Phil,
Can you describe what the difference was with pre service 552 and 500 and post service in terms of sound quality?
The 552 was bought as a DR ā¦ however, the Nap 500 ā¦ I bought as an elderly one - around 14 years young. Out the box this was vastly superior to a fresh NAP250dr ā¦ it made an epic differenceā¦ it was delicate, transparent - with still good bass power quite pacy with good timing - it was a great amp. It had a very slight warmth to the presentation - a bit like a non dr NAP250. The DR 500 had all those qualities except the warmth - and it had a touch more clarity and a bit more bass power - and extra detail - a good uplift. Maybe a Nap300dr would run it close ā¦ but the 500 has a superb psu so as you turn up the wick the sound stage does not collapse - and it sounds fantastic. The Nap300 psu looks quite similar to the Nap250 except in a remote caseā¦
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Ross, I bought my unDRed 552+500 more than 3 months ago serviced late 2016. I donāt know what it sounded like before. For me the improvement over 252/300 DR was substantial. The 500 in particular produces a wonderful sound stage and the combo is so musical and revealing. Piano sounds just so right. Once you hear the combo with certain music you realise why the 252/300 didnāt sound quite right.
@Darkebear will describe the effect of the service. There have been threads recently that he has made input too. If you werenāt wowed before then perhaps something was not right in your setup.
I looked at you shelves (Vana) and could see that they might be ok. Fraim uses glass on 3 ball bearings in cups. The front cups are positioned near the corners and the box comes to the front of the glass. This is important and DB tweaks his boxes to find the best position. Burndies must hang naturally and not touch the floor or anything else. Ditto interconnects. If you have problems aligning the Burndy with the box this creates stress or contact problems with the pins which is detrimental. Dedicated mains to the Naim boxes matters as does the plug ordering. Many use a Wireworld mains block.
The list is endless, but it all makes a difference. Itās part of this hobby of ours.
Phil
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Huge thanks to all. I am almost certainly THANKS TO YOU ALL going to keep my 552 500 and do a standard service which I can almost afford and need to.
I have the Linn Klimax streamer, non Katalyst upgrade. Where would this be compared to the NDX, or NDX 2 in terms of quality?
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I think you are doing the right thing. Iāve lived with a 552/500 nonDR system for about 3 years and just recently had the 500Drād. Yes, the DR conversion is good but Iād happily live with my old system if I had to. When working well they still set the bar for everything else.
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I think your decision to service the 552/555 is the best. It is easy to get caught up in the idea of getting the latest and greatest. Similarly, the Linn Klimax is a fantastic streamer, and VERY actively supported by Linn, who have recently made available the v2 version of Space Optimisation, and of last week allowed us to add a sub - which I am just trying. Whether something is better for you in your system can only be answered by you with a demo, but assuming you like what it does, as I do, I would urge you to simply relax and enjoy the music.
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A very, very good decision. A service will restore it to its full potential. Mr Underhillās last line is very good advice. It may not be DR, and the Klimax may not be the very latest version, but itās still a bloody brilliant system. Enjoy it!
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And with what we know about the speakers you have from the other thread, it can only be a matter of getting things tweaked. Do you live in the USA?
Phil
@Ross
A very good decision I think.
With the 552 I enjoyed my music for a very long time and waited just as long for the DR upgrade. Personally I find the steps to improvement exciting. And regarding the Naim service I was able to experience good on various devices. It has always been worth it.
This DR upgrade will certainly be available in a few years.
The only thing to bear in mind is that from September the DR upgrade will only be available with a service at the same time. That said, if the DR is never to be done, itās irrelevant.
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No, Near Chichester, Sussex. Thanks so much for your advice
Ross, have we had this conversation before? We live in sunny Emsworth. You must come to one of our WemsFest gigs.
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hungryhalibut, no I donāt thinks so ā¦ what is it?
HUGE THANKS TO YOU ALL. YOU HAVE ALL SAID WISE THINGS. So, apart from servicing, and a powerline I have to the pre amp 552, what is the next thing to do re cables now? I am on standard connects and the Linn speaker cableā¦
Just check the Wemfest site/past gigs, some good musicians yourāe had performing
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We put on live music and other arts in the local area, as well as a great beer festival in September. Take a look at our website - see my profile. Muggins looks after the website and acts as a general factotum. We have a great country musician this week, Don Gallardo. Before the gig we will decamp to the pub to eat, which is a really nice way to meet the musicians and chat about music and other stuff.
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If you prefer the sound of the 272/300DR you have at another house then sell the 552/500 and buy another 272/300 DR you might also be able afford a pair of used XPSDRās too.
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Ross,
What makes you think itās desperate for a service. It may be overdue but itās not like a car and likely to break-down.
Iām not very well informed with regard to your source but if that matches the rest of the system Iād start with DRing the 552.
Regards,
Lindsay
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because it is not giving me the pleasure it used to and I donāt listen so muchā¦ That is telling I think, besides the 500 is unserviced at 20 years old and the 552 15 years old
Itās a Naim regulated amp, so yes it could breakdown.
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