I’m very close however, retaining source, speakers and 2 power amps.
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Dear friends in Naim, many thanks. V useful opinions and views. Since I currently run 52/SC/500DR I’ll prob lean towards a 552 eventually. No rush. Certainly, switching my trusty 135s to a new 500DR has made a huge change, with an arresting improvement in my favourite pieces of music.
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When I talked to Naim they were pretty clear that the 552 will take time and effort to improve on.
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Just what I was told and hear
A manufacturer would never disparage a current product. When the replacement arrives they’ll instead state the new product is far and above its predecessor.
To be fair, they improved upon the 552 a decade ago. That product is the Statement NAC S1.
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Presumably Naim make little tweaks to their products over the, say, 20 year life cycle of a particular amp. Or are the internal workings of a 20 year old 552 identical to a new one. Anyone know?
blimey … but if I were buying now, I would go for a 332 instead of a 552…
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I wouldn’t, it would be 552 all the way although buying new has some risk as it’s hard to tell how far away we are from its replacement.
As mentioned above Naim know it’s their best sounding pre ( statement aside of course but that’s another level) ergo buying an inferior product seems counterintuitive.
A freshly serviced pre loved 552 dr as a holding plan then wait for its replacement would be my approach over anything in the NC range.
Gary
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Interesting. If the jump from 52 to 552 is as impressive as that from 135s to 500, then that is quite something.
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It is!
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As I understand it - yes.
Don’ t think they tweeked the 552 aside of DR.
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That’s my understanding too a freshly serviced and DR’d old 552 will match a new one.
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Richard Dane, true or false? Do Naim do little tweaks over a product cycle, or is a 2024 552 the same as a 2004 one?
To be fair. The new 500 replacement when it arrives will cost certainly above the recent prices. We all bought our 500 sets, when it still was afordable (almost ridiculous comment) and for at least half the price. There are some few here who will be able to afford the step up, but for the most the journey has ended. Many ( me included) are tired of the huge box accounts as well.
I assume the time for a naim superintegrated is overdue. I hope we see one soon and before the 500 series replacement.
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Naim Super-integrated? Isn’t that the role of the PE version of the Nova?
I heard it and as good as it is, it is still rather a lifestyle product 
Come on you know what I ment 
For some maybe, but for others definitely not.
I think I do. If Naim offered a 1-box pre-power combo that was better than 252/SC/300DR, it would probably be labelled Super-Integrated, at least here.
Otoh, I imagine that most buyers now want streaming source plus DAC plus preamp plus power amp. An integrated amp and a separate streamer is one option. However, Naim is pretty clear about keeping power supplies away from other bits, so how big and heavy would their Super-integrated be?
In addition, given how much trouble big transformers can cause small signals nearby, wouldn’t it make more sense to have the power amp in one box and everything else in another?
Perhaps it is just as likely that we see no Super-integrated but instead get a focus on a streamer & pre-amp together - or does the 200 series and an Atom HE already take that approach as far as Naim can go?
