ND555 dilemma (or else)

i have understood differently the post: maybe not rush when something new is just produced. It may be imperfect as first bash.

Well that as well.

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Hi TrueBlue,
not update yet. The plan is that my dealer are organizing a second ND555+PS and maybe even a 552 and that we try to compare and find a solution (we are my dealer and maybe even Musicline the distributor).
As there is the HighEnd in Munich the coming week everybody is very busy and the units to compare are used at the HighEnd fair.
So everything will take place after that. This means at least 2 more weeks.

So patient is needed, but I’m ok. The NDS is playing right now and I’m amazed how good this old streamer is playing music.

As soon as things are going on, I will keep you guys in the loop. I’m looking forward to it. It is going to be really interesting.

Stefan :slight_smile:

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Hello Stefan
You are a patient man. I have found that patience with dealers is well rewarded. They really don’t appreciate the yelling and screaming customer who wants it fixed now and can’t understand why the world can’t revolve around them.

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Hi Stepan…just a thought…when I had my 272 it had no suspension … I used to get feed back on voices…most unpleasant. As soon as I changed to the NDS the suspension seemed to stop that…and voices were smooth and realistic. Now my ND555 does not rattle … and it seems to perform … I suggest getting your dealer to look at the suspension. Good luck…cheers

Back when Naim was more a cottage industry, JV used to listen to each product before it left the door, including serviced ones. This standard candle model is no longer pragmatic, and probably less necessary since partial assembly automation has gotten rid of a lot of inter-unit variation. But of course not all of it. The way a single solder joint is made can effect the sonic trait, and if there are a few hundred then the chances they are sonically identical are pretty slim.

When I bought my CDS1, NANA had 4 in stock. They listened to each of them, and although they were all to spec, they selected (at my bequest) the one that had the ‘smoothest’ presentation.

The first 2 CDS3 I had were not quite right either. The first one (one of the very first production models) sounded hard and tuneless next to the CDS2/XPS1 I still had not sold, and was immediately replaced. The replacement was much better, but still something wasn’t quite right, and after a few months I returned for inspection. Although it was performing to spec there were a few internal changes that had been implemented since the first production models came out, and they were installed. And