ND555 dilemma (or else)

Aren’t we just making a mountain out of a molehill? :wink:

Yes there have been some cosmetic screen issues to which Naim attended to.
Three faulty units have been reported (probably more).

Those things happen, even at this price level.

The so called rattling noise, which is more like a spring noise, is due to the suspended brass plates. That noise is therefore perfectly normal and occurs when moving the ND555. The NAC 552 behaves the exact same way (the ND555 and NAC552 shouldn’t be moved without the transit screws…)

This is documented on the ND555 Quick Start Guide page 5 and on the NAC552 Reference Manual section 4.

Regarding the sound quality, what has been vastly reported is its outstanding sound quality (regardless of taste).

As for me, the ND555 is simply amazing!

1 Like

Stefan, I just listened to the recording of the “rattle”. That sounds like the noise the mass loaded suspension springs can make when they are ‘springing’ - i.e. the unit is moving. Do you have a suspended floor? How level are the feet on your head unit? I assume it uses the same metal feet as other top end Naim units.

Every unit is levelled at the factory on flat alloy plate, but as so few other surfaces are perfectly flat (especially not glass, btw), and there’s no tolerance on the hard feet even the tiniest little bit of rocking should be shimmed out with Naim’s wafer thin aluminium shims. Tapping each corner of the ND555 should soon betray if there’s any rocking at all.

2 Likes

I had 2 faulty units. Another member had one, so I make that 3. Repeated mistake with mine - took 3 goes to get a good one.

Post updated. Thanks.
The idea behind my comment was of course to somewhat balance things.

1 Like

Hi jsaudio, the first “clunk” is when I position my phone on the ND555. So that is not the rattling noise. After that I just normally walk around the room. After that I don’t amplify anything, it is just my phone on the ND555.

Hi Ken, what do you mean be “repositioning”? The ND555 is on the Fraim and where ever I put it, it is the same rattling. I did put the ND555 almost flush to the front as @Darkebear suggested.

Hi Richard, while I recorded this the unit was sitting on the frame perfectly leveled and no rocking (just checked). The unit has the metal feed you mentioned. Regarding the flour it is a solid wood flour with a concrete cover, so quite heavy. The 552 doesn’t make any noise when walking around the room.

Thanks
Stefan

Thanks Stefan, this is why I wonder whether the feet aren’t quite squared and level on the ND555. The sound is just like the ‘tinkling’ of springs in action. When the dealer installed it did they do any shimming to the feet at all? Making sure the metal feet are absolutely planted with no micro-rocking is essential I found with the CDS and CD555 players, so would imagine just the same with the ND555.

If the springs are tinkling, does that mean that they are somehow being excited excessively or that one or more springs are not oscillating as intended? I’ve no major experience in this matter but I’ve never heard the tinkling on my NDS/552 even when sharply rapping the surface that they are sitting on.

Hi Richard, the ND555 looks rock solid on the Fraim glass. There is no micro rocking noticeable, so no shimming necessary . The Frame itself is solid too, no rocking. For me it sound like the suspension is working but with one spring loose and therefore making a noice.

1 Like

Hi WhatshisNaim, the noise comes from walking in the room. No excessively movements. The same here, my NDS/552 making no noise.

Hi Bert, I live in the south (Chiemsee) so quite some drive. But thanks for the offer and when I’m close to Erlangen I will probably come back to you.
Thanks Stefan

I hesitate (given that your dealer is going to provide another ND555 for comparative purposes) but perhaps taking a really good video/recording of the thunk and tinkling noises and sending it to your dealer via email and copied to Naim technical support may be worth considering. Technical support may be requested to provide an overview and additional support to your dealer which I think is a reasonable request, especially as you’re a long term customer and assuming your dealer won’t be offended. The thunk and the tinkling does sound like one or more springs aren’t working properly and consequently loading the other springs unevenly, but this is a bit of a guess on my part.

1 Like

:small_blue_diamond:WhatshisNaim,…But still strange that not Musicline (Distributor) noticed this,.when they had the player inside for listening and control.

/Peder :thinking:

@Peder, I’d agree with you completely on your point and I hope my thoughts aren’t sending Stefan on a wild goose chase. Stefan seems to be a very experienced user of ‘higher end’ Naim components and that’s why I find it equally surprising that while he may find the sound of the ND555 not as appealing (or not materially better) than his NDS, instead he finds the ND555 unpleasant by comparison.

