Reputable dealer, believe it or not.
Yes, got that thanks. The 552 makes some interesting noises that suggest turning it upside down without the bolts would be bad.
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Threaded yes.
As you undo the 552 transit bolts in a flat horizontal position you can hear the floating chassis spring into action.
What I dont understand is how a reputable dealer can sell a 552 without the correct bolts in place!!
The bolts are part of the 552 package its not hard to lose them once removed as any sensible person would place these back in the original box, seems so careless.
Itās certainly a good thing you asked a question here at the forum, otherwise this issue might have gone unnoticed. Luckily, now you have an opportunity to get this fixed. Hopefully the 552 is unharmed on the inside, but I for one, would demand of the dealer to get it locked up at head quarters. This is very expensive and sensitive electronics I gather. Transit bolts gone missing and exchanged feet. Wow! Who does that?
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Yes very lucky for me indeed! This is a wonderful resource.
Hi Ali, in a Naim system, in how they are designed and optimised, I do believe the NAC is the heart of a systemā¦ and in my experience has tended to bring the other components, especially Naim, with it.
My current system using non Naim amplification, I use a preamp incorporated into the DAC. That works well in that setupā¦ if I was to use other analogue sources, which I do miss, I will use a seperate preamp controller in that system.
In my humble opinion, of course, I felt the Chord Electronics DAVE never felt that at home with my 552DR. My Hugo mk1 on the other hand sang with my 552. I think system synergy counts for a lotā¦especially with higher end performance.
Certainly not the best start and i hope the feet can just be put back to standard and the proper locking screws got from dealer for future use.
I just hope that the screws used did the job, also i take it the last owner put them in and not the dealer? As if not then its been transported with no locking and that wonāt have done it any favours at all in side.
I for sure would want to take a look inside to make sure everything is ok, if that means a trip back to naim, then so be it and would expect the dealer to cover it as he shouldnāt have sold it like this in the first place and it makes you wonder about certain dealers, as surely he knew and looked at it and unless he is stupid, then he knows any naim buyer, buying this will not be happy and come back to him.
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If I may ask how are you now using the CDX2 ?
Whatās the issue with the feet? Is it the NAC552 doesnāt have the rubber pads? Could the rubber pads have been inserted or would the the original feet have been exchanged?
@Ebuckley002 you have a wonderful amp and Iām sure youāll get an enormous amount of joy from it. And the beauty with Naim is that if there are any issues they can easily be sorted out, just need a little patience!
From what I can see, it appears the alloy feet are still there, itās just that someone has screwed in some rubber feet that fit into the inner section of the alloy feet. Hopefully if they are unscrewed then the rubber feet can be discarded and the alloy feet refitted. My concern here though is that the alloy feet are fitted through an allen bolt but these appear screwed in so maybe the allen bolts are gone and the threads damaged. Difficult to know without investigation.
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The 500 gear (and some others with sprung suspension like Superline) have metal feet because the suspension only works as designed when the chassis is placed rock-solid.
I donāt know what they did, exchange or fit the rubber rings into the original feet (kind of looks like it), but like the screws is an example of great carelessness and ignorance about the 552. Maybe the previous owner indeed was an oligarch as was suggested above
Itās beyond me how people think they can āimproveā a design honed through years of research. As said, the solid feet and the suspension work together. Why would someone start fiddling with a Ā£25,000 amplifier? And why would an allegedly āreputableā dealer sell it to someone with ensuring it was as it should be? The whole thing is most odd, and thatās before looking inside the thing.
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Yes my NDS arrived with the alloy feet. I phoned the dealer to complain that someone had removed them, only to have it explained. As I recall itās so that the unit can be perfectly levelled. Looks odd when you first see it and youāre used to seeing rubber feet. Maybe thatās what happened here, they were considered missing and retro-fitted?
Maybe, but it adds to the aura of carelessness. Someone just spent a a lot of money, either 25K new or half that used, and they didnāt bother to educate themselves or inquire when feet were āmissingā.
And the dealer 
Not currently using itā¦ though have toyed to get the Naim SPDIF mod doneā¦ but reticent.
If I may also ask does your system now have those rhythmic qualities it may have had previously ?
I have more sympathy for the owner who misplaced the transit bolts than many. Iāve over the years misplaced a few things, only to find them again. Or buy them again.
Iām notorious for thinking I have the perfect place to store things, only to forget where that is 5 minutes later. Iāve finally learned in my old age that memory alone isnāt good enough; there needs to be a logic. The logical place to put the transit bolts is in the empty box for the item. In a little plastic bag, not banging around loose.
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Thatās the thing, they are easy to get. Iād expect the previous owner to do so, and not screw in whatever he had lying around, it doesnāt inspire confidence. (The dealer at least should have known)
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Truly! Iād expect the dealer to have obtained bolts from Naim and restored it to as-intended. Given how easily people like me misplace them, Iām sure that HQ and the regional distributors are used to supplying them.
But once the dealer didnāt do this and supplied it with bolts that likely functioned fine but were not as-expected, thoughts turn to āwhat else is wrong with the unitā and āit should be returned for a refund post haste.ā
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