Just taken my Olive CD3 out of retirement, it sounded fantastic after being retired in 2002 and un-used since then .
Hi Richard, the early CDS used the CDM4/27 and the later ones used CDM4/21.
The two mechs are interchangeable with only minor differences to the body.
As to any other equivalent, itās not something that has been looked into.
Regards
Neil.
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Probably if they were any good, Naim would simply buy them
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Yeah. But key is has anyone had any experience of them and how vital are they to the sound quality?
Thanks Neil, do you anything re the CDM4/11 that Sheila mentioned?
I read some customers reviews on Amazon, for the 1202 mechs. A lot of people are complaining. Very often it doesnāt work or work badly or only few hours.
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I may be being Foolish & Deluded (as Winnie the Pooh said) but I take my much comfort from the fact that so many CDPs of great vintage are still going strong - a few are mentioned above, plus my 1991 Technics which seems to be unaffected by the years, house moves and being kept in an unheated garage for years. My 2002 CDX2 is (touch wood) also showing no signs of distress, despite having had no servicing or other TLC.
Do we have any evidence that Naim CDPs are more susceptible to failure than more mundane models? If not, I feel some of the panic and disgruntlement above might be misplaced.
Mark
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None. I looked into this about 14 years ago and Naimās MTBF was a little bit better than Philips own figures. Mech failures usually have an initial spike followed by a bell curve that peaks around 5-7 years. If your mech is still going strong after that then it could go for many, many years.
FWIW I have a very early Hitachi player still working well as well as a number of second gen players all working just fine. Of course I also have others that have died, but thatās only to be expected - some live, many others die.
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So thereās no guarantees but maybe best to just enjoy what we have rather than worrying about tomorrow. Seems to be the way to go.
If we can enjoy what we have then my CDS3 could go on and on!
Iām staying put for now! Like anything in life, nothing lasts forever, even cold November rain. Which will be coming up Soon!
No Iām afraid I donāt Richard, but it does look pretty similar. The depth of the platter is the only obvious difference visually.
I canāt comment on compatibility with Naim players though.
Regards
Neil.
Very worrying.
My original mech died after 4 years and the replacement VAM1250 is now 12 years old. If itās demise turns my CDS3 into a doorstop Iād be seriously miffed. If I owned a 2018 vintage Iād be livid.
One of the reasons I buy Naim is the way itās possible to keep older products running. I think if Naim lose that they lose much of the brand ethos and a fair few customers.
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Steve the VAM1250 has been unavailable outside of Naim for at least 15 years. When Naimās own stocks were exhausted they could have just left it there but instead invested in an R&D project to enable the VAM1202 to be fitted in its place - this long after CDS3 production had ceased. They did their best for customers where most others would have just shrugged and said sorry, but with yields so poor on 1202s and the problems of sourcing once COVID hit, we are where we are. I donāt think anyone can say Naim have not tried their hardest here. And Iām sure that if they can find more they will get them.
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I have cds3 mech replaced last year so bit worried how long it will last, it does put me off a bit. Sometimes
I listening to cd passively but concerned about longevity of mech spoiling enjoyment really. Iām thinking along the lines of Leema as a replacement or Cyrus Rega Creek. I appreciate naim are trying to source mechs but ultimately focal own naim will they allow money and time used looking for mechs 
they could say move ex cd owners (dinosaur music replay ) get streaming instead. With hindsight I wish I had stayed with Cyrus
Well said Iām of the same rather angry to be honest
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Sorry you are angry but please read my post above. Itās worth remembering that the oldest CDS3s are almost 20 years old and the model was discontinued almost a decade ago.
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It is very unfortunate for cdp ownersā¦ā¦but if they were Krell, Linn, Meridian ownerās and many others we would not even be having this discussion, they gave up many many years ago. Keep up the good work Naim, keep trying, but people need to be realistic.
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Richard I appreciate your reply however many owners of cd players have invested hard earned money for what they believe are outstanding players. I appreciate itās extremely difficult to source mechs however we are talking thousand of pounds here. People thought naim would perhaps have a certain amount of loyalty to their customer base. How can a customer owner justify throwing Ā£15000 of 555 in the bin or Ā£4000 cds3 and cdx2 in said wheely bin
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I understand completely. My point is that Naim value the loyalty of their customers above all else and have tried as hard as they can to support CDS3 and CDX2 owners. Ergo the lengths they have gone to to keep them supported. Itās an unfortunate situation but it is what it is right now, and thereās not much one can do about that at the moment.
FWIW, I believe CD555 mechs are still supported.
I find it interesting that no dealer selling second hand CD players makes any mention of this situation at allā¦
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I bought my CDS2 a couple of years ago in the full knowledge that mechs were scarce, and it was only the laser that could be repaired. Well what do you know, within two weeks of purchase it was skipping all over the place. Deep despair!!
I bought it off eBay from a Naim dealer who gave three months warranty. So I contacted them and told them the problem. They had it collected, sent to Naim, who thankfully repaired it, and it was sent back to me. Fantastic service from the dealer and Naim alike. Touch wood, itās worked perfectly ever since.
Itās the best source I have ever owned bar none, it brings me great joy to hear it, and when it does die, I will grieve for it and move on. My next CD player will be more modern, and not Naim.
OTOH, my Olive Naim amps, barring disasters, should outlive me.
I sincerely believe that Naim have gone the extra mile in trying to keep these awesome machines alive for as long as they can. I only wish that Naim would make a new high end CDP. Who would have ever thought they would make a turntable system? So you never know! 
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