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Philips vam 1205 for naim cd 5

jimmytwos

jimmytwos

pfm Member
Hi all, just a quick post regarding the Philips vam 1205.

I recently tried to obtain one of these for a naim cd 5. They are, as has probably been discussed many times ,out of production.
The only units I could find were refurbished ones which are expensive and required the old unit exchanged as part of sale.

Chinese sellers on eBay are selling the vam1206. This unit is compatible with the cd 5 in place of the 1205. I now have a working cd 5 again. There are also sellers with the laser block.
I understand that the risk is non original or copy parts however I have ordered several lasers from different sellers over the last month and they all work fine.
 
Excellent, i like a happy ending. I have two cd3.5's and a spare transport.

But do you really know how well the laser is performing even though it works ? There is something you can do to check this by holding in one of the units buttons i think. Mr witchhat audio mentioned it a while back but i cant remember the details.

Oh the paranoia of an audiophool:)
 
One thing I have noticed is that scratched CDs seem to play fine. I have a favourite cd that has a few scratched marks on the label side and it plays fine.
Previously it would play and jump.

The button thing sounds like a service mode? Would love to know how to access this?
I somehow managed to access the service mode on my naim amp a while back which had the volume knob going up and down lol
 
jimmytwos said:
One thing I have noticed is that scratched CDs seem to play fine. I have a favourite cd that has a few scratched marks on the label side and it plays fine.
Previously it would play and jump.

The button thing sounds like a service mode? Would love to know how to access this?
I somehow managed to access the service mode on my naim amp a while back which had the volume knob going up and down lol
Click to expand...


The service mode thing was mentioned by witchhataudio in a thread last year. If you search his posts you might find it.
 
TBH - if you do just one thing - try that one first. It dwarfs anything else you can do to this architecture, simply because it give the output stage a clean reference (effectively - much, much better PSRR).

You don't need to use a 10uF tant either - 100uF or more of any electrolytic cap of say 25v rating will do the same, even better. Everyone has something like that in the bits box... it costs pennies.
 
For the self-test (at least on a CDS2), you put a CD in the Player, turn the power on whilst simultaneously Pressing Play. The Disc will Play from beginning to end. On the display you will see the cumulative number of errors
 
nap90 said:
For the self-test (at least on a CDS2), you put a CD in the Player, turn the power on whilst simultaneously Pressing Play. The Disc will Play from beginning to end. On the display you will see the cumulative number of errors
Click to expand...

I dare not try it on my 3.5 :eek: Ignorance is bliss as they say.
 
jlw2000 said:
Fantastic info, thank you. Did not even know of the VAM1206.

After a few months, is all still going strong?

How was the soldering to the mech? My skills are pretty bad, any tips? I’m going to order one of these from eBay to fix up my 3.5.... look about right?

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.com/ulk/itm/360680484895
Click to expand...
Hi, there's no soldering required (on cd 5 at least). Just the flat flex cables. I kept the original sled motor and transplanted it in to the new mech to avoid soldering.
I'm not 100% sure but I think the cd 3.5 used the vam 1204?
 
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If you are referring to the worm drive motor and limit switch, they can be transplanted into the new mech assuming that they work fine
 
Update on my 3.5: bought a replacement laser pick up from eBay (seller in Miami - Liberty Electronics). Installed after fumbling around with it for awhile, got it in, and it's now spinning up and currently in 'self test' mode (no far no errors).

A shout out to the absolutely *pathetic* service provided by the local USA Naim dealer. Naim wouldn't take it direct from me, and the service tech said it was a 'bad motor'. $30 and a month later it's working.

No wonder Naim is so on the decline in the US. The end user support is a joke.
 
Glad you got it sorted. To be fair to the dealer and naim, the cd3.5 has been out of production for many, many years due to the fact that Philips no longer produce or support those mechanisms. The mechs we purchase are technically copies from third parties which does not guarantee quality. Yes the dealer or naim could get hold of these but there's no quality assurance.
 
Naim actually tells me they have the lasers and will replace.... if thats the specific issue. But not other mech-related problems.

But the dealer service tech told me it wasn’t the laser, but a bad motor that “wouldn’t even spin up”. And questioned why I would I want to repair it anyway. A little digging on the forums revealed that it could be the laser.

Understood on your defense but it was local service incompetence that kept even from making the trip to Salisbury.

The Schitt guys have it figured out. Dealer and distributer networks are for the dogs.
 
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