What is it about old Naim cd players ?

[ash_dac]

Hi,

I was thinking about picking up a second-hand Naim cd player but have been put off by the prices.

Even 2nd hand these things go for about £300+!

I thought the early examples were just 'improved' philips base models.

Why do they cost so much ?

Is it just huge demand for them ?

What extra stuff did Naim put in?


Regards,

Ashley.

 

[brianuk]

Well you are paying £300 for something that cost £900 new perhaps.

Many brand have philips inside of course, a lot of Arcams did.

Perhaps mod one of those instead?

 

[mastertech]

ash_dac
"I thought the early examples were just 'improved' philips base models."


high end is different, you cant say that, are brands like philips
and Sony high-end,nope!, perhaps some other members can enlighten
us here

naim i believe from years back was a high-end/fi brand
just because sony and philips are what they are doesnt mean
naim is a copycat of them,high-end is not a copycat

cheers

 

[brianuk]

Naim is now more hi end than ever (if hi end = expensive)

£14k Cd player
£12K Pre amp
£10K Power amp

So £300 for a Player and a £150 DIY PSU is a bargain eh ?

You can buy the CDS3 Mech/laser for less than £100 (its a philips too i think!). The player and its (required PSU) cost around £7K

 

[ash_dac]

ash_dac
"I thought the early examples were just 'improved' philips base models."


high end is different, you cant say that, are brands like philips
and Sony high-end,nope!, perhaps some other members can enlighten
us here

naim i believe from years back was a high-end/fi brand
just because sony and philips are what they are doesnt mean
naim is a copycat of them,high-end is not a copycat

cheers

Agreed, that was a throwaway remark, and i'll retract it.

Kind regards,

Ash.

 

[lohk]

Early NAIM CD players used PhilipsChips like many other brands, but unlike many competitors the created a completely different electronical environment "around", like individual supplies for each stage- and as far as i know their engineers even rewrote the software of the drive control. The early NAIM CD players sounded very good, a bit like the first Cambridge CD players before them, and these also used PhilipsChips. The first NAIM heard (a big two-box toploader) used a single TDA1541S1 only and sounded astonishingly good, musical and punchy. But it was ridiculously expensive.