Enjoy Dunc. I’m sure you are in for a treat.
Well its better than my 52, but once again not blown away by it and certainly it’s not night and day.
Bit more detail as in brighter, bass a bit more control, done for tonight and will see what tomorrow brings
Dunc,
May I respectfully suggest that you do not try to listen too hard, analysis or compare it but rather to lay back “switch off your mind and float downstream” by listening to and engaging with the music.
Then after sometime time, days if possible, of music go back to your old system and you will probably know which is for you.
Richard
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I haven’t compared a 52 to a 552. Given that the 52 was the best amp that Naim could possibly make prior to the 552, I’m guessing the 52 was no slouch to start with. I was very impressed with a shop demo 552 in the dealer and at home. The new 552 which arrived sounded very good. But the magic wasn’t there. It went back to Naim after about 6 months and was rebuilt. Problem solved.
I could still hear improvements for 6 months after my 552’s DR modification. Starting up a cold 552, it takes about a week for it to become fully on song, although it sounds amazing enough from cold.
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the result doesn’t really surprise me.
you are comparing Naim’s best preamp at one time, with Naim’s best preamp at a later time.
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I am beginning to think he might have a bad one,.ok it’s not 100% sited in my room as it’s only here for a few days, but it is sitting where my 52 lives. It’s nice and warm as it was only powered down for about 45 minutes and the other cables are the ones I use
Like I said it is better just not loads better and would scale it against when I added a 3rd amp to my s600 speakers and certainly not the jump I got when I swapped over from the sbl’s.
Yes I know my 52 uses a different supply and that could well be making a difference but then as some say that they ruined the sound, well if it does then the gap would be even closer.
Anyway both sound lovely and I might have a play with dressing the main cable tomorrow but as it’s not mine I don’t know if I should really
If there is a doubt, there is no doubt.
I’ve heard a 552 sounding breathtakingly life like, and on other occasions, sounding above average but nothing magical. I suppose that when you get to this level, all kinds of things can affect such a sensitive chain.
But the 552 definitely can sound so realistic as to be invisible. If it ain’t working, it might be that it’s in need of a fettle, or it just isn’t suited to the system/room it’s been dropped into. Whatever the reason, if it ain’t bowling you over, it ain’t worth the outlay. However, if you remain curious, trying another 552 some time down the road might (or possibly not) help you see what all the fuss is about.
Is it me or is there a recurring theme of ‘bad ones’ as it appears more common these days with not only 552s but also 500s and 555s?
From the Naim and MQA thread you would appear to be able to add ND555…
And then there is the remarkable popularity of ATC active speakers replacing Naim power amps.
But to put this in context, there is a world of difference between bad and simply preferring the presentation of one thing over another, depending on the individual listener’s preference of characteristics.(Which in different terminology could be expressed as deviations from absolute fidelity to the original signal as recorded, aka distortions using the word in its widest sense.) Of course, if a ‘bad one’ is simply a rogue defective one that is another matter - though a concern with a premium marque if anything other than very rare.
Meanwhile to the average music ‘consumer’ all these systems are extreme in terms of cost, so maybe people at this sort of level are either more fussy, or more discerning - or both.
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There was a time, I understand, and maybe it is still undertaken as a final QA check that a ‘senior designer’ would listen to all 500 series kit before it was shipped.
I have to admit that one of the reasons I haven’t moved to 500 series amps is the regular comments about the care needed in setting up, regular destressing of the cables, taking apart the Fraims etc. My Olive amps sound great to me, and in their heyday at the top of the Naim tree that level of care wasn’t ever talked about. I just want to get gear that makes music a joy to me, then play music, and remember to get it serviced every decade or so. (With the occasional upgrade binge every 20-25 years.) This isn’t to say the effort isn’t worth it in sound quality, more that I’m a lazy bu**er.
