Would be good if we can have something direct from Naim. Should I sell my CDS3 in the knowledge that it cannot be repaired if the mech goes. How reliable is an 8 or 9 year old mech? Many thanks,
Dan
Maybe so. But - there have been reports, from Naim, on here, that there are no more - working - mechs at Salisbury. I think there was a high failure rate, when stocks were functionally checkedā¦?
Happy to be proved wrong, thoughā¦ 
Itās sad, but it appears to be not a part of the Naim business plan. I try to minimise using the CD3.5 & CDX as much as possible. However we also have much older CDPs (Linn Karik & Meridian 200) which are very fine transports and are still going strong.
But if the wunnerful nDAC goes ābelly upā, then we really are in trouble!
Naim is a somewhat closed system, like an Apple computer in the sense of closed. Iād love sometime to hear or have discussed the long-term Naim business model. And a discussion about whether Naim continues to innovate.
One could argue the Uniti line is innovative, but Iād question that. Is the DAC a high quality DAC? Do state of the art streamers usually have the DAC onboard the streamer?
Do you get the sense Naim is innovating?
So, the OP asks about CDPās ā excellent question, and I am with him. The Star is a good all-in-one solution if you want a built-in DAC, steamer and CD player, but for $5000 USD? Pretty steep and Iād question whether the individual parts are fantastic or innovative.
I may be in this place soon. Should I get my admittedly limited 250 CD collection of mostly classical titles ripped to a hard disk and then attach said hard disk to the Uniti or other streamer (say, an Aurender)? Or should I just buy a decent transport and connect it to get the CDās I have now and may buy to play on the system?
What makes the Naim CDP great? Better than a $500 Cambridge Audio transport? Doubt it. What most people want is a reasonably heavy machine that reads the disks consistently well.
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That reads like quite a string of questions, opinions and assumptions.
Not sure Iām getting it though?
He who has ears to hear, will hear.
If a 12 year old sony cd that cost Ā£150 stops working it is an entirely different thing to a naim cd player that cost Ā£1000-3000 + not being repairable.
Iād be very resentful given the large initial investment!
I donāt want to spend Ā£2300 on a naim streamer because at the end of a similar time period it would be VERY old technology and possibly unsupported.Itās taken years for naim to reduce the replacement cost of screens when itās a well known fault so they really need to pull their socks up over this one!
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My CDX2 (19 years old) has just gone in for service and to be fitted with a digital output
Replaced it with my Naim Olive CD player (base model) it sounds very good - even after 25 years plus
I had a Marantz UDP player - broke down after three years.
I think I have had good value of my 2002 CDX2 and my Olive (sometime last century) but not all the current supply chain problems could have been foreseen . I have a Nova which is used lightly for streaming , and totally understand why people prefer CDs
I beg to differā¦
It is not a closed ecosystem but it does not make much sense to play mix and match when the manufacturer offers the electronics to go with their system. Other than matching the Naim amp and preamp (with PS upgrades), you are free to use whatever source suits you best. Wonāt hold your system back.
Do you really think the Star is overpriced as a all-in-one unit? Take a look at the build quality and all the features it has to offer. Is there something comparable on the market which you find better than the Star? I donāt think it has much competition.
If you only have 250 cdās it is a no brainer for me to rip your collection and stream it. You still can have the booklet to go through the information you may want to look up while playing a certain disc.
Naim CD players are constructed quite differently than many other cheaper cd players. Wether the sound quality improvement is worth the price is up to you. Also, they work a charm with system automation if using with other Naim equipement. They are a pleasure to use and generally are built to last.
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My CDI is still boxed up and hidden away
Iād not lose sleep over this. Naim did manage parts longer than almost any other manufacturer. The expectation that they store an indefinite supply, effectively leasing shelf space for free to all users, for decades seems a bit entitled.
Today, if I wanted a Naim CD player, Iād get a streamer and a non Naim decent CD transport and call it a good solution.
