What's Happening to my CD3.5?

What should be remembered about CD mechanisms is that they are moving parts and are subject to wear. Really they should be considered equivalent to, say, the cartridge in your turntable with the exception that a CD mechanism will probably last longer and won’t cost nearly so much to replace (especially if you use a half-decent Moving Coil!). Unfortunately CD mechanisms are beyond our manufacturing capability, hence like many other specialists hifi companies, we buy them from Philips who make best performing and most reliable mechanisms we have found

Apart from use (or even lack of use) there are many factors that can affect the longevity of the mechanism: temperature, humidity, dust etc… The main thing is that failure at some point is inevitable and while some mechs can go on and on for many years, others can fail within the first couple of years. Obviously should such an early failure occur during warranty then we will replace the mechanism free of charge. Beyond this we take a view but then one enters a time period where failure rates start to become much more of a possibility.

CD mechanism failures apply to all audio companies manufacturing digital disc players and from what information is available it seems we have a relatively good record in this regard.

The most important thing though is whether the maker of your disc player can actually replace the mechanism at all. Most companies keep only small stocks of mechanisms so you may find a few years down the line that the mechanism in your player cannot be replaced. We at Naim take great efforts to ensure we have adequate stocks of mechanisms for years to come. Even when such stocks get exhausted we hold back the old mechanisms for re-furbishment meaning that even our earliest players will have a long life ahead of them.

In conclusion, a little story: Only a couple of weeks ago I was contacted by a gentleman with a player he’d originally spent a substantial amount of money to purchase (I’m not mentioning any names but the player was more than double the cost of even our CDS3). Unfortunately the mechanism had died and neither the distributor nor the manufacturer was able to help him with a replacement. He had heard that we kept the last of that particular mechanism for his machine and begged us to sell him one. We politely refused and explained that our stocks were strictly reserved for Naim owners. Eventually he relented and said he understood our position but wished that he had been more aware about this a few years earlier otherwise he probably would have bought a Naim CD player instead…

Richard

Thanks for supporting us after the sale Richard. This is just one of the reasons why I chose to return to Naim afer a regretable absence.

I'm having no problems with my 7-year-old CDS (mk 1) transport (fingers crossed); but it's reassuring to know, should it fail, my CDS won't end up in the scrap-heap.

best regards,

dave

[This message was edited by dave simpson on WEDNESDAY 23 July 2003 at 02:15.]

Richard - I wouldn't have been able to refuse the poor guy. I mean...all that money lost! You could have sorted him as a one off and sworn him to secrecy and a promise to buy Naim in future. But hey..I am a softy and you are obviously hard as nails Nice to know that you are looking after us though.
Did you give him a steer as to which Naim player to buy used to rob of its transport??

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Originally posted by Tango:
It's a 1999 model and on average, it's used for about 3 hours per week. For the last two days it's playing up. Music goes quiet intermittently and then continues playing - kind of skipping. Visually, the lens looks clean. Plays okay for a few minutes then quiet, plays again, skip, etc. On a bad stretch it skips until it stops. What are the possible causes?

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Is that a Philips swing arm mech or a Philips linear tracking mech? If the latter, you can clean and re-lube the "runner" guide rails that the laser sled runs along, which will solve the problem. My old Sony midi system player had a similar problem - during the first (and sometimes later) tracks, the player would skip, but with none of that loud "cracking" noise - it just sounded like the music jumping like on a turntable. The lube cured it for over a year...

Since the mech could be shafted anyway, I'd guess "self servicing" the thing like this should be OK?

I have a 1985 Technics SLP2 that still plays, so I know mechs can last a long time...

When the music's over turn out the lights

Interesting thread.
First of all It's good to know when buying something like hi-fi that there is actually some back up if a component goes wrong. Many years ago I purchased a Micromega CD Player - it went wrong 3 times in the 1st year and I ended up getting it replaced. I moved it on shortly afterwards for a CD 3.5. The CD 3.5 started playing up after 25 months of fairly heavy use (Isnt that what what your supposed to do with a CD player?). Naim and my dealer sorted the fault out with no cost passed onto me.
Also, if after 5 or so year you can pay £200.00 or so for a fault to be repaired, and the repair is guaranteed, I don't have a problem with that either. How much more would it cost to replace the player with one of similar quality?
The other problem is how do you measure 'heavy' useage?

Tango: when you say it goes quiet do you mean it stops playing, or does the volume go down but you still get sound, but at a reduced level? A skipping fault could suggest a faulty transport, but the sound problem could suggest something else...?!? Me thinks a phone call to the nice people at Naim would be in order...
Regards,
Andy

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Originally posted by andy c:
How much more would it cost to replace the player with one of similar quality?

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You are joking right? Who ever replaces something with one of similar quality? This is a God given gift of an excuse to anyone who has ever suffered upgraditis. You should ask £200 or £7000.

