Longevity of Naim CD players

My CDS/ CDPS was one of the last made serviced in 2001 at the factory and still going strong the Naim build quality is excellent.

 Regards,

Martin

Main issue with any CD player, whether Naim or not, is the laser mechanism.  How long any one particular mechanism will last is anybody's guess.  Some are generally better than others. Compared to others, Philips (as generally used by Naim) have a good rep with the longevity of their mechs although I've seen some of the MTBF graphs and IIRC there's a failure peak around the 7 year mark. Of course some fail earlier than that (some even DOA) and others just go on and on. I have a few very early 14bit CD players, now over 30 years old, still running with CDM0 and CDM1 mechs.

As for Naim CD players, mechanism aside, the main issues with the earlier machines was the Philips DAC chips going bad. The later Burr Brown chips were more reliable here, with any failures being extremely rare. 

The CDM9 mechanism was generally a good one but with an achilles heel; the platter could drop on the spindle which would then appear as though the mechanism had failed as it could no longer read any discs.  Popping the platter back up to the top of the spindle was an easy fix for many of these, although it was never a permanent solution to the problem. 

Calum Ferguson posted:

Yes, my CD5XS was unused from Jan. 17 until this month and I must admit to having concerns over that. Porsche’s are known to react badly to periods of non-use, off to get the paper in the 911 Turbo now to keep it tip-top

Ah, herein lies a clue to the conundrum...  it's obviously something to do with the lubricating oil draining into the sump during its period of non-use.  It's clear to me where the sump is on my CD555, it's the part below the laser mech and the bottom of the player. It measures roughly 7740 cubic centimetres, that's about seven and three quarter litres - no wonder these CD555s run for fifteen years or so without a service.  I've never found the dipstick though.

Calum Ferguson posted:

Yes, my CD5XS was unused from Jan. 17 until this month and I must admit to having concerns over that. Porsche’s are known to react badly to periods of non-use, off to get the paper in the 911 Turbo now to keep it tip-top

Pretty off topic,. Please can you tell us what' going wrong ? engine, electronics, flat spot on tyres  ?

Regards

Roberto

rsch posted:

Calum Ferguson posted:

Yes, my CD5XS was unused from Jan. 17 until this month and I must admit to having concerns over that. Porsche’s are known to react badly to periods of non-use, off to get the paper in the 911 Turbo now to keep it tip-top

Pretty off topic,. Please can you tell us what' going wrong ? engine, electronics, flat spot on tyres  ?

Regards

Roberto

Not off topic at all, I was saying I had concerns about how long the CD5XS had been out of action and used the Porsche analogy in the car world, that's all, no I don't have a 911, do you think I would be slumming it with a CD5XS + DAC if I did ?

I was thinking the wrong weighted oil will be the problem ????

Calum Ferguson posted:

rsch posted:

Calum Ferguson posted:

Yes, my CD5XS was unused from Jan. 17 until this month and I must admit to having concerns over that. Porsche’s are known to react badly to periods of non-use, off to get the paper in the 911 Turbo now to keep it tip-top

Pretty off topic,. Please can you tell us what' going wrong ? engine, electronics, flat spot on tyres  ?

Regards

Roberto

Not off topic at all, I was saying I had concerns about how long the CD5XS had been out of action and used the Porsche analogy in the car world, that's all, no I don't have a 911, do you think I would be slumming it with a CD5XS + DAC if I did ?

Lol nothing wrong with that set up at all. Think this threads done and dusted, blame RJstaines.

That dry English humour strikes again. Funny 

Sounsfaber posted:

Now Im not at work I can comment.

Ok so my impression. When the CD players not being used. The lubricated rail that’ the laser runs on becomes “dry” and or attracts dust buildup. This in turn makes it harder on the whole “mechanism” to work. At a guess moisture build up wouldn’t help any inturnal parts either. 

 For those that have been around the hobby for a while would remember that most of Naim’s replacement mechanisms for the CDS 2 (VAM 1202?) had to be thrown out, they had degraded in storage to the point of being useless. Scientific evidence maybe or just plan old common sense.

Off to get a 6 pack of  beer in my Morris Minor. It doesn’t like to sit and enjoys giving me a ride to the pub once in a while you know.

Hope there's some left, there's one in my CDS3.

