Hi all. I have an opportunity to buy a used unworking 52 from a gentleman who somehow fried all the computer chips (not sure if that is what they are called) in the front of the unit. A tech who looked at it said it can be fixed but the parts are no longer available. Can this wonderful piece of equipment be saved?
I would be very cautious here. From what you’re saying it sounds like someone may have killed the display board, and perhaps other parts too. That would lead me to suspect that there’s the possibility that either someone tried a home brew PSU on it or maybe tried got apply some mods that went very wrong. Either way, whatever did it may have caused more damage than is apparent.
Only way to know would be for Naim service to take it apart and find out what work needs doing. As for the required parts, only Naim would know for sure whether they have them. Either way, it sounds like it’ll be an expensive rebuild. @NeilS may be able to give further insight here.
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This.
Unless you’re willing to lose money then I’d avoid.
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The usual mistake with these is mis-connecting the Snaic5 for the control side of the 52 into the incorrect socket of a Supercap, resulting in a substantial over voltage to the control logic.
The damage caused by this varies & can be extensive, but I think I’m right in saying that we still have stocks of the majority of the ICs involved.
Regards
Neil.
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Thank you so much Richard, and Neil. I might grab it and ship it to have it inspected. A 52 is a terrible thing to waste. Can I have appropriate shipping info?
Hi Mike,
I don’t think we are currently issuing any new RMAs due to the climate.
I’d suggest checking with Tech Support on that one.
Regards
Neil.
Mike, you should wait until Naim’s service dept. are back at the factory and then get an RMA.
I am in Canada. Should I send it to UK or Canada?
Hi Mike,
I would suggest the UK for a repair of this (potential) magnitude. Especially where parts may otherwise be difficult to source.
But you may need to sit on it for a while yet!
Regards
Neil.
Neil, do you know if this would be covered by the fixed price servicing? If so, it could be worth doing. If not, the repair plus shipping would very likely be prohibitive unless the 52 was acquired for virtually nothing.
Hi HH,
I imagine it would be yes, but that is something that would need to be discussed with Tech Support. It’s really a question of the labour that maybe involved.
Regards
Neil.
That’s a tricky one because the amount of work could not be assessed without having the 52 on the bench, and it cannot get to the bench unless the OP buys it and pays for shipping, which won’t be cheap.
Isn’t there an approved service repair centre in North America (AV Options or something?)
Is that an option or is this such a mess it needs to go back to Salisbury?
Indeed there is, but I’m not sure if it’s the sort of job that Chris W. would take on. He may be familiar with the circuits in question, he may not have access to the required parts though.
It’s certainly an option that would be worth exploring. As said, the damage can vary & could be a simple fix. However, the description of frying the chips is a little ambiguous!
Also worth checking with Tech Support regarding inclusive pricing before the OP takes the plunge.
Regards
Neil.
Very helpful. Thanks for all the input. I think I will steer clear.
So just out of interest what was the asking price for the 52?
Hi Andy
850 CAD = approx. 500 GBP
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That is an interesting price on the cusp of tempting even given the issues. But discretion as they say is the better part of valour.
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Update. the head unit is now mine. The search begins.
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I was under the impression that there was servicing in Canada as well - am I imagining this?