No worries, you are welcome to listen when you are in the area…

:small_blue_diamond:WhatshisNaim,…We have the same view,.Stefan seems very knowledgeable.

Therefore,…it will be very interesting to see what this “error” may be due to.
It’s also exciting that Stefan has his NDS,and can then make direct comparisons.

I hope a representative from Musicline will be in attendance when the new ND555 is installed. They’ll then have a NDS, Stefan’s ND555 and the new ND555 to make the comparison. I’m sure Stefan just wants the matter to be cleared up one way or another so he can get back to enjoying his music.

Vic

1 Like

I think this is an interesting topic in general. Why? When I was having a ND555 demo (252/300) with Focals, I noticed sound is a bit bright, somehow giving me an impression that there comes much more out, dynamic and clearly different than NDS. Yes, with Focals but still a different presentation as well, not just bright. When coming back home (NDS) did not sound broken at all, different, more laid back but still putting right (not all) things to air. Based on comments in this topic maybe I should do home dem before the decision (not so easy to arrange where I live). I have optimized current setup quite a bit & really like it. There is a small change that ND555 might not be everybody’s cup of tea.

1 Like

:small_blue_diamond:Gandalf_fi,…At this price level it is probably something that everyone here would recommend,…I think.

:small_blue_diamond:Gandalf_fi,…Then you probably know this.
That a music-system that is really optimized,.then any small change,can make you need to look over your installation.

This to get out 100% of a possible improvement.
It may be enough to change the speaker position a few millimeters…up to one centimeter.

/Peder🙂

Agreed. If a home demonstration can be arranged before buying it would be unwise not to take advantage of this facility. The UK (and Western Europe?) are very fortunate in this respect.

Within a few weeks Stefan will find out whether he prefers a NDS over a ND555 and I wouldn’t be surprised if that were the case Naim would be very interested why their current flagship streamer isn’t universally preferred over its predecessor.

Leaving aside the specific issue (or not) with the particular ND555 that began this thread - and seeing that it has become a general discussion on if the ND555 is any good in itself compared to NDS - and is it ‘bright’, this is my view:

I used to have a CD555 and when NDS emerged and was somewhat stable after a year or so I had a home-demo of it alongside my CD555 to assess if I liked it. I did like it, but not enough to purchase it, as I knew my main music collection I would play wound be rips of CDs and the CD555 was clearly overall better in terms of dynamic range and handling of complex music. The NDS was very good and did some things mid-band that I liked and possibly preferred to CD555 but it was not everywhere better and I decided to wait. I would have characterized the NDS as having a softer presentation than the CD555.

Then the ND555 home demo happened and immediately it was in a different and higher league than the NDS for me. There was no need to really compare to the NDS and it was a long way ahead in terms of clarity and dynamic rendition everywhere - and had a beautiful musical cohesion that presented everything as an organic whole and not a lots of separate parts. You could pick out all the different strands of instruments playing but you had to focus to do that as the overall presentation was ‘one thing’ - it had integrity.

This ‘integrity’ I value a lot - the CD555 also had that although cast in a different form. I compared the CD555 which I know and loved for many years against the brand-new Dealer demo ND555 - and they did things differently but I found there was a lot more I was hearing from the ND555 I’d never heard before - it was especially good on live ‘busy’ music with lots of strands just presenting the musical canvas of the different threads all there independent yet all in cohesion with the one mix. Some players I hear some instruments falling back and emerging as the music moves along - but with the ND555 they are there all the time - a tiny cow-bell not bothered by a big bass hit.

The CD555 also does this sort of thing, but the NDS allowed me access to the beauty of the performance as an event in time and space more than my CD555 - eventually I decided to buy one and migrate finally into the streaming world.

The ND555 has a brighter balance of presentation than the CD555 which in turn was brighter than the NDS - but the ND555 is not in itself ‘bright’ as in ‘something wrong’ bright. I hear the ND555 has a wider frequency response into higher and lower frequency extremes in terms of resolution than the CD555 and NDS - so rather than ‘brighter’ I’d choose ‘more extended’ top-end resolution.
My run-in ND555 went very bright for a week or two as I find all new Naim stuff does in my system and has now become very smooth and gentle and has no hint of brightness.

Just my perspective - people have different personal preferences and demo is always good. If you normalize to NDS being ‘correct’ the ND555 is brighter, but conversely the NDS sounds rather dull if you are used to ND555 - neither unit is doeing anything wrong just how they work and perhaps there is an element of what you prefer.

DB.

10 Likes