Rasher, my point being that if you write-off the 3.5 what would you replace it with?

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Originally posted by Rasher:
Richard - I wouldn't have been able to refuse the poor guy. I mean...all that money lost! You could have sorted him as a one off and sworn him to secrecy and a promise to buy Naim in future. But hey..I am a softy and you are obviously hard as nails Nice to know that you are looking after us though.
Did you give him a steer as to which Naim player to buy used to rob of its transport??

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I have to admit I was stunned by what he had to say and, yes, it was tempting to allow a "one off" in this case. Trouble is, unless you're strict, you soon find that you're inundated with other manufacturers players at an unacceptable cost to our customers...

I did recommend that he take the matter up with the manufacturer as I'm surprised they couldn't at least offer some way to refurbish the transport for him. He did seem rather interested in the new CDS3, though.....

Richard

Tango,

why not give us a call and we'll see if we can diagnose the problem for you.

Richard

Last night my cd3.5 acted funny. Was playing along, halfway through a cd when suddenly the music stopped, the display said "Err". I "backtracked" and played the track again, all the way through, with no faults. I wondered if perhaps your little grippy things on your/my puck are wearing out. Is this a possibility?

Markus

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Originally posted by andy c:

Tango: when you say it goes quiet do you mean it stops playing, or does the volume go down but you still get sound, but at a reduced level? A skipping fault could suggest a faulty transport, but the sound problem could suggest something else...?!? Me thinks a phone call to the nice people at Naim would be in order...
Regards,
Andy

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Andy, when I said “music goes quiet” I mean precisely that. Nothing to do with the volume. It can stay quiet for anything from a split second to (say) 10 seconds, though its more likely to be two or three seconds when it happens. But again, nothing is certain. There were times when it struggles to play (intermittently) until it gives up the ghost and the red (stop) light appears.

I normally have the track number displayed on the LED when playing a disc. But last night I switched on the timer display to check if the laser is skipping or the transport is pausing. It looks like the latter; ‘cos when the fault sets in, the clock stops at a particular time on the timer, and when it plays again, it continues from the point where it had stopped. So it looks like all you wise guys are correct – it’s the transport which seems to be the problem.


Regards,

Tango

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Originally posted by Richard Dane:
Tango,

why not give us a call and we'll see if we can diagnose the problem for you.

Richard

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Richard,

It's most reassuring to know that we, the NAIM owners, have the kind of solid backing coming from the manufacturer. I'll certainly give you a call at Salisbury shortly.

Regards,

Tango

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Originally posted by domfjbrown:

Is that a Philips swing arm mech or a Philips linear tracking mech?

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Dom,

It's the swing arm type, the type that the lens can easily be inspected for dust, etc.

Regards,
Tango

D'oh - better sounding, but I'd not have a CLUE how to lube that type of deck. I guess it really IS "No user serviceable parts inside" then

When the music's over turn out the lights

Richard - I understand that you may not wish to disclose information of this type, but do you find some players go longer than others without repairs or servicing being required? I ask because I am tempted by a used CDX, but would be disappointed if it konked out early like these 3.5's seem to.
I must also add that if you buy an upmarket car, the servicing cost is likely to be high. I guess it's only fair to apply that to this stuff. Lesser makes would be thrown away after 5 years.

Rasher,

no, there's no indication that one Naim CD player model is more prone to mechanism failure than another. This is hardly surprising as all our CD players use similar mechanisms - the main change came with the VAM1205 where Philips abandoned the swing-arm for a sled mechanism.

Obviously we see more CD3s and CD3.5s coming in for service as these players, along with the more recent CD5, have been made in far greater numbers than our other players.

So long as you look after the player - always replace the transit screws when moving it, make sure the puck is kept in good condition with nice rounded rubber loops on the underside, keep the spindle and drawer clean and free of smoke and dust, keep your CDs clean - then your CD mech should have a good life before eventual replacement is necessary. Of course this won't absolutely guarantee it, as my previous post has elaborated on, but it's worthwhile doing everything you can to keep the odds stacked firmly on your side.

Of course, buying a second-hand player is always a bit of a risk as you have no idea whether the previous owner has been so scrupulous. At least with a Naim player you know that when the mech fails, we can replace it usually at relatively modest cost.

Richard

[This message was edited by Richard Dane on THURSDAY 24 July 2003 at 16:09.]

[This message was edited by Richard Dane on THURSDAY 24 July 2003 at 16:44.]

Smoke ?!?!
I will take home some blu-tak tonight for a clean up.

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Originally posted by Rasher:
Smoke ?!?!
I will take home some blu-tak tonight for a clean up.

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A smokey atmosphere is not only bad for your own health but also for that of a CD or DVD player.

Despite the best efforts of Allen Carr, I'm still not quite on the wagon...

[cough...!]