Be careful with mechs on eBay - there’s so much rubbish out there, particularly of the “VAM1202” variety.
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Richard,
I specifically recall your warning of these before, so thanks for putting that out again. I also seem to recall someone determining some ebay transports being counterfeits. Only Naim factory-sourced components for my gear!
Best,
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That’s all very well if Naim are able to source the components you need. If they can’t, what are you going to do? Take your chances with an unknown part, or bin your player?
I think the moratorium on discussing non Naim sanctioned mods shouldn’t apply to anything Naim can no longer repair.
I notice other manufacturers actively publish their old service manuals once they can no longer commit to servicing themselves.
With amps, and recapping, Naim can pretty much service everything from the year dot. But things with mechs or certain IC chips and boards have effectively hit EOS.
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Naim can service and also replace parts so long as the parts can be sourced. Once they can’t be sourced though…
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…which is why my CDS2 was binned.
Unfortunately, Naim never made a CD transport mechanism, so if other manufacturers’ supplies dry up, your cherished Naim CDP is junk.
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I get that. But my point is, once that happens and a product hits EOS, it can live again with help from a service manual, different parts, maybe a workshop and a 3D printer.
A CDS2 that died might never be a CDS2 again. But it could probably be made into a working CD player again.
If you think of all the restored vintage hifi out there, it’s not really different. That gear is loved and cherished but often not close to original factory spec on the inside and of course the quality of restoration work ranges from outstanding to abysmal. I understand Naim wanting tight control on the quality of hear with their badge on it in the field. But once they can no longer source parts I think they should get into the homebrew spirit a bit more and make info available. Otherwise it’s like they are saying they would rather their old CDS2s end up in the bin than be reborn with organ transplants.
Just think of all the restored classic cars where the ingredients are original service manual + different parts + creativity.
I’m currently restoring an A60 that Arcam won’t touch but they did supply the manual which even describes after market mods to make it better than the original since restoration isn’t to price point like manufacturing is.
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AVO performs a more extensive rebuild/refurbishment on vintage Naim kit (e.g. inside/out case cleaning & restoration), testing and listening and IME the service price reflects the extra TLC and is well worth it. I’ve had equipment serviced by Focal Naim and AVO and there is a difference. As an example, Focal Naim improperly installed 2 sets of WBT RCA sockets on my 72 during a service. I’ve booked another service with Chris at AVO to clean the selector switch and to cryo/reinstall the sockets.
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Could you say more about this? I would think that would be pretty standard and hard to mess up.
Talk about incompetence…
Wow, that’s not good. Assuming you made them aware, what did they say?
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Just got my 72 back from service at AV Options, Chris does amazing work as usual. He cryo’d and reinstalled the WBT sockets, upgraded the 321 boards with Z-Foil gain resistors / Muse caps and installed OCC wire links in the AUX slots, obviating the need for the 328 boards. All my gear is only going to Chris from now on.
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Don’t get me wrong, I only send my gear to AV options for service/repair. But when I checked prices in the past, there wasn’t a great deal in it (after correcting for US/UK exchange rate).
Yes, the service price is higher but you get what you pay for, IMO. Had I just sent in the 72 to Chris the first time, I would’ve saved about $600. There were a couple of other things Focal-Naim did while they had my 72 in that really annoyed me, I’d rather not detail it here. It’s the level of service and attention to detail that warrants the disparity in price, which I feel is worth it.
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Mostly wondering if his actions are sanctioned by Naim or is he doing it on his own?
Well, Naim did authorize him for DR upgrades when those were going on. Chris West came from Naim. He was the Naim U.S. service manager, before he started AV Options. Anyone in North America would be hard put to find someone more competent to touch their Naim gear.
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According to Why Choose AV Options? on its web site, AV Options is the only factory-authorized 3rd-party rebuild-restoration center in the USA and it does all rebuilds and restorations with Naim factory-supplied parts, so I think it’s safe to assume that the actions of AV Options are sanctioned by Naim.
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Wouldn’t it be fair to both parties to tell the whole story and not leave out any details? Are you stating that you had many issues with Naim’s own NA repair facility and they refused to correct any mistakes they made, or did you not give them a chance to rectify the issues?
In addition to the WBT sockets being improperly installed, the daughterboards were each number-marked alongside the main board and the preamp was shipped back in the original 34 y/o box without being double-boxed the way I initially sent it in. Honestly, I wasn’t confident the recap was done right and I didn’t feel like sending it back in to fix anything.
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