The Isis has only increased in price by £400 in the 12 years it has been sold. I had to buy blind as my Naim/Rega dealer doesn’t stock the Isis as there is little demand for expensive players and he couldn’t risk having one in stock. So I had to rely on reviews. Paul Messenger, the hifi reviewer, who has a full 500 home system said the Isis was very musical and he compared it favourably with the CDS 3 and 555 ps.
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There’s a level of certainty in that sentence that I don’t think is justified.
Yup. Naim are… ever hopeful.
I think reference has been made to Indiana Jones being needed…!
It isn’t looking very good, indeed
There are a lot of worried owners, of Naim CD players, of varying vintages. But - I have not seen very many reports of actual ‘deaths’…?
As others have said, there are (potentially) options, beyond formal Naim support, still.
My CDX2 is still working - built 2005, with the ‘Version 1’ mech.
I will keep it ticking over… 
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All true, but it’s understandable to be worried about “what if”, and it’s not a nice feeling in the back of the head. Some did break, like here: https://community.naimaudio.com/t/cds3-death-rattle/18585?u=suedkiez
On the other hand, it’s to be expected that mechanical things break at some point and that Naim can’t service them forever. As someone said, it’s been 9 years since the last CDS3 and 19 since the first.
(Personally I’ve ripped it all, the price of a Roon setup is less than a new CDP)
If it was people, we would call them the ‘worried well’…
I must disagree - all mechanical things do not break. Most things which move or rotate are subject to wear, to a lesser or greater degree - which can cause failure, in extreme.
Look at the veteran/vintage/classic cars which are still around. OK, its possible to get the wearing parts - or worst case, make them from scratch.
In a way, thats where Naims amps are. The parts - or their modern near-equivalents - can be obtained - so a say 1978 NAP160 can be fully ‘serviced’.
The real problem is that the CD players all used COTS (commercial, off the shelf) mechanisms… Which have been discontinued… Whereas, Electrolytic Capacitors are still made, in any size you want.
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Well, they break eventually, even for classic cars the original parts will be gone at one point. Many are. Anyway, parts get replaced because the previous parts broke, which I think was my main point. Entropy, if you will, one has to be prepared for it when owning physical things.
Whether there are replacement parts available, either original or remade, is a separate question. Of course widely-used parts like capacitors are less of a problem. And for others, we are now at the point where most larger or less complicated things can often be copied and built economically even in low numbers (with 3D printing for instance). Alas, CD mechs are too intricate currently.
Some - not all - classic cars exist in sufficient numbers for there to be a ready market & supply of spare parts. Complete body shells are even available - !! (eg the MG ‘B’)
Car parts are also generally simple enough to be ‘made’ if needed. I agree, that CD mechs are not - unfortunately - in this category. They are also not purely mechanical - there is electronics involved too.
I’m one of those worried owners. Justifiably so IMO as the original mech on my CDS3 died after 4 years and it’s replacement is now 12 years old.
It’s inevitable that more owners are going to end up with worthless players.
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Part of the reason why I got rid of mine 2 weeks ago I couldn’t wait any longer knowing failure of the mech will happen. It had a service last year replacement vam1202 that skipped so was returned for another mech. The replacement mech won’t last as long as original Philips VAM1250. I was sorry to see it go new players are being looked at from leema, cyrus, roksan rega
Hi would you say the cyrus cdi is more detailed than the cds3 and stage width/depth. It’s on my short list having got rid of cds3
Thanks
My CDS/CDPS is nearly thirty years old and I believe is on its original mechanism. It was last serviced just before i purchased it twenty years ago.
It owes me nothing and still sounds fantastic. I fully intend to use it until it fails, and when it does fail i will be very disappointed to have lost such a wonderful machine. If it could continue to be maintained i would be pleased, but I don’t expect it to be possible.
My main worry at the moment is whether to have the CDPS serviced, as the cost may end up being wasted if the mech fails, but then again its twenty years since it was last recapped and it don’t want it to fail and take out the head unit.
