Like a lot of manufacturers over the last 8 months their supply chain and choice of supply has been compromised. Yes, post build testing should sort some of this out.
My dealer used to do this, until one customer refused to collect his purchase because it was, in his words, used. For him (the customer) only an unopened box meant a new item. Funnily this happened with a product that had issues in the past (not something from Naim).
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In that case i would open in the dealers and just watch them check it outâŚparticularly if its a long drive.
Im not sure having the dealer check would help much other than for immediately obvious faults. In this case, maybe the first fault would have been noticed but the second? Would the dealer really have been expected to run it for an hour or more?
Though itâs incredibly frustrating, there will always be unforeseen issues that slip through the net. My car came with a faulty oil tank, which was replaced with another faulty oil tank, twice. Weeks off the road and the new engine oil and cleaning fluids werenât covered under warranty (the dealer paid). That car was several times the cost of a 552 but every time I drive it, all is forgiven ! Hopefully the OP feels the same once the 552 is finally singingâŚ
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Further to a previous thread, I asked my UK Dealer about installing as they always have done for me and I thought it was part of the Naim dealer contract, I know it used to be.
He was unsure as to the precise position now as he had never checked because he couldnât understand why a dealer would not wish to install for two reasons, firstly to ensure a fully satisfied customer with a system working optimally and secondly for the further sales potential that a knowledge of the customerâs system in situ would give.
That seems reasonable to me.
I prefer to install myself since the retailer I use for Naim equipment doesnât wear gloves when handling the units and I so dislike fingerprints on the anodised surfaces. On the odd occasion when there has been an issue, however, the retailer has given great support and influence with Naim Audio.
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Sorry to hear of your 552 issues, after two failures in quick succession I think my understanding would be wearing thin.
Regarding box opening my Naim dealer has never opened boxes and has never offered to install my system. I did get an offer to install my current speakers, but they are from a different brand and dealer.
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After two failures the least Naim can do is bring a fully tested 552 from the factory drive to your home and personally setup, some TLC is required here.
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I think it would be a good option if dealers offered to run your device in, then you get rid of those early failures, and pick it up sounding great 
That would be a very long driveâŚ
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Maybe so hopefully you get my point.
Things happen its how you respond.
Whilst I donât have Naim separates so far, I wouldnât expect assembling the system to be overly complicated. And I believe understand the system, how components are all connected is important and may noticeably impact the result.
Dealers are not testers and I would not expect a dealer to test apart anything other than the most obvious things like (not specific to Naim) whether power setting is correct (110v vs 220v), mains plug is correct, colour of the unit. Thatâs pretty much it. I wouldnât take it seriously if my dealer tells me he personally tested the system. If he tells me he has run the system in, I am certain I bought the shop demo unit.
There will always be occasional faulty units and run of back luck. It is the way Naim deals with it that hopefully sets it apart. I didnât price check the last piece of gear I bought because I like my dealer. I know he usually gives competitive price anyway*. Whilst it wasnât Naim, he delivered it free of charge to me. To that end, I am appreciative of @Richard.Dane who have even reached out to Naim for us before and a number of staffs who are active on this forum.
@AhTiong, I hope your problem is quickly sorted and you can just sit back and enjoy the music.
*PS a mate of mine bought the same unit I bought from another dealer and paid more as it turned out. No free delivery either.
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Common issue with all suppliers and retailers in my experience, when it goes wrong the purchaser does all the running about, despite only being guilty of buying a product that they reasonably assumed would be of serviceable quality.
To your point, @Gazza and as brought up by others regarding dealer unpacking and testing : my dealer was here to unpack and install at home. But as mentioned by @Elfer, only obvious faults apparent upon switch on can then be detected.
In the 1st case, the default display option of the 552 is to have the LEDs on. As such, everything looked fine at the time of unpacking and installation. Itâs only the next day or following one, when I found out from the manual and decided I preferred to have the LEDs turned off, then I used the remote and found out that the balance knob would stay ON and at times blink, etcâŚ
In the 2nd case, same thing, when we turned the system ON, everything sounded and looked ok. Itâs only about an hour after that the issue appeared with these very loud noises.
I have to say I have a great dealer who is always here for advice, ready to come to my place to check issues, helping to unpack and install, ready to leave a demo unit with me when there is an issue, etc⌠Service from dealer is impeccable.
The issue here is this incredible series of quality defects along the supply chain, call it string of bad luck, but what is the probability of this happening in a world class manufacturing environment of top end quality hi-fi equipment ??? How many 552s have been manufactured this year ? with already 2 faulty units just with me, what is the rate of defect ? it must be very significant and miles away from 6 sigma quality levels and that of similar standards.
@jsaudio, I too believe that Naim needs to conduct an audit on these cases with comprehensive root cause analysis and implement remediation actions asap to deliver the quality we all expect.
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That surely doesnât sound good. Hopefully that didnât damage the speakers. Sorry to hear about the problem and hopefully it gets sorted out soon. Similarly I canât imagine this to happen to a brand new 552, surely not twice.
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Witch hat cablesđ¤
Just sayinâŚ
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I think Naim should at least give you some cool swag.
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Correct. They do expect this of the dealers. The idea being not to devalue gear by discounting it but instead provide a first rate value added service to full price gear.
In my experience, most customer who bought most equipment from any manufacturer never had any issues. It really was rare. But, when something rarely did go wrong, fate would be a git and pick on the same person. Problems would come in threes and just ruin a brand in the eyes of the unlucky customer. So I expect the OP has one more problem left.
Back luck comes in threes. Beware the coming Friday is Friday the 13th.
I was thinking a good dealer perhaps could call later like some good doctors / dentists do to see how one is going after a period of time.
But some of my very early experiences with dealers left me with very low expectations and skepticism. I think he would be calling to explore avenue to make more money from me. I think I need counseling.