Ok thanks.
Naim CDI....is this the transport failing or is it the puck?
wylton
Naim and Mana member
I'm sure that the ring should be black and in any case, it is a textured surface and shouldn't be smooth.
As someone who has owned both the original CDI and CDS, here are my views.
As I recall, Julian Vereker said that the design of the player(s) was such that the disk needs to be lightly coupled to the transport drive in order to minimise vibrational noise transfer to the disk. Hence you have two versions of the puck: - one with 1 rubber ring and another with 3 rubber rings. The one rubber version sounds better because of the minimal contact points but they have a greater tendency to slip.
The ring on the transport should be black Nextel. Yours is different. Has it worn off or has the transport been replaced with a non-standard one? This is one of the problems of this CD player along with the rubber rings on the puck getting old and compressed. It is possible to rotate the rubber rings to improve things. Alternatively obtain a rubber hose with similar diameter and cut it into small rings and replace the old ones. I think you can obtain such hoses from bicycle tyre suppliers; they are used as a part in the pump sockets. I have no idea how to replace the Nextel layer on the transport. I've heard of people cutting a ring from a rubber sheet and gluing it to the transport but this sounds like a very poor solution.
If as you say, the CD player works with older CDs but not with newer ones, the problem may lie with the CDs themselves. These CD players were designed very closely to meet the original CD standard specs. Newer CDs tend to be all over the place with regard to the original CD specifications. In this case, they may be too thin.
I did not think that the newer pucks will work with this CD player but I may be wrong.
I loved these players but I gave up on them because of these problems. The CDS2 is much better in this area and the CDS3 even better.
As I recall, Julian Vereker said that the design of the player(s) was such that the disk needs to be lightly coupled to the transport drive in order to minimise vibrational noise transfer to the disk. Hence you have two versions of the puck: - one with 1 rubber ring and another with 3 rubber rings. The one rubber version sounds better because of the minimal contact points but they have a greater tendency to slip.
The ring on the transport should be black Nextel. Yours is different. Has it worn off or has the transport been replaced with a non-standard one? This is one of the problems of this CD player along with the rubber rings on the puck getting old and compressed. It is possible to rotate the rubber rings to improve things. Alternatively obtain a rubber hose with similar diameter and cut it into small rings and replace the old ones. I think you can obtain such hoses from bicycle tyre suppliers; they are used as a part in the pump sockets. I have no idea how to replace the Nextel layer on the transport. I've heard of people cutting a ring from a rubber sheet and gluing it to the transport but this sounds like a very poor solution.
If as you say, the CD player works with older CDs but not with newer ones, the problem may lie with the CDs themselves. These CD players were designed very closely to meet the original CD standard specs. Newer CDs tend to be all over the place with regard to the original CD specifications. In this case, they may be too thin.
I did not think that the newer pucks will work with this CD player but I may be wrong.
I loved these players but I gave up on them because of these problems. The CDS2 is much better in this area and the CDS3 even better.
Ok thanks for that detailed reply....much obliged!
I believe that the nextel ring is the right colour as this is the cdm9 pro mech. I have also put the photo on the naim forum and the naim reps have said it looks ok.
I have ordered a clamp 5 which is magnetic for more grip and see how that goes. After that I might give it all a wipe down with some isopropyl alcohol. If all that fails it will go off to naim or which hat for them to have a look at or see if anything can be done or it’s a basket case.
Will report back if and when there is something to say....many thanks for your replies....
wylton
Naim and Mana member
Don't do that! You risk taking the coating off! Just use a slightly damp cotton bud, but be very careful, and don't go anywhere near the laser!
Oh ok....I meant the laser with the isopropyl....but might just not do any of that....
wylton
Naim and Mana member
The thing is, that the laser mech is quite delicate. The slipping disc is a bad thing and will cause damage; if it's too bad, then the laser will shake about as it tries to lock on to the signal encoded on the disc. The puck 5 cured all of my problems. When I bought my CDS, it had already gone through one mechanism and the new hub was already showing signs of wear. I tried all sorts of experiments with the old top hat puck, but none of them worked as well as the puck 5. Some will tell you that the top hat pucks sound better, but what is the use of that if it causes damage? I'm certain that the CDi uses that same mech as the CDS, so the new puck should work. I tried cleaning the drive bay in my CDS with a cotton bud soaked with isopropanol and the coating started to come off. Regarding the coating on yours, I though they were all grey / black to be honest.
Dowser
Learning to bodge again..
As you say, white Nextel ring is correct on cdm9 pro based CDIs. Puck 5 will likely fix it.
I have had lasers fail in these, but donor players with same swing arm laser can still be found with a bit of research, then it’s just the job of transferring to the pro mech (it has a better motor). Naim won’t do this for you though I think.
I have had lasers fail in these, but donor players with same swing arm laser can still be found with a bit of research, then it’s just the job of transferring to the pro mech (it has a better motor). Naim won’t do this for you though I think.
John_73
pfm Member
The clamp 5 arrived today but while its an improvement it still slips...
Sounds like the rubber has possibly dried. You don’t know what the previous owner may have used to clean the rubber ring before, so it might have had a bad effect now. Might be an idea to buy some PlatenClene rubber restorer, and apply a *little’ to a cotton bud, and very lightly apply it around the rubber, applying gentle pressure only.
https://cpc.farnell.com/af-international/pcl100/rubber-platen-cleaner-platenclene/dp/SAPCL100
The clamp 5 puck usually does the trick (I came up with this one way back in the early 00’s over at diyaudio.com and it’s been used as a successful disc slip cure by many since then), so the rubber is likely perished and not gripping the disc.
wylton
Naim and Mana member
The clamp 5 arrived today but while its an improvement it still slips...
The coating on the hub must be worn then, that is the only explanation. Try what Mr Pig says, but do be careful. Those useless top hat pucks have been the cause of premature failure of many laser mechanisms.
I have had it from new....
I’ve tried double sided tape with no success...tape on the top of the cd, thin CDs, thick CDs, cleaning the nextel ring with cotton buds and water, new clamp 3, new clamp 5.....so I think I might send it off to which hat for them to look at.
So as I needed a player I have bought a cdx2....really don’t know what to expect but it has some big shoes to fill....
So as I needed a player I have bought a cdx2....really don’t know what to expect but it has some big shoes to fill....
John_73
pfm Member
Fine, and you’re welcome...
I had a CDi & a CDX, not a massive difference between them IME, I would expect the CDX2 to sound great. If the player is fixable I believe Witch Hat do an interesting mod which allows it to take an off board power supply.
say it as it is
pfm Member
if it is a mech fault I have a cdm9 unit not the pro but if getting parts is an issue there might be enough parts to swap onto a pro mech