The other issue is i cannot find another streaming source which can match it for performance.
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Naim has stored an extra mech for each CD555 it manufactured, just in case. Speaking of just in case, I acquired one of them for mine…just in case.
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The Cyrus CDI XR is a fine player however not close to my CDS3. Plenty of PRAT and works well with all Naim electronics. Comparable to Naim CDX but smoother less edgy. Half case width so room for the power supply when available in the US.
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Problem sorted with cds3 player regarding mech 
got rid of player 3 weeks ago. Didn’t want to keep it knowing it will fail again already had 2 mechs since VAM1250 was replaced.
After careful listening its the Cyrus CDI XR that wins even out of the box it runs rings round cds3. Very detailed huge sound stage, width, depth and clarity. Very dynamic sounds even better now after 4 days constant burn in. Also pre ordered PSU XR ( will be next year before it’s available huge waiting list )
The phantom black finish is superb blends with naim gear.
My advice is off load cds3 while you can and use funds to buy another. Also Cyrus offers 2 year warranty and spare loading mechanisms for 10 years. SMS in Nottingham make servos etc for Cyrus 
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Mine is back with a new dac and sounding incredible, naim made the best cd players, I have not heard other brands even come close, I will be the last owner of my cds3. It’s the only player that makes me question the LP12’s superiority.
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Perhaps Naim could contact this company for the manufacture of replacement mechs built to original (or improved) specs. I am no expert but I would have thought a supplier to the medical and aerospace industries could manufacture some CD mechanism, especially as the design work has already been done…
No doubt there are cost issues and some may fear IP problems, but that doesn’t seem to stop the aftermarket/pattern parts business from supplying the automotive industry. Just Google car parts for a typical German car and there are masses of original, OEM and non-genuine parts out there. As mentioned above, one can even build a brand new MGB from aftermarket/Motor Heritage parts. A CD player, no matter how good, is not more complex/difficult to make than a whole car!
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You are assuming that naim want to find a solution. They may well not. The volumes will be low, so costs for something bespoke will be high.
For me, If I wanted to play cds, I’d buy a cheap, but good transport like a couple of the ones mentioned above. I sold my cd5xs for a number of reasons.
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I was informed by a Cyrus technician 2 weeks when I made enquiries regarding mechs, they buy the loader mechanism in (more cost effective they keep spare loading mechanisms for 10 years servo components are constantly being developed. Cyrus have maintained the same slot loading for years and have no reason to change it’s design only the servo evolution to read correctly first time from the disc. The main circuit boards for all Cyrus units are manufactured by SMS in Nottingham then shipped back to Cyrus in Cambridge.
SMS manufacture the servo board - the chip, software and electronics that controls the laser and sled, how they move and how they read the disc - is a bespoke Cyrus design, and built by their manufacturing partner SMS in Nottingham. Cyrus then marry up the loader mech with the Servo board to create the SE engine.
Having got rid of my Cds3 to private buyer about 3 week ago I have no regrets the imminent demise of the mech is not worth the wait.
It was serviced January last year, got it back June, 3 weeks in mech failed ( the dreaded ERR ) 5 weeks later another vam1202. Player ok till a few weeks ago yep you guessed it sometimes ERR reared it ugly head again. Time for it to go let someone else deal with it.
Bearing in mind the cds3 was not developed much towards the end of 2000. Mine was a 2006 plate, the Cyrus cdi xr I bought this week has 14 years development over the cds3.
You are captivated at the difference in every way it runs rings around the cds3.
I’ve also placed an order for the Psu xr ( not available till next year) the waiting list is massive.
To be honest I’m having a rethink about my naim gear and seriously considering moving back to Cyrus.
The icing on the cake is Cyrus are British owned and manufactured that’s what I want
Maybe naim could possibly approach SMS for servo boards etc somehow I feel that’s been done my advice is off load cds3 get funds while you can towards another player
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