… And stand by my choise - but got some cds laying around still.
Did try streaming - didnt fancy it.
My question is, - whats the cheapest (old or new) CDP I can get away with in my system - as a second source?
(LP12-Superline-252/300-ATC-SCM-40MKII)
The honest answer is probably CDX2/XPS! If you are prepared to accept a step down, a bare CDX2 or even a CD5XS might do. Older stuff will be more affordable but maybe not serviceable if the mech fails.
Try an old CD3 or CD5. Very characterful (especially the CD3!). I’d favour the former - you may be surprised!
With your existing pre and amp I think you just shot yourself in the foot.
If you didn’t fancy streaming as you said, you can try a Naim Uniticore ( which rips and store your cds and downloads) connected to the Naim Ndac.
No problem with the mechs. And a source at the level of your system.
Why did you sell it in the first place? For playing the occasional cd i am sure any modern cd player will do.
To match your LP12, I’d vote for an old CDS2 - still the best CD player for a non-ridiculous price that I have heard. It can be serviced now and independents may continue offering to do the same while mechanisms are available, but life expectancy is a possible reason not to do it - not that I have had a problem yet in 23 years…
In any event, that would probably cost more than the kit you sold, which would have been my second pick.
A CD5 looks a steal now at under £500 on eBay, but it is a very different beast. Good VFM but not equal to an LP12 to most ears.
Ripping any CD that you want to play to a NAS (just the once) may well be a good option, particularly if new CDs are a rarity, as @frenchrooster suggests.
With cheap but good NAS drives costing a few hundred pounds and plenty of computer CD drives around, a Uniti Core may look too expensive for you and surprisingly expensive for what it does. However, I bought a Core with massive SSD memory for £1000 recently on eBay. It sounds better than the cheap options and gives more functionality than many, so I’d call it a bargain.
This is all very well if you don’t actively like the process of changing CDs each time, plus looking at the CD box perhaps, and are happy using an app to control a bit of your hi-fi.
Hi Nick I had a cds2 for twenty years and it was great. But I believe that your comment that it can be serviced is not correct in respect of a replacement laser mechanism. The cds3 can be serviced by Naim with a replacement mechanism. Of course you may have some inside information re the cds2?
Hi, I didn’t suggested playing ripped cds from a Nas. Just use the Uniticore connected in SPDIF to the Ndac. It’s like a CD player but controlled by an app on a tablet. No hassle.
@frenchrooster - my apologies. I was treating the Core as a NAS here - careless language from me perhaps.
@RWC - also apologies for getting hopes up. From the last I heard, I understood that Naim were again able to source/ service the CDS2 mechanism, and that someone had had it done, but I have not followed all the exchanges and may be out of date.
At the risk of being heretical (ie not NAIM), I would recommend the Arcam Alpha 5 plus. Since I bought one a few months ago I have not used anything else. Very old school and a bit up-front in its presentation but so involving. Listenning to Switchfoot, The Legend of Chin at the mo’.
You can’t do that, it’s on that list of things that the Unitiserve could do, but the Core can’t. You have to rip the CD then play it from storage. Still a valid option though, just a 5 minute delay, and you only have to do it once.
I meant that. You are not playing the physical media but the ripped cd.
But it’s closer to playing like a CD player than streaming online or from a Nas.
As recent buyers of an nDAC we would recommend it!
Can be sourced relatively cheaply and could be paired with a quite inexpensive transport, there have been forum threads on this recently. No need to worry about servicing or mechanisms on a new transport.
If we hadn’t ripped all our CDs to NAS that is EXACTLY what we’d be doing - old Micromega Drive 1 Transport (digi out) → nDAC. We still have the Micromega DAC as well but it’s slightly outperformed by the naim.
Old tech lives!
I sold my CDX2 and an ageing UnitiServe 2TB and replaced them with an Innuos Zenith Mk III server with SSD storage a couple of years back.
Did/do I miss the CDX2, yes, the UnitiServe definitely no and, from time to time, I hanker after the Naim CD playing process, but, I definitely do not regret the decision. New CD’s get ripped on arrival and that’s that.
As others have said, any reasonable CD player/transport will probably provide an adequate experience and if you seek the Naim aesthetic, there’s always the CD5si which has always been rated as excellent vfm.
Whilst I toyed with the notion of finding a late production CDX2, careful thought needs to be given to investing in expensive, obsolete, discontinued hardware - it’s rarely a bargain and an early but not unexpected failure will inevitably disappoint.
KR, J
I believe the situation with CDX2’s has recently… improved… 
Apologies for thread-hijacking, but since we’re talking of CDX2 issues, I noticed last night that the drawer on mine was giving a little more resistance than usual in the last 3-4cm of travel as I closed it. It wasn’t huge, but felt like a ribbon cable (I believe there’s one of these connecting the drawer to the rest of the player, correct?) was folding in an unusual way and pushing back a little bit.
It’s not affecting performance (yet 
) but if there’s a quick check/fix I can do at this stage to avoid a pothole in the future, advice would be welcome.
Mark
Identical issue has recently began affecting my CDX2 – very strange!
Interested to know how…….?
Some mechs have been ‘found’, I believe…?