My whole point
I see. It seemed like you were concerned about the new streamers’ useful lifetime
Not at all - more concerned about integrated streaming services disappearing or becoming unsupportable. Or new ones not being supported - like Amazon. If I spend circa £5k upwards on a streamer I’m not interested in ‘work arounds’ going forward.
I see. Well, should you want to move to a different service, transferring favorites and playlists is a breeze with Soundiiz and similar services, that shouldn’t scare you. Qobuz is fine, personally I don’t see the point of waiting for Amazon.
And regarding “integrated streaming services disappearing or becoming unsupportable”, that was my point - they are just software which can be changed, and it’s difficult to imagine a future streaming service requirement that the new streamers’ computing platform can’t handle
On the subject of CDPs, I have two Arcam Alpha 5 CDPs that are 25+ years old + have just sold a 20+ year old budget Kenwood - all of which still play CDs as their makers intended - TBH if I don’t get similar longevity out of my much more expensive CD5si I will be more than slightly cheesed off - ideally it will get to 25 years old with needing a mech repair.
As for CDPs vs streamers, I think the point being made above is that (largely beyond Naim’s control) streaming needs, services and compatibility have developed beyond all recognition since the gen 1 platform launch. Depending upon the user’s needs, the platform may already be obsolete. In contrast, assuming one still wants to play CDs, providing the SQ is high enough, a CDP is not obsolete whether it works or not. There are actually quite a few decent CDPs on the market today - the tech is not obsolete - it’s just that not all manufacturers support like they once did, though some do.
Naim have been making streamers for quite a while now, and there has yet to be a service that has stopped working or had support withdrawn once implemented so I don’t see any particular cause for concern there.
If you want any particular service supported just because it’s newer or cheaper I would suggest you are not Naim’s target customer. They have chosen which services to support carefully based on sound quality, demand and the likely long term prospects of the service remaining viable. They may, in their own good time, add Amazon to that list although there are always more issues to deal with behind the scenes that us customers are generally aware of. For example, see Stevesky’s explanation here:
I thought this post was about replacement mechs for players not Streaming
The CDM9 that was used in the Alpha 5 was one of Philips best mechs and, apart from platter drop, they’re very reliable overall. I have an Alpha 5 plus and a Naim CD3 both still going strong, both with the CDM9 mech.
So what is it with mechs that were otherwise new that makes them dead after being stored for years? What part expires and can it be just that part in the mech that can be replaced? I have a new naim sourced and apparently soak tested VAM1202 mech in a naim box that I hope is still good for when ever I need it. It was not cheap either so I wont be happy if it’s a dud!
Hi Richard,
Could you tell me what mechanism my 1997 CDS / CDPS has ?
Regards,
Martin
They do seem very robust - the plastic draw cog is the other thing to watch - I have replaced it on both units. However, even if broken, with a bit of ingenuity (Naim-inspired Velcro handle on the disc draw cover) they still work fine but just with a manual draw and a press of the open/close button to tell the machine to read the disc when a new CD is inserted.
hear hear
Yes, I have a 5 with a busted cog. The mech is standing by as a spare…
Mario, there are obvious things like lubricants - either the wrong types applied in the wrong place, or not even applied at all (Philips themselves had lots of failures of the old VAM1204 IIRC due to no lubricant in a critical place), or just lubricants aging and gumming, to laser or component failure. Apart from that, I’m not sure whether anybody knows for certain.
Martin, IIRC, it’s a CDM4/25. Unfortunately this is a rare CDM4 variant using a brushless motor, superior to the regular and much more commonly found CDM4/19 units and not interchangeable.
I seem to recall being told by Sheila back in the day that the CDM4/11 and CDM4/27 were possible replacements, whether in part or whole, but some modification may be required. @NeilS may know more here.
Trying to collate it all here >> Sustaining Naim CDPs - An Appeal - #81 by gthack
Updates/corrections welcome
This website in The Netherlands may help:
“wwwdotdutchaudioclassicsdotnlforwardslashthe_complete_d_a_dac_converter_list”
which lists DACs and mechs in a multitude of CDPs.
How about Naim consider making an ND555 and NDX2 with CD transport like the dCS Rossini?
Could this be the way to go? CD as a format is still popular and isn’t dead. What does everyone else think?
Might be a bigger box but could be very good. Definitely a market for it.
I‘d buy it. I am not so sure if there is a market for it though. The „easy“ way would be to make a transport in the new solstice design and use the solstice psu as upgrade. Yeah, i could live with that also
Another thought: would ist be possible to replace the analogue out of a new cd5si with a digital out like Naim did in the past with older cdx2 Players? That may be a great Transport for under 2k…