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True, but the CDX2 only went out of production two or three years ago, I think. So did the CD5XS.
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I donāt think entitlement is a fair summary of my feelings on this. Obviously I cannot speak for others here who would like a long and happy life for their CD players.
I would happily pay an increased service cost to have my CD mech replaced in the event of failure if that replacement required extra engineering work, or some sort of innovative work around, given the mech is no longer being manufactured.
Naim still service most of their old gear, it isnāt an unreasonable expectation that we would opine on the lack of that option for an entire class of source. Though I get that its a single class of issue for that class of source.
My motives here are purely that I love my CD5, and it would be a terrible shame to throw the thing away if the mechanism fails. A streamer would not have the same character, or sound, of the particular electronics/DAC in my player, and I really like the ceremony of putting a CD through it!
I am saving for a ND5 XS2 too, I view that device, and the NDX2/ND555 as Naimās current DAC offerings that also have a streamer built in. Or their streamers with a DAC built in. But that doesnāt also mean I feel ok about ditching a really well built bit of hardware.
Does that all come across as entitlement though? Iām very happy to revisit my own attitudes and opinions on things 
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Without sounding too arrogant - the Naim CD5 was an entry level cd player. If mechs were abundant i have no doubt that Naim would service it. But in the current state of things the only viable option is to wait for Naim to source the replacement mech (involving no engineering)
Any engineering work is just not worth it, unless you are willing to pay more than getting a brandnew CD5si. Why should Naim do the service at a loss?
Maybe starting from CDX2 - if people are willing to spend 2K or so on service - it would start to make more sense. But even then, i really doubt that it can be done without significant investement in ressources - which, as sad as it may sound, would probably be better spent in developing a new CD player altogether.
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It just strikes me that at a time when there is a focus in society en general in being able to sustain things itās ironic that superbly engineered CD players (and letās be fair itās not only Naim in this position) cannot be sustained for the sake of sourcing a laser mechanism. Or letās say hypothetically, at least at this point in time, I bite the bullet and buy a Core and ND555, how long before that is redundant?
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I get that, I really do I am just exposing my sentimentality to the forum X)
I would gladly pay a premium to have my CDS3 repaired. It is a quality machine and has been completely serviced, I have 1500 cds and have no interest in streaming. I have own 13 pieces of Naim kit currently but will not consider Naim in the future,
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Perhaps should people wait a bit when the post COVID economy will reach again its normal working. Then maybe Naim will be able to find another stock of mechs.
Thatās definitely likely to bring about an improvement for some of the players, I actually forget which mechs are directly replaceable, which can take a VAM1202 despite not being originally fitted with one, and which are just not fixable. I feel a table coming onā¦ (though not soon as work is flipping nuts right now! Must not browse forum during lunch 
)
If itās of any use to keep track in a nice way Iāll try and add to/maintain this one
work in progress, may contain errors!
| Model | Original mech | Repairable? Replaceable with? |
|---|---|---|
| CDS | (CDM4/25??), CDM4/27, CDM4/21 | /21 and /27 interchangeable |
| CDI | CDM4 CDM9 | |
| CD2 | CDM9 | |
| CD3 | CDM9/44 | |
| CD3.5 | VAM1205 | |
| CDS2 | VAM1205 | |
| CDX | VAM1205 | |
| CD5 | VAM1205 | |
| CDX2 | VAM1250 | VAM1202 |
| CDX2.2 | VAM1202 | |
| CDS3 | VAM1250 | VAM1202 |
| CD5i | ||
| CD5x | VAM1202/12 | |
| CD555 | VAM1250 Pro | |
| CD5 i | VAM1202/12 | |
| CD5 XS | VAM1202/12 | |
| CD5si | Sanyo sf-hd 850 |
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This is the new way its done - especially by politicians. They donāt say āXXX happened.ā They say, āDid XXX happen? Do we know?ā They think it insulates them from the criticisms.