Don’t know if the 552 is fresh, but even when pre-loved it needs some time to settle. As a comparison I have seen before on this forum people discussing about the merrits of the XPS against the 555PS and people only really appreciated when the 555 was gone. Not every upgrade is immediate apparent. And I don’ know the 52 but I assume it was good as predecessor of the 552. But as you said, it needs to be a sufficient difference for yourself to be able to pull the trigger.
Think I have found the problem or should I say my daughter has
Just spotted some fluff in 2 off the connections, not sure which ones they are or what they supply but I have just spent the last 10 minutes checking them all and can 100% say they are all clean now.
The result well I can finally say I see the light and at last it is sound more like I would expect, still not massively better but it is one I would now do
Just spending the last few hours with it before I have to box it up and enjoying it
I don’t know how long it’s been like this but I can’t wait for the owner to listen to it in his system as it should really make a difference
But it’s nice to have found a problem and listen to what it can do
Just need to trade the 52 now lol
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Q: Is the 552 better than the 52?
A: Yeah, but no, but yeah, but no, but yeah.
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Well i am not one to just say its great and be a sheep if i dont get it and i must say i wasnt getting it at all and couldn’t see what all the fuss about the 552 was about.
Got to say it was a miracle that my daughter spotted it as i wouldn’t have and even with my glasses on i dont think i would have noticed it.
Just about to box it up and then get my 52 back in, then i guess over the next few weeks, i will see how much i miss it.
But now i am excited for the owner as i haven’t told him
I would personally never buy a 552 new . It’s a 2002 pre with an upgraded power supply. It’s still a wonderful pre, but not sure it worth 20 k today, vs competition. So a second hand nac 52 is a wonderful value today.
Only teasing Dunc. These things are rarely straightforward.
I did had the same feeling as you 6 years ago, I bough 552 blind, really was more happy with my 52/250x2 active SBL speakers, but as you understand I couldn’t go back
Intriguing why not … of course the new 552s come with the very latest optimisations and tweaks to wiring etc… yes these are subtle benefits, and you pay for them, but I would feel cheated having a device like the 552 that doesn’t sound as good as it currently can… Of course a used 552 is going to be offering a significant portion of what a brand new model can offer, and I understand a full service of the NAC by Naim can provide many of the new optimisations and tweaks.
I decided to buy my 552 new, and with a trade in was not as expensive as I had anticipated and of course I get my 5 year warranty.
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Simon in Suffolk
What are these optimisations and tweaks ?
I’m aware of the resistor uplift in the 500
But didn’t think there were any modifications to the 552 other than the DR
lyndon
I understand that there are small tweaks and optimisations made over time that improve SQ… this can include modified wiring routing, or re positioning of cable ties etc. I think the automation control interfacing has been improved as well.
Simon
Yes, I realise that but I didn’t think there were any tweaks to the 552, unlike the 500
Lyndon
not new because it’s very expensive for a vintage preamp ( still unchanged since 2002, apart an upgrade ps).
For that money i would go for Vac signature with phono, Ayre kxr twenty, Lamm L2.1 reference, or Dagostino.
Surely the age of a component alone is not relevant. It is how it sounds.
Naim, I am sure, have looked, and continue to look, at what significant advances can be made to their pre amps that would warrant the R&D investment, testing and the launch of a new product. It would appear that the scope for an improved top-of-the-line classic pre is limited, or non existent, and they had to go to the lengths of the Statement pre to get a worthwhile improvement over the 552.
Very happy to be told I am entirely wrong here.
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Isn’t it a matter of listening and deciding based on that (of course limited by finances (and possibly by availability to hear), rather than by age of design? Newer things do not necessarily sound better than older things…
My choice was easy - no preamp as my DAC does the job!
the 552 sounds very good but personally i would not be inclined to buy it new if i had the cash. It’s just me. A product unchanged since 17 years bothers me. I would first listen to other pre in this level of price .
But second hand at a good price very probably.
Once it gets perfect, it is very hard to make it “more perfect” 
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i had a 252/ supercap before. I finally sold it and get an ear 912 pre ( same price new) . I found the sound more refined, better textured, more fluent, with same dynamics and bass. With that ear pre i got also a wonderful integrated phono. One box.
For me naim pre are overpriced.
I am more interested by their sources. I had cd5x, cdx2, cdx2/ xps2, and nds/ 555 dr now.
nothing is perfect. Naim are among the best, but there are also a lot of other wonderful brands. Mbl, Dagostino, Lamm, Dartzeel, to name just a few.
I’m in the same boat, but my reluctance is purely on the basis of cost. My rationale for buying an old 552 (but one of known provenance) is that I can then afford to have it serviced, DRd, and brought fully up to date. AV Options’ full monty service of a 552 brings it fully up to current spec, including the usual recapping, a new display board, complete disassembly and rebuild, followed by some burn-in time, followed by bench testing and listening tests. I don’t know how great the improvement will be, but I’m confident that what I’ll get back will be as good as a brand new 552, or maybe even better, given the possibility of sample variation, all for little over half the price of a new one.
If, a year from now, I decide that the 552 isn’t worth having, I can at least know that I’ve given it a fair shake.
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I have tried many different brands but always come back to Naim because I felt something was missing without the Naim NAC/NAP, sometimes with a big loss when I was forced to sell the unwanted item.
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