No one is saying that.
A wise man once stated āif you donāt cannibalize yourself, someone else willā. I believe that applies here.
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@Smoothfidelity I wasnāt saying what you suggest. I was expressing a personal opinion that Iām not likely to spend big on hi-fi again having got where I am. I was referring to a NC500 series but it applies equally to other manufacturers kit.
I think Naim have gone about the updated separates range in the right order for them. If theyād released a new Statement first, then trickled down to a New Classic 500 series, then 300 etc. then I donāt think they would have had good sales volumes until the NC300 and NC200 series saw the light. I bet they make most money from their lower ranges than their 500 & Statement.
Iāve been surprised at the steady trickle of NC200 series boxes coming up for sale from owners upgrading to NC300 series.
I suspect/am hopeful that their integrateds are next, or possibly the Statement Streamer I guess. By the time the 500 series is revamped Iām sure theyāll tempt both existing 500 owners, and NC300 owners to trade up. And in the meantime they will have had good money in from the NC200 and NC300 to do whatever remains on NC500 development (up to and including, most of it!)
As for trickledown points i.e. do statement updates first, then trickle the advances down the range, I think thatās only one option. Given the recent post from Naim staff, that the preamp circuit in the NC200 and NC300 was developed to have scalable SQ, I think it can just as easily be scale up/trickle up, as down. Applying motor industry equivalents to hifi, with the latterās (at least in Naimās case) longer series lifecycles, isnāt necessarily valid.
So I think Naim might have spent the last few years developing a series of designs that scale up and down, releasing the NC200 implementations first gives them a shot of cash from new sales that allows the higher end boxes to have their development finalised and, once released, generate a whole load of new sales including to the box swappers who only just bought NC200 series boxes!
All idle speculation anyway!
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Like they used to say at Proctor and Gamble, if it doesnāt say new and improved, it had better say 10 cents off!
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How about a bunch of these playing real instruments in your home. Learning to play like different musicians from recordings. Welcome the Elonorchestra 500 
The Statement version will also build the instruments and walk the dogs.
The 500 series didnāt stand still. It was upgraded in 2012 to DR.
The ND555 came out in 2018.
I maybe incorrect on dates but thatās two changes since 2000.
Is the latest gear at the same price level really so much better or just different?
I think the new 500 series will sound more neutral, more like the NC 300 series but more slam. Maybe quieter noise floor. But 552DR and 500DR still beats 332, 300 NPX, 2 x 350s. And so it should. Maybe margins are closer and sound is different.
I am sure Naim are working on the NC 500 system and it will be awesome!
But current 500 system is amazing. I am certainly enjoying my 500DR which is superb.
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Itās easy to think that new products always are better. If you think that then you know nothing about how difficult it is with product development. Itās enough with that one person in management decides that margins need to up another with x procent to make investors happy forcing you to cut in places you didnāt compromise on in earlier generations to loose track. And that is just one of many things that can go wrong. Product success is rarely a straight progress line. Sometimes you make a best in class product, sometimes you fail big. Not even companies with most money in the world can guarantee that the new product will be more successful than the former one.
Iāve seen companies go down fast with bad ownership and it really only takes few persons to kill a great company. Normally investors that love money more than great products when they should learn that with great products comes money.
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Tbh, listening to my NDS into 52 500DR. I think it sounds incredible.
And the 552 DR is awesome too. Whatās the problem with it? Iām at a bit of a loss. For me was my next go to preamp.
Donāt think I can fund an SI 
Anyway, I will stick with my plans. Canāt say I am fussed about changing to ND555, but 552 DR at some point would be a nice upgrade.
Of course I am working on basis on buying used kit which maybe 10 or 20 years old but having DR.
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Bottom line is this. 500 system is still inspirational to many. To constantly change product lines would be off putting. Someone may be waiting for that 552 DR for 10 years and then they finally save up and get it. Only to find itās been replaced!
Keeping product lines for 10 or 20 years makes sense. It provides customers with stability and builds trust and faith in the brand that when it was made it was good enough.
These systems have status and gravity. Itās been interesting to see @Cohen1263 build an active system with 3 x 500DRs and an S1 of late.
Donāt think 500 system is obselete just yet.
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Many are still enjoying much older kitā¦ā¦long may that be. As a well known band once sungā¦ā¦all that glisters is not gold. Glad you are enjoying your musicš
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This is turning into another OC support thread. 
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I think 20+ years in between a total ground up redesign is extreme. Think of where you were in life 20 years ago and all the things that have changed within every industry. Most people were getting their first cell phone 20 years ago. Almost no one had a flat screen TV. If it takes 20 years to barely improve something, then we havenāt came very far in the past 60 years of audio. Thatās the argument isnāt it? That a new line couldnāt be much better than the old.
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Nice!
Good post Dan_M. Regarding your thoughts on āsome people save up for years to buy a 552ā I decided to buy a much cheaper car as I move to electric to fund going active with 500ās. The neighbours donāt get it at all but many of you guys will. No regrets.
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DR was 2012 so it looks like 12 years now.
If you look at Naimās product history seems about every 10 years they do a change.
For example Nac 82 born 1992. Replaced by 282 2002. DR HiCap to give DR sound 2012. 2023 332.
So with Naim itās not like they havenāt done anything for 20 years to 500 series. And I am sure in nexxt year or two a 500 NC will be here.
Naim have done alot of other work with Statement and Uniti products.
There is the NC range now. And an integrated CI range for home theatre installations.
I would imagine in another 10 to 12 years time the NC may see another refresh.
Using a 52 as pre I wouldnāt say a 332 is so much better. New isnāt always better. Itās different! Naim have made advances and changes since the 52
We can see a NC 500 series is on the horizon.
To put things in perspective with hifi. Ear Yoshino 912 has been around 20 years. The LP12 has changed progressively over 50 years.
I donāt think that high end hifi and smart phones and flat screen TVs evolve quite the same way.
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Real lifelike?
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As a buyer of new OC at large discounts as I cannot afford to do things differently, I would say that OC was seen on this forum as market leading hifi at its price point even though it is 10 year old technology. Then NC is released and you can buy brand new OC with 40 or 50 pct discount because OC is overnight only 60 pct as good as it used to be. I see a pattern emerging - the 500 series is exactly the same. There will be a replacement and then there will be instant significant loss of value and contributors saying the 500 series was not as good as we all thought it was.
Iām sorry but on this occasion I completely disagree with you. I think DBās description is very good. I also found it very hard to describe the sound the first time I came face to face with a Statement system in a domestic environment but the purity of the āharmonicsā was right at the top of that list. By this I mean the way the bass notes can enhance the sweetness of the midrange and treble and vice versa. This and the tonal accuracy the Statement manages to attain seems to create a holographic ambiance of even the venue acoustics, which does āweaveā a much better acoustic picture. Iāve heard my 552 do the same thing very occasionally but the Statement takes this to a completely new level.
I find describing what Iām hearing more akin to describing how wine tastes or what emotion a piece of art evokes. Very elusive but a whole lot better if you can associate them with similar but sometimes different words.
I like DBās description and completely get it!
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Absolutely Dan.
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