I am looking to buy a Pre-loved or ex-demo Hi-line but they seem rather fragile. I believe Naim will fix them FOC if you are the original owner, I assume this doesn’t extend to subsequent owners. I have concerns it may end up being false economy to buy pre-loved if the cable breaks, so do any of you have experience of buying pre-loved and then have the cable then fail?
I’ve just bought (another) pre-loved Hiline as other pre-loved ones I’ve had (2) were fixed with no questions asked.
G
I do and said link was replaced without question.
What are they worth - never even got mine out the box. Free with the ND555.
Heard zero deference with my NDS over lavender or black
But others swear by them…
Time to consult an audiologist?!!!
If you want to buy one new from a Naim dealer, then £750 or thereabouts I believe…
Best
David
Nice. Shame they didnt just discount the ND555 then without it, because Im using the Chord Music… Might be worth using as a trade in! thats a Naim Fraim base!
I bought a pre-loved 6 months ago and has been fine. No experience on the repair front though. As for the sound quality improvement, definitely worth it! I paid £325 for mine and consider it a bargain when used on my NDX2/NAC282.
I bought a s/h Hi Line DIN-DIN on ebay a few months ago, for less than half of cost new. It looks mint. At the time I had a Nordost Heimdall II RCA-RCA on loan from my dealer, so I was able to compare them side by side on my NDX2. The Hi Line is better and that’s what i kept. It has no need for service in anyway case.
The improvement over the lavender DIN cable was more subtle than dramatic, but worth getting for the price I paid. I don’t think the improvement is worth buying new, IMO.
If Naim are quite flexible in repairing a pre-loved Hi-Line then definitely worth the change over the stock lavender cable. I bought mine new and i had to send it off to be repaired, even after very light handling, but since the repair, it has been as robust as any other cable that I have used in the past. It’s a plug in and forget cable once well fettled and a superb one at that. I really like the hi-Line, it breaths new life into my system over the supplied stock cable. Go for it I say.
Really? My god. It’s night and day. You have it hanging free right with no broken rings? I’ve herd a hiline a/b against a £2500 rca magnetic connecting core thingy sorry can’t remember the brand. It was hooked into 500 system and it absolutely blew The £2500 out of the water, that’s probably why I can’t remember the name of the brand. It’s slightly concerning to me that a fellow audio nut doesn’t feel it’s worth the money or can’t see the benefits . Hilines are simply the collective knowledge of naim audio excellence in what they have done for so many years.
Ok just you tubed it, made by a guy called Rick Schultz,
He’s been interviewed at the Rocky Mountain audio show 2015 by AV showrooms.
@GraemeH how were your pre-loved hi-lines repaired, direct with Naim or through the dealer you bought them from or another dealer who had nothing to do with selling you the hi-lines?
@Richard.Dane Do you know what Naim’s policy is on repairing pre-loved Hi-Lines, bought from a dealer?
John, I don’t know if there’s a formal policy - I guess you could ask Naim directly - but AFAIK all evidence here seems to indicate that they will repair gratis any Hi-line where the segments have parted so long as it’s not as a consequence of abuse.
Thanks Richard. I have emailed Naim support, hopefully I will get a response.
My new Hi-Line broke a few years back. Dealer couldn’t hear a problem but returned to Naim for testing. Replaced no questions asked. Add me to the night and day brigade certainly when compared to the lavender although a period with the latter was a salutary reminder that it’s pretty damn good in its own right.
My bass has once again died and I am suspecting the cable once gain so would be interested to know the attitude to a subsequent return. Certainly no abuse on my part (well, maybe verbal)
No problem in my experience.
G
I have had a reply from Naim Support and it would appear I have nothing to worry about buying pre-loved. Which has been confirmed by the responses in this thread.
Thanks to everybody for your help.
I’m sure many will disagree with me but IMO, if you want a trouble free naim interconnect upgrade from lavender, try to source a pre-owned super lumina. Significantly more expensive, but appears a much more robust connector design. The hi-line in itself offers a major and very noticeable improvement in sound quality over lavender when in tip top condition.
Peter