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Yes, to me the fussiness also seems too much - with too much chance of getting it wrong! To some extent it seems to demand that people are obsessive about the system, rather than simply about playing good music, which does not appeal to me. And anyway, I think my ears aren’t good enough to appreciate so e of the nuances people describe - though I count that as a blessing because I don’t need to forever worry about whether I have the best cable, or some other tweak not absolutely optimised.
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You could well be right, as one of the reasons i never went down the LP12 road, was because of the constant is it right, the sound has gone off, ect, ect threads.
My 52 simply just does its thing, i unplug it, move it and it sounds great every time, i dont worry about it and just enjoy the music.
I can see that the 552 is a great pre as is the 52, but for me its looking like the 52 is my end game as right now i would be silly to part with a large sum of money for this gain and if that is the case then i am very happy to live with what i have.
There is still tomorrow and you never know it might come good, right? As waiting for myself to adjust to the new sound and then convincing myself it was worth it is not going to happen
Some people can’t stop worrying and/or like tinkering. That doesn’t make it either necessary or desirable.
A little attention to and rigour in setting up, getting the supports right etc. pays dividends. Then you just get on with the music.
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I agree about obsessive fussiness, however in my experience the 552 is a Naim component that just appears not too fussy at all. You put it in and forget… the only thing I check every few months is that the Burndy cable is free hanging… and that’s it.
Now the 252 that was a different story…
A few thoughts on the 552. First, when I tried one at home my dealer warned me that from cold it would take five days to come on song. He was right. Second, although some have described hearing the 552 for the first time as a ‘wow moment’, it wasn’t like that for me. Yes, I could hear ‘more’ and it was obviously better but, compared to the 282/SCDR that I was used to, it wasn’t a jaw-dropping, obviously ‘impressive’ change. Finally, I have found that the 552 continues show its merits over the longer term, regularly causing me to pause and notice that it is revealing new insights in music that I thought I knew inside out. I’ve had one for over three years now and the 552DR is still giving me nice surprises in that way.
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They built me a bad one. It can be done. And they will do something about it if the customer thinks it’s a bad one. I heard a similar tale about a CDS3 when we last visited the factory. They ended up supplying a new one.
Another facet of this is the build itself, which is done with great skill and care, but not by robots. Might this introduce variability? I don’t see how it cant. For this reason, when we heard the shop demo NDS at home, knowing we were the first customers to get that unit since delivery and a shop warm up, we bought the demo unit. In the back of my mind was the possibility, however tiny, that another NDS might sound different.
Well at this moment I am leaning towards keeping my 52 and just enjoying it
My system sounds lovely to me and that is all that matters really
I can hear a difference but not one I think I am going to miss, just put my 52 back in and it’s cold and it sounds great and I haven’t gone, o I am missing this or that.
Got a mate on his way over to have a listen and will see what he thinks
That is a great result Dunc, and you can reassure yourself you have done the leg work to come to your conclusion, thus avoiding hankerings later on.
Enjoy your 52 and buy some music with all that dosh you have saved.
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Well another twist, just had a friend over, he is not one for hifi at all, but he is 14 years younger than me.
My 52 was still in at first and played some music he liked, more metal and heavy to what i would ever play and yes it sounded ok, i then swapped it over and played the same 2 tracks, now he doesn’t know which one is ment to be better and i didnt tell him.
Now playing the same first track this time i could hear quite a big difference and was a bit surprised, now my friend said straight away that this sounds better, bass was better , drums and even the guitar and he was right, so played a few more tracks and it seams to me that the more you push it the better it can deal with it against my 52.
Now i had been playing stuff more with vocals that i really enjoy and it looks like that possible isn’t challenging enough for it for me to have heard the difference?
Anyway i am beginning to see the light and now i need to think wether the music i play most of the time is worth the expense.
But i must say it was good to finally hear a bigger difference as i was beginning to think my hearing was on the way out or the other possible cause might be something is wrong with it or the cable that just happens to have sorted its self, anyway i dare not touch it right now as i am scared i might upset it lol
So well pleased for heavy metal music frends
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