I have an ND5 XS Network Player which I bought in 2013. It has worked efficiently since that time but recently I lost any illumination on the display panel. The radio buttons do have illumination however. Is this an easy fix or a costly fix? Ideas would be appreciated
Keith Keer
The screen is defective and the fix is to replace it.
The official fix is to have your dealer send it to Naim, I had my NDX screen replaced and it cost around £140. They also checked the whole units operation and updated soft/firmware.
I see there are screens for sale for DIY repair on www but have no idea if these are genuine or what life expectancy is.
This is a very common problem. It is not a cheap fix because it needs a new display. I think all the ND5 XS had the 192/24 streaming board fitted as standard and if so then Naim can replace the screen, for which they charge around £150. You would have to return the unit via a dealer who will charge you the cost of the courier to get the unit back to Naim.
If your ND5 XS doesn’t have the 192/24 board, then Naim cannot replace the display as the original part is no longer made and the replacement they use needs extra firmware which runs on the 192/24 board.
In that second eventuality, you could buy a new screen from a French supplier on eBay for about £100 but you would have to either install it yourself or get a local electronics repair place to do it for you.
You can confirm whether you have the 192/25 board by looking in the Naim app, Settings and About. Look for a couple of entries in the short list that have 3D or 2D at the beginning. 3D indicates the 192/24 board is there and 2D indicates that it isn’t.
There were no 24/96 versions of the ND5XS. Only Uniti 1, Unitiqute and NDX had them.
That’s what I thought but I didn’t actually know!
Many thanks, Keith