I currently have a CD5XS and am pleased with it. I know Naim now only have one player, the CD5 SI and have been told this is about to be discontinued although when I rang Naim they said such matters were always kept secret. Because I wish to continue with CD I am contemplating buying a new ‘spare’ CD5 SI whilst they are available. Is it safe to just keep it sealed and stored or should I set it up and perhaps play a disc once a week to keep it ticking over. Naim say they have enough mechanisms to keep there existing modern players going for the time being.
Hifi equipment is there to be played and enjoyed. I see on reason why you shouldn’t get at least ten years out of your CD player even if you use it every day. Naim have sufficient spares to keep it going well after that.
So get it out of the box and enjoy.
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Another thing to maybe consider is that where streaming is now the new kid on the block there might be less and less mechs getting used up, freeing those up in the long term for us old timers who wish to stick with CD replay.
You might also upgrade to a pre owned CDX2, and at a later stage rebuild it to latest 2.2 specs for a relatively modest expense. I bought a '07 one this week for my 3rd system (i already have a '09 2.2 i got last year).
Regards
Roberto
I have many CDs in my collection too. Though I use streaming a lot these days, I still want to hang on to my CDs. This is one of the main reasons why I chose the Uniti Star.
I seem to recall in the manual which came with older Naim CD players to start up the unit every 6 months.
Like a lot of mechanical things, classic cars?, they benefit from regular use.
I think @richarddane has said before cd mechanisms fail even while being stored for spares at Naim. So having a player boxed for a few years might not be such a good idea…better to use it, or just keep with the one you currently own.
Yup, storing a player away is no guarantee that it will work fine 5, 10, 20 years down the line. Lasers can fail, grease can harden, lubrication can dry up, chips can break down. Better to use what you have or spend the money on upgrading to a CDX2.
I think it’s very short sighted for manufacturers to stop making CD players. Loads of us have significant CD collections and from what I can gather on the forum lots of us are still buying CDs. I think that when people get fed up with issues with streaming services and issues with music downloads (and the rising costs of them) CDs will make a comeback. With a CD you get easy access to the cover artwork and the CD booklet with all the information about the recording lyrics etc.
I noticed that some manufacturers have recently launched new CD players so not everyone thinks that Cds are dead!
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Ironically at the Bristol show earlier this year, this appeared to be the case. One of the best sounding systems at the show for me was the new ATC CD2 player with SIA2-100 amplifier driving their SCM-40 speakers. Even better was the price of it all, I was gobsmacked to say the least.
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I love my CDS / CDPS totally involving a keeper.
Regards,
Martin
Oh no…
I want a naim Cd before they disappear. I currently use my meridian Cd 506 24 bit and wonder what the naim would be like in comparison. Must get before they go.
B
If that’s really going to happen then thank goodness I bought a CD5Si last year.
When the forum visited HQ last April it coincided with the demise of the CDX2/2. The MD mentioned they had come to the point of ceasing production to enable enough spare mechanisms to be stored for future service. It was mentioned that they could not find a replacement that sounded good enough…tried many and Teac was probably the best, but not good enough. Others design and make their own…Rega, perhaps Naim feel the market does not support that level of investment by them?
I would look at a used CDX2 rather than a new CD5si if I were you. (Indeed that is what I did do myself…)
Best
David
I have just looked, some great bargains to have
Will go for one once I can get funds together
Thanks mate
B
It really is a fine player…you will not be disappointed.
Be aware that the cdx2 is sonically different than the cd5xs. For me that would be no problem, but for some it would be.
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And sonically the CDX2 original with the iconic VAM1250 transport is subtly different to the later CDX2.2 which had a later VAM1202 transport and an added SPDIF interface. I personally prefer the former and have owned one from new … but probably harder to get hold of now.
I would agree with that. I have a CDX2 (admittedly with xps2), but when I auditioned the newer CDX2 preferred the slightly fuller sound of my older version. I didnt know or ask what the technical difference actually was, so thanks Simon, maybe it was the change of the transport specification.
I rarely play cds now having ripped most, but still occassionally enjoy listening to a silver spinning disc that has refused to rip (usually due to copyright watermarks). I certainly wouldnt contemplate being without it.