Long story short, I’ve lost my marbles. Well, Fraim ball bearings that is…Just one as we had some work done in the house and the untouchable Fraim rack was touched (don’t worry - it was empty.) Does anyone know where to get replacement accessories - in Germany preferably, but will take any EU country. TomTom is the only place I’ve seen online that sells them, but alas Brexit…
My normal group of German online HiFi folk don’t seem to stock them and I don’t want to ask my local unhelpful dealer to order a set of 3 ball bearings for a euro fifty…Can’t imagine the factory is going to take my call on this one either… Any ideas?
If you are in NRW, Aura in Essen have handled service work and a DR upgrade on a NAP300 for me in the past. They are a Naim dealer, so should be able to source the parts. I can also recommend them for LP12 service and upgrade work.
Audioselect in Dortmund is another option, but I have never tried them. They are offering a lot of ex-demo stuff on eBay at the moment, so you might find something else there, too.
Have a look on UK sites for Cymbosis or Tom Tom audio for naim parts. Cost for replacement is under £2.00. I would imagine export costs and postage wouldn’t be to excessive.
I would simply give them a call or enquire by e-mail.
If all else fails, I would order them from a U.K. dealer like Tom Tom and just accept the import duty and tax as unavoidable shipping costs to get your Fraim back in service.
A trip to the U.K. could also be paired with a trip to Class A, if necessary.
I would probably also stock up on Branston, piccalilli, mince pies, salad cream, custard powder, Carr’s water biscuits, plenty of English cheese and various other stuff that is not readily available here in Germany (unless you shop at The English Shop in Cologne).
Edit: I forgot to add Kettle crisps to the list above.
It’ s a big issue now for EU customers, since every metal spare parts like Fraim legs, bearings etc, or front panels, have to pass a custom radiographic exam. which, even for a few pounds, the cost Is over 200 euro. Now Lasa Is managing a bundle of orders, mine included.
Have no idea about LASA but this is nothing that is mandatory for EU at least. I’ve ordered many things from outside EU lately and it’s normal cost and lead times.
I think I will indeed ask my dealer and see what he says - if not, looks like a trip to the UK is in order. can I run the top shelf without the bearings for a little while? will it cause any damage or other long term effects??
You should be fine without ball bearings while you wait for new ones. Just be careful not to scratch the veneer, perhaps use some Addis pads or similar, temporarily.
I would also suggest looking at alternatives to the Naim supplied ball bearings. Maybe it’s just my location close to the sea air, being near the South coast, but I had several sets go slightly rusty and after replacing some for a second time got some ceramic replacements together with their cups from Sonority. A perfect fit for the cup spaces in the Fraim.
The balls are mild steel and so can go rusty, especially in humid or damp conditions. IIRC in the past Naim supplied specially plated parts for some Naim Fraim owners in very high humidity situations and also Fraim balls in stainless steel, which didn’t sound as good as the mild steel ones, but would at least put up some resistance to the rust.
) and get a replacement ball bearing locally. I don’t imagine Naim balls are made of anything special.