NAP140: To service or not?

I have just acquired a used olive case NAP140 (1992 vintage) as a replacement for my even older chrome bumper NAP110 and as a better visual match for my recently acquired olive NAC72. The owner says it had very light use for 5 years and then during a move it was boxed and put away in a loft for 24 years as there was no place for his hi-fi in his new place. Judging by the dust on the box, I believe him!

Do the capacitors in an unused amp deteriorate if it is not used? As this amp has had so little use, will the caps have deteriorated sufficiently to need replacing?

Also, would it be worth getting kit serviced before a sale? I suspect I would not get the cost of the service back!

Yes, capacitors degrade even when not being used.

p.s. I made a minor edit to your post to ensure it complies with forum rules.

The rate at which caps degrade is slightly increased with use ( for that read increased temperature). But the best thing to do is change out based on time. Power amps and power supplies rely on caps. Change out every 10 years max. You will hear the difference.

I agree with @Richard.Dane statement about capacitors. It’s time that wears them out as such.

No. You are right, you would not get your money back. Personally I prefer to buy unserviced kit and send it straight off for a service. That way I get a better bargain, and I know exactly when and where it was serviced. I also know then that it is all working at its optimum.

6 Likes

I had a 72/140/hi cap sitting boxed on top of a wardrobe for about 18 years and recently got them out to set up my second system for the bedroom. When i powered them up the 72 and the 140 were fine but the hi cap failed and needed 4 small capacitors and a voltage regulator and all is good now. If you don’t use it you’ll loose it.

1 Like

I had my 28 year old 140 serviced, recently… :grin:

@Graeme
“Personally I prefer to buy unserviced kit and send it straight off for a service. That way I get a better bargain, and I know exactly when and where it was serviced. I also know then that it is all working at its optimum”.
Exactly. My opinion too :+1:

2 Likes

I think you must service NAP-140, or eventually check the capacitors

1 Like

you 'd better check to an authorized serve manual even though the previous user said it rarely use

I’ve had a BD160, CB160, 110 and CB250 serviced by Class A / Naim in the past 2-3 years and highly recommend it, assuming there’s any chance that you’ll keep the amp. However, I don’t think servicing is worthwhile if you intend to sell, based on first hand experience and keeping a close eye on ebay prices.

I’d argue the better bargain is when you find kit that has been recently serviced somewhere like Naim or Class A and there is paperwork to prove it. That tends to be cheaper than buying unserviced and sending it off, IME.

1 Like

Or worse find its been serviced and the wrong capacitors fitted.

I guess we have had different experiences. I have moved through a fair bit of Olive series kit during the last 18 months. I bought good clean examples for cheap, serviced it (Naim or Class A),used it for a while, sold it on at market prices, and still made a profit.

1 Like

Murmur seems to have the same experience. At least for higher priced kit (in my case it was a 52, a SC, and a pair of 135s) I paid little more for Naim/Class A serviced examples than what most seemed to be going for.

I also had a mint cosmetic condition 72 that I bought and had serviced at Class A and there I also did not turn a profit.

It is even more difficult on the Europe mainland. I have bought a few bits and bobs over the last 9 mths but I have paid more than I wanted to but less than ebay average prices. There is little choice and returning kit to the UK is just not worth the cost post Brexit. Fortunately a 300, 82, 90, flatcap and 92 all turned up at a price and have been in good working order but it is a game of waiting patiently.

Thanks. I am looking for some service work and Darran is busy and not so keen on out of UK work. Naim are too slow on turnaround and I don’t know of who else does service work to Naim standards.

In the UK its best to stick to Salisbury or Sheffield. I too was put off by 6 plus week lead times if returned to naim. Darran did all my week earlier this year inside a week. And that included picking it up. A great service from him on my olive kit.

Yes Darran has been good for me previously but Brexit and vat plus customs has thrown a spanner in the works. I would pay the extra for Naim but so far 4 mths turnaround on the 300 is not a good sign. I have another 5 possibly 6 boxes to be serviced when the 300 eventually returns.

I’ve removed some posts. Please respect forum rules. Discussion of non-authorised servicing is not permitted. Thanks.

Where can I find a list of authorised Naim service centres (that are not simply sending the units back to the Naim factory)?