afford one back then, having only been married a couple of years and having lots of other priorities. We did manage to get a CDI though which was still really excellent and from there we moved to a CDX, then added an XPS, then finally got a CDS3/XPS2. I still feel that the CDI was the most musical of the lot.
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Thanks 70sPete. Just looking into the actuality of owning one and it going wrong.. Considerations of price etc as Richard has said…May just buy a cd5si? Thanks everyone for your input.
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I think its very obvious regarding this subject these days.
If you have one, keep it going for as long as you can.
No service available from Naim, or the main parts to fix.
Just use it and enjoy it until the day it dies.
As for buying one
Then not a great idea going forward as its a ticking time bomb and not much left on the clock.
It was a nice sounding CD player in its day, and still is, but things have moved on and these days it’s easy to buy much newer players or even new, that aren’t about to die, and can sound even better.
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It’s not in the same class as a CDS obviously but it should match well with your Nait 2. Personally I think that’s a far more sensible buy than a used CDS. Buying that you’re just asking for trouble. You can do better than the CD5si if you’re willing to spend a bit more, which will get you something more on a level with your P9. As good as the CD5si is, it’s not going to be anything like on the same level as the Rega. So you’ll have an excellent vinyl source and a much less good CD source. It depends if that bothers you or not. If you want to get something which will be on the same sort of level then you’ll need to look elsewhere and spend more.
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The best option to have a Naim cd player sound today, without taking risks, is to buy a cd transport and a second hand Naim Ndac. Around 1, 1,5k for both.
A lot of threads on that.
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I was very lucky I bought mine from Cymbiosis I think 2017 and still going strong fingers crossed it carries on. I think anything that was developed in the JV era is very musical that’s my own opinion I think he had a great ear for how the music sounded.
Hence I still use an Aro on my Stiletto LP12.
Regards,
Martin
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It’s something I did consider doing. I went for a transport (Moon 260D) and the Chord Qutest DAC in the end. For two reasons. Firstly, I dislike buying used equipment (that’s just me). Secondly, and I should say I’ve never heard the nDAC, I thought “what am I trying to achieve? Is it something that sounds like Naim or is it something that gets me as close as possible within my budget to real music?” It was the latter, and I reasoned that the Qutest, being a much newer design and having being exceptionally well reviewed, would be the more sensible choice. We’re thrilled with it. But as I say I’ve never heard the nDAC…
Not a problem, as you don’t have a Naim system.
I don’t have a Naim system anymore, but only the source. I couldn’t find another brand that engages me more.
We enjoy both, but differently.
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