CD player shortage threatens future repairs
New CD players are launching into a market where the optical-drive parts needed to build and repair them are becoming harder to source.
New CD players are arriving as demand for physical music returns, but a shortage of optical-drive components is making some of the machines difficult to produce and potentially harder to repair. Tom’s Hardware reports that PS Audio and Naim have already halted production of high-end CD players after suppliers stopped making the drives or mechanisms they relied on.1
The problem is not a lack of interest in CD playback. Headphonesty counted eight new models from brands including Musical Fidelity, Marantz, Arcam and NAD, while the wider market for physical media has been growing again.1 The awkward part is that a modern player still depends on a small and shrinking group of specialist manufacturers for its optical reader, servo and related components.
Musical Fidelity reportedly sources key parts from SUOS-HiFi, with three of its new models using SUOS disc mechanisms. Another uses a SUOS-sourced servo alongside a tray mechanism from an unnamed supplier. Marantz is said to develop its drives in-house, although the company’s wider sourcing arrangements are not clear.1
PS Audio ended production of its PMG Super Audio CD Transport after D&M, Marantz’s parent company, stopped accepting external orders for its optical drives. PS Audio bought the remaining stock, but not enough to keep production going indefinitely. Naim ran into a similar problem with the Uniti Star and was forced to look for an alternative supplier.1
That creates a repair problem as well as a manufacturing one. Both companies retained some drives for repairs and replacements, but those stocks are finite. A player can remain technically serviceable while its most important mechanical part becomes impossible to source.
Our opinion
The CD revival is running into an old hardware truth: a product is only as repairable as its least replaceable component. Building optical drives in-house could give manufacturers more control, but it is an expensive answer for a niche market. For buyers, the practical lesson is less about panic-buying a new player and more about checking whether a manufacturer explains its parts supply and long-term service plans before committing to premium hardware.