Nac 52, 52ps

I am about to purchase one of the early Nac 52 with 52PS. I was wondering if there were better generations of Nac 52, or do they all sound the same? I am currently having a Nac 82 2 hicaps, Olive , LP12, Ear Yoshino Acute 4?
Thanks for your replies

The early 52s could be excellent, but some were less so. Naim did make a number of changes throughout the NAC52’s life, the biggest one being a re-design of the main boards. If it’s a very early unit and it hasn’t had the display board update then it will only work with its own proprietary remote control, so don’t lose it! In fact, before anything happens to it, I would get a learning remote and learn the commands so you have a back-up should it die. Replacements are rare as the proverbial…

Knowing the service history is key, as many things may well have been updated - POTS board, display board etc…

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There are early generations of the 52 for sure and definite benefit in upgrading to ‘final’ spec. I am not sure the very earliest can always be done though.

I would email Naim with serial nos for the service history of both units and get them serviced and updated as required.

A tip top 52 and 52PS is a lovely thing.

Bruce

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This should help:

NAC 52 - Significant Changes by S/N

Major Production Changes in NAC 52 Production History.

*** We cannot economically carry out the “Unity Gain” modification on early (pre S/N 79143 ) 52s.

RC5 Remote Control Operation
From May 1992 (S/N 78817)

*** Main Board Revision 3 (latest)
From Oct 1992 (S/N 80965) links fitted in place of link boards.

Pots 7 (Volume & Balance)
From Nov 1996 - To Nov 1997 (S/N 126147 - S/N 137809)

*** Pots 8 (Volume & Balance)
From Dec 1997 - To May 2003 (S/N 138507 - S/N 195336 End of Production)

Logic Board PIC Control issue 7
Small extra functionality with Flash Remote From Dec 1998 (S/N 149934)

Owners of 52 with pots earlier than Pots 7 (S/N 126147) could benefit from an upgrade to pots 8.

We change the number of tie wraps applied to wiring looms. This is a simple and worthwhile modification.

The last price we had for the control board replacement was around £1,200 and we did not recommend it. We now do not offer this.

https://forums.naimaudio.com/topic.php?oid=1566878604356287&coid=159503632588890

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Thanks Richard, really helpful.

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Thank you Richard! Have a great
sunday!

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Thank you Bruce!

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