I am sitting here listening to best sounding music that I have ever experienced in my home and just had to share my gratitude to Naim with you all.
A couple of months ago my 2004 CDS3 failed on one channel. For most other brands of electronica this would have been time to buy the latest toy, and off to landfill for the defective device. Not with Naim. In full confidence of support, I contacted my friendly retailer and dropped off the ailing player the next day.
Four weeks later and I get a call to let me know that my cd player has been returned from HQ and I owe the princely sum of Ā£350 including carriage.
The service department report states that one channel of the dac had failed and has been replaced, but, as my player was of a certain vintage, they had also replaced the laser mechanism and a number of tants.
Having read the threads on here about the proās and conās of the replacement mech I must admit to a little apprehension when pressing play for the first time. What greeted me was a listening experience so different to my most recent memory of the particular track that I questioned my own positive reaction. Was I hearing all this new detail and dynamics because some of the warm organic analogue character had been lost, or was it just more of everything presented in a coherent visceral and holistic way?
Well, 3 days later, Iām convinced that Iāve lost nothing and gained so much that it is quite astonishing.
Iāve always loved what my CDS3 brought to my music listening time, but I had started to entertain ideas of the new toy, streaming. Well I can now immerse myself in my existing cd collection for at least the next lockdown duration, and marvel at how Naim not only manufacture superb HiFi but also support their customer for decades after the initial investment.
Hi @NeilS you will shortly be seeing one of my SuperUnitis which is on its way to you for a service. I know you will be gentle with it! But I would be very interested to know what you find wrong, causing distortion and general malaise in the amplifierā¦
My CDS3 and XPS2 are 13 years old, I just purchased them in August. The Naim support people were supremely helpful when I talked to them about their service recommendations
I just drove the units to the dealer yesterday and looking forward to the results
(Mine had a mech failure in 2015 but the German distributor still had a VAM 1250 and switched it in. Since then it was barely used by the previous owner, so itās a bit special to have a good-as-new VAM1250 still. Naim will probably not change it)
Suedkiez, if you want to keep the VAM 1250 mech then I would make it very clear in your instructions to Naim. However, my experience would indicate that there is little to concern any CDS3 owner when the time comes for a new laser mech. Iāve owned mine for long enough to remember the old forum discussions about needing to use an āinferiorā mech due to the discontinuation of the VAM 1250. As with most topics on our forum, there were extreme views expressed about the subject. I can assure you that there is nothing inferior about my CDS3 since its return from HQ
Thanks, I did ask them and they said that if it isnāt faulty they will not change it. This is also fair to other CDS3 etc. owners who are in need of a 1202 now or later - no point in depleting stocks by replacing perfectly fine 1250s.
Indeed, I know about the discussions but also about the many later positive comments by members who received a new one back. (I am not DR-ing the XPS2 in the hope that one day I will make a killing when a hype starts about āNaim lost its way with the DR and there was more PRaT without DRā )
I will certainly keep an eye out for it, could be interesting as the SU isnāt known for distortion issues.
You mention amplifier - I take it that means the problem manifests itself on all inputs?
Which dealer will it coming via?
Yes the issue is there both on an analogue input that I use for an external FM tuner and also on upnp streaming files from my Core. I have another SuperUniti in my office, so I know what they should sound like.
The distortion sounds like crossover distortion to me, but as well as that it lacks power and the midrange is kind of recessed.
The dealer is PJ HiFi in Guildford. I dropped it off there over a week ago and they said they would courier it within a day or two, so I guess it should be with you by now.
I have a naim cd 3.5 and it occasionally skips after a few hours playing and sometimes when listening to music with a heavy bass response. Itās situated on a mission isoplat on a soundstyle rack. Unfortunately, i was told some time ago that the Philips Vam 1205 laser assembly is no longer available. Itās been a while since i was given this bad news and i was wondering if there are any other new Naim authorised alternatives?
Mike H
NeilS didnāt mention the CD3.5 in this post, āCDX2, CDS3, or CD555 with a view on long-term servicability?ā
but he will probably be able to tell you if you summon him by @ plus Username (edit: unless you replied to him anyway, I can never tell if itās a reply when it immediately follows the previous post
Roger all that Vauxhall i haad occasion to return my CD5xs for a second time for attention
(one of the analogue boards needed replacing ) They very kindly offered all repairs ādown to larkinā which took a little longer due to the lock down but it arrived back yesterday sounding better then ever!
Thanks to Henry OāBrian and the service guys for a job well done outstanding!
)