Hi there (apologies for a longer post),
I’d appreciate advice if someone experienced similar issues and got them solved!
Last year I had my (1984) 42/110 fully serviced at Naim.
It sounded very good before the service, but I believed, as the previous service was done in 2009, that it was time to refresh it.
It was my second system and not used daily as the main one was 252/SC DR/250 DR.
It came back with report what has been done and that the gear was tested after the service.
I connected it to the same system (Naim UnitiServe/nDAC, Linn LP12, Wilson Benesch Discovery) with same cables and it sounded awful.
I thought that it needed some burn in time to settle but no improvement happened.
Main problem was/is the distortion which is present in the whole frequency range and especially noticeable in the midrange - particularly (male) voices, guitars (both acoustic and electric), saxophone, vibraphone,…
This makes it sound very unpleasant and harsh. Almost unlistenable.
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Bass is not defined and is somehow dominant. Some sounds/frequencies are now somehow “moved back” (voices, snare drum)
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The sound lost clarity, transparency and liveliness.
Never heard a Naim amp that sounded that slow.
I contacted Naim support and got reply that it could have taken some damage during transit.
I am not sure that sending it back to Naim would help so I am reluctant to do that. That would add significant logistics costs to 700 pounds already spent.
Finally, I gave up and thought that the gear reached the end of its lifecycle.
A couple of weeks ago a friend lent me a 1984 Nait 1 serviced 3 or 4 years ago which sounded as it should.
That made me think that there is a chance to repair my 42/110.
Any thoughts?
G