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Naim CDX2 still a good CD player?

Interesting reading the thread. I have a 15yr old CD5X, been faultless but if spares are limited is it worth trading it in at a cut price for a Saturn R for example?
 
A danger this falls into the usual traps. To be clear, I don’t think any manufacturer need apologise for shortages of accessories for products produced 30 years ago and especially when those shortages were often beyond their control. The fact you’re talking about people buying those products second or third hand now says much. Maybe focus more on the fact their products last to the point they need such replacements whereas those of others don’t even make it beyond the decade in some notable cases. They were not to know for example that the original CDX2 mech would be discontinued so quickly. The replacement had a plentiful supply and spares were purchased accordingly but there’s no accounting for the numbers now on the used market thanks to the resurgence of vinyl and the move to high end streaming.

To be equally clear then we’re actively critiquing the company that produces the products which last longer without needing replacement parts as opposed to the company that don’t make stuff sufficiently robust to get to that point. Always good to pause and reflect on that fundamental point.

I would be the first to agree that current Naim customer service is not fit for purpose at present but that’s separate to the issue of spares which really can’t be summarised as neatly as “they should have bought more”.

As for the idea that 20 people equals a major problem. No words.
 
Interesting reading the thread. I have a 15yr old CD5X, been faultless but if spares are limited is it worth trading it in at a cut price for a Saturn R for example?

Saturn/R is a great machine, exiting if you can trade with a decent price, dealers read forums too.
 
CDX2 was ok
Rega Isis, 2nd hand was a big jump in sound quality for me

Brilliant example though. CDX2 plus XPS2 matches the Isis on everything but timbre and PRaT where the Isis was far better. However, one lasts 20 years and one… doesn’t.

Saturn/R is a great machine, exiting if you can trade with a decent price, dealers read forums too.

A great example of how threads like this induce anxiety on issues which really aren’t issues. If I’d taken this approach I’d have traded my CDX2 barely 2 years after purchase once the original mech was no longer produced. I’d have missed out on 18 further years of great music. If your CD5X is working and has worked this long why would it stop working now? It likely has another decade.
 
Interesting read. I entertained the idea of a used CDX2 to replace my Krell KPS-30i about 10 years ago and was glad the plan didn't take off.

I am not sure how some companies are keeping up but it's comprehensible that spares of the mech or other parts of the CD player will become obsolete in the near or distant future when the player is not produced by the company anymore. It's just a matter of time. I have stopped listening to CDs about 5 years ago but still keep my Krell player and 4 boxes full with CDs. Fortunately my player is still working flawlessly after 17 years of ownership. Throughout this period only the output capacitors have been replaced, and my local repairer has another spare mech for my Krell player in case it fails. Unfortunately I don't think I'll be returning to CDs. The player has been sitting on the display rack for quite a while now.
 
I was only thinking this week that it must have been superbly engineered, I use it almost daily. There’s no reason why it shouldn’t last another ten years, by then if there’s no spares I can’t grumble.
15 years of ownership for something that cost me around £1500, given the use I’ve had out of it which is considerable, £100 per year so far, amazing value.
I guess it will do me for a few years yet.
 
I have had two CDX 2, unfortunately both could not be repaired by Naim. I found a Teddy Pardo XPS Power Supply was excellent - it is one third of the size of the Naim equivalent, one quarter of the price, never needs servicing and sounds just as good. I definitely heard a big difference adding an XPS (Teddy version or Naim version) - it takes some of the rough edges off the sound: the CDX/CDX2 do have a tendency to sound a little raw at times as they are very analyitical, and the external power supply just tames this nature a little.

I would not bother trying to repair it if it breaks down, but until that point you have a wonderful CD player.
 
My three Naim CD players are

CD3 bought new in 1994 still working after I had to pullup the sunken platter - easy but a well known problem

CDX2 bought new in 2006 still working after the swing out CD tray bearing seized - Naim sorted this out. I have a Teddy XPS for this but prefer the sound without

CDX2.2 bought new in 2016 recently the CD platter came off with a CD, the platter had a hairline crack and came away from the spindle. There are a few reports of this happening with recent VAM1202s, I wonder if this fault depleted spares unexpectedly. I fixed the player using a platter from a Chinese eBay VAM1202 copy. Works well so far,

All players sound good to me and at least one should last me out, I hope!
 
