High-end CD player manufacturers are in an increasingly tricky position. Thanks to a relative lack of computer-grade optical disc drive mechanisms on the supply chain market, big players like Naim and PS Audio are finding themselves unable to produce some of their existing Hi-Fi audio products.
The reason for this is that these Hi-Fi players rely on optical drives built for PCs, of which there is little demand for in 2026. Most mainstream computers haven’t offered disc drives in years, and so disc drive makers have pulled the plug on manufacturing certain models.
For Naim and PS Audio, who don’t make disc drives themselves, this spells bad news. PS Audio’s PMG Super Audio CD (SACD) Transport production ended back in January of this year, and Naim has gone as far as to build a Uniti Star streaming amplifier Lite model without a disc drive (to replace the existing Uniti Star), as per Headphonesty.
Hi-Fi sound equipment is being hit the hardest
High-end CD players are in a volatile market position
Hi-Fi audio equipment is a niche market category to begin with, and so it’s unsurprising to see its recent volatility due to supply chain constraints. Back when computers came with optical disc drives as standard, these PC components could easily be repurposed for use in high-end CD players and transport models, but that’s becoming less feasible today.
On the surface, the solution would be to build optical disc drives in-house, but doing so requires significant expertise that differs from that of companies making CD players and transporters. To make matters worse, substituting in replacement drives is a messy ordeal, as optical drives are often built as an assembly — which means swapping out one model for the next comes with the need for complex mechanical alterations and control code adjustments, as Tom’s Hardware points out.
…it’s a worrying development to see the Hi-Fi CD market in such a bind.
Thankfully, disc drive stockpiles are still available in some capacity, meaning that existing owners of many Hi-Fi audio devices can still repair their hardware into the foreseeable future. Nevertheless, it’s a worrying development to see the Hi-Fi CD market in such a bind, and it fills the physical media lover inside of me with sorrow.
Based on current trends, I can’t imagine out-of-production disc drive components being re-introduced to market, which is certainly a shame. My hope is that, considering physical media’s relative renaissance in popularity, new disc drives will hit the scene in the coming years that will be viable for use in Hi-Fi CD systems.
