With the system they follow it is unlikely that they can do so: in the three years of our NDX2 I could not say how many updates they have made, but about 4 or 5 roughly, and all with appreciable SQ changes, and some nothing minor or insignificant …
On the last one I download (4.8 for my NDX I think) I remember Clare commenting that there should be an improvement in sound.
I guess if it hasn’t been mentioned by Naim then it probably isn’t expected. Although, given people have done the upgrade, they may hear a difference.
I’m sure they don’t lie and really perceive a change, I just doubt the cause. There’s always some “worse” and some “better” posts, but the vast majority of Naim owners post nothing and they don’t get noticed.
It’s the same with Roon where any differences are even more unlikely, as nothing at all changes on the streamer, and it does not matter how often the Roon people say it.
In the past year or so I must have made 20 updates or more (including betas, which are explicitly not optimized), never heard change in the way some people describe it, if at all.
Edit: It would also require that Naim staff can’t hear the supposedly large differences when they compare the previous and the new firmware during optimization at the end of development, when signing off on the new release. If this is so, all bets are off in the first place
Not suggesting lies. Just a bit of expecting to hear something.
But who can say what anyone else hears.
I just meant that I am not suggesting lies either.
Of course, if one expects a change and listens “for” it, one will often hear one, regardless of whether it exists in reality. It’s how the human mind works
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About this one …
I believe you probably mean this?
If that’s what you meant, she only wrote that someone on Facebook said it sounds better, after the OP of the thread asked how it sounds. Reads like a guarded marketing statement to me. Of course, there is always someone saying that it’s better, just like there is always someone saying that it’s worse. The quote, though, is not Naim saying that there should be an improvement.
However, it does make the good point that they listen to it and wouldn’t release it if it sounded poorly. (And we do know that there is some optimization being made, it’s pretty well explained in the Beta room; just not as big as people make it out to be. As I’ve said in the past, I wish that Naim made this explanation public)
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Have updated my ND555 2 days ago. Don’t perceive any real difference in SQ with my 500 level system.
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Mine has gone fine and sound seems unchanged. Mind you, I added a Chord GroundArray the same day, and that’s another story not be had altogether 
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If they’ve made changes that they think will improve things it seems odd not to mention it.
I guess they would.
So, if we accept the argument that they wouldn’t release it if it sounded poorly, I think we can accept the argument that different updates can introduce changes in SQ that are collectively perceived and valued, which implies a logical contradiction with some of your previous arguments; or must we accept that only the SQ worsening due to the collateral consequences of the update programming is collectively perceived…, by the special and magically graceful ears of the Naim staff?
So, additionally, I think we should accept octopus as a companion animal, and not so contemptuously disdain those who by ears, optimization of their equipment or system-room interactions do perceive the differences that are pointed out. Another thing, different, is to try to satisfy all the systems, rooms and/or ears, more when the changes in SQ apparently are quite collateral to the update and, therefore, we could say, practically involuntary or not deliberate.
There is no doubt that Naim performs a tuning process based on the different electrical noise levels that are created by different sequences of CPU instructions, bus traffic, etc. This is confirmed by Naim as having a small effect. However, some people are acting as if they played around with an equalizer or something.
The tuning process is not performed for betas, just for releases. And yet, the difference between different betas and between beta and release version is very small, if discernible at all.
(The process is described a bit in the beta room and sadly not in the public area of the forum. I think it should be public. You can apply for being a beta tester and then you can also experience first hand the differences - or not - between different betas and from beta to tuned release)
Compared to us, Naim have the advantage of not having to rely on very unreliable audio memory. Instead they can easily compare the same models side by side with old and new firmware in the listening room. If they were unable to keep these small differences in check, we would have a bigger problem
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You two need to do a blind A/B comparison of both versions using quality assured statistical analysis techniques. Report back in the morning please.
Let me order a second system quickly 
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Make sure it’s burned in. And no erotic cables.
Exotic, perhaps?
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It depends on which sounds the best off course 
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It will take a few months until I have results, bear with me.
(“erotic” cables was great)
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Mike is using an ND5XS2
Newcomer is using an NDX2
How are Naim Audio engineers meant to reconcile this? Less bass vs. more bass; forensic level of detail vs. worse definition.
I know that I detect differences day to day when nothing has changed. Such differences could be down to mains variation, humidity etc. or just my mood. Time of day makes a big difference too - things generally sound better late in the evening, which may be due to a reduced electrical demand.
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This.
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