Richard Dane posted:

Main issue with any CD player, whether Naim or not, is the laser mechanism.  How long any one particular mechanism will last is anybody's guess.  Some are generally better than others. Compared to others, Philips (as generally used by Naim) have a good rep with the longevity of their mechs although I've seen some of the MTBF graphs and IIRC there's a failure peak around the 7 year mark. Of course some fail earlier than that (some even DOA) and others just go on and on. I have a few very early 14bit CD players, now over 30 years old, still running with CDM0 and CDM1 mechs.

As for Naim CD players, mechanism aside, the main issues with the earlier machines was the Philips DAC chips going bad. The later Burr Brown chips were more reliable here, with any failures being extremely rare. 

The CDM9 mechanism was generally a good one but with an achilles heel; the platter could drop on the spindle which would then appear as though the mechanism had failed as it could no longer read any discs.  Popping the platter back up to the top of the spindle was an easy fix for many of these, although it was never a permanent solution to the problem. 

As usual Richard is the oracle here. It is the laser mechanisms that fail and these are 

a) nothing to do with Naim build quality

b) a bit of a random event

I had a CD3.5 for 18 years. As I remember the laser failed at around the 8 year mark (close to Richard's hump). Naim replaced it for a typical Naim service charge (i.e. fair but not inexpensive) and then the next one failed after 18 months. Grrrr. - just unlucky. To give Naim credit they replaced it FOC which they had no obligation to. It then operated perfectly until I sold it (as a convert to streaming).

I did decide on the basis of that experience that I wouldn't but a s/h CD player though.

My CDX lasted 12 years before laser failed. I had Chris West replace my CDS3 laser a few years ago and hopefully will get at least 12 years use.

CDX2 been going strong for 16 years now. Never been serviced. Survived a house move. Gets around 10 hours plus every week. Have renewed the puck every few years which always drives a little leap in performance. 

How do you go about getting a replacement puck?

You can purchase replacement clamps through your dealer.  Just ensure you order the correct one for your particular player.  See the FAQ for more info on identifying clamps.

There was me thinking the good folk of Naim would bung me a freebie in the post 

I am sure if you ask nicely they would send a mug or usb stick. Cheer up the plastic bits to keep the balls from flying off the Fraim......are a ludicrous price in comparison.????

How much is a CD5XS puck then ? Tenner ? Twenty tops ?

8 quid from Tom Tom. ☺

I had a friend send back his CDS3 that had a progressively increasing problem with skipping-a surefire sign of a failing transport. Turns out it was a worn (plastic) worm gear in the transport that was not fully engaging its companion worm wheel that showed similar wear at the points of mutual contact. Readjusting to allow fresh plastic to engage with fresh plastic fixed the problem completely.  The mechanical 'slop' had exceeded the ability of the servo to correct. 

Which is not to say that this is the cause of ALL transport failures, but it seems inevitable that plastic on plastic will have a finite lifespan. 

My CDX2 is sounding superb this morning... lots of PRAT, bounce and definition that really creates that feel good sensation... however I did my semi annual gentle tease out of the puck bands prior to this... as it slipped this morning when I inserted a disc for indexing... and I really feel it has improved the sound after I have done this.. perhaps reduces micro disc vibration etc... I don’t know but it’s the first time I have done this since owning my 552... and boy it is really rocking this morning...

Thought I would try that freebie tip with my CDS3/555PS. Sounds to have tightened up the sound and definitely more PRAT. Cheers ! 

Will give it a try at some point over the weekend 

A bit off-topic but I've read some folklore somewhere (probably many years ago on the Forum) that putting a dark cloth over the CDS3's plastic cover can make things sound better. Perhaps that was just a case of too much bright light around the player - who knows.

started early with cdp 85/86 first was philips 104. did take the lid off and was amazed at cd transport/block of. aluminium ,had  lots of cdp and never had one fail.  Still think is a good idea to run them regularly.   I have 4 r2r which get the same treatment

Just checked the puck on my CDX2 and it doesn’t have any bands to tease. It’s just hard plastic with 3 tiny little feet on the outer edge. Magnet in the middle. Model 5 I think 

I bought this year an impeccable CDX that never went through the technical service. Buy a laser spare in case you need repair, but for now it still sounds perfect.