I’ve been using a Tascam CD-RW700 for many years.
It was bought for a particular purpose, when burning CDs was more popular.

Being a prof. machine, Tascam used a robust transport.
It still works well and, to my ears, has excellent sound quality.

I also use a prof. Tascam minidisc machine, which has worked faultlessly and
also has very good sound quality.
 
I've loved all my Naim CD players - CD3, CDI, CDS, CDS2, CDS3 - in fact they are the only serious CD players I've ever owned.

Unfortunately, as many have indicated, they are very hard to service because of the unavailability of spare lasers/transports. Normally the electronics themselves are pretty reliable but almost all my players have had laser/transport problems that could not be satisfactorily addressed.

I got a 10 year old CDS3 around 2013 fully prepared to deal with repairs given the age. Sure enough it started giving problems shortly later and after unsatisfactory repairs, I opted for the expensive full replacement laser kit from Naim which involved changing the entire transport plus the motherboard. My CDS3 made wonderful music for 6 years but now it has just gone to the technician again. I don't have high hopes.

I don't fault Naim for being unable to support their old CD players. To be fair, they have tried to keep laser transports in stock for as long as it was feasible (I understand they even kept refurbished old ones when new ones were no longer available). The problem lies with the structure of the optical player industry. Most hifi manufacturers rely upon mass produced CD lasers/transport because these things depend on economies of scale to be made at reasonable prices. Imagine, even very expensive high end CD players are built around cheap laser transports that are also used in very cheap players. Even the Rega Isis I believe is using a cheap Sanyo laser. And these things go obsolete fairly quickly as models are changed and updated. Unlike cartridges, different lasers and transports are not easily substituted.

I only have the CD3, CDS2 and CDS3 left. I am now using the CD3 because it's the only one that works (most of the time). My CDS2 is a doorstep and my CDS3 is a likely candidate too. I have no choice but to contemplate an acceptable cheaper player that I can just ditch if it dies. I no longer will pay a lot for a high end CD player.
 
Coda - the only hi end manufacturer (that I know of) that truly makes their own CD transports is Esoteric. But repairs are very expensive and sometimes can only be done in Japan.

Pro-Ject boasts about how they worked with the ex Philips CD transport design team to develop the Pro CD8 mechanism in their dedicated transport the RS2 T. But, in reality it is based around a cheap Sanyo.

So to the OP, if you enjoy your CDX and it works fine, just stick with it until it dies. Your options for a reliable new player are very limited.
 
I can't for the life of me remember where I read this, but I was under the impression that Naim's CD5si has a custom transport. All I can find at the moment is that it has a "new" transport, but I could swear that I read somewhere that they developed their own transport for it. Can anyone confirm?
 
I love the sound of td1541 players. But they are all vintage now. So they get used sparingly. I have a Philips DAC960 that I use mostly with any cd player.
But it doesn't quite sound the same because of the transport used.

Its a pity that all these players that are going in landfill cannot be converted into a DAC. But I expect the price to convert would not be worth it.
 
Using the Naim CD3 to replace the problematical CDS3, I must agree that the TD 1541 CD3 sounds very musical and enjoyable indeed even in a system that greatly outclasses it. It's a bit fuzzy, less focused, bass less defined and bit curtailed in the high frequencies. But it has really nice overall flow, rhythm and coherence that remind one of good analogue replay especially with moving magnet carts. I can see the appeal.

Have you tried the TD1543 based machines? The sound is supposed to have a lot of similarities with that of the much more expensive 1541.
 
24 year old Naim CDS here - still going strong... (touch wood! :rolleyes:)

Naim's first gen players (all TDA1541A, with radial mechs) are still the most musical*, IMO.
(also have CDSII and CD555, FWIW)


(*in as much as CD can said to be musical, that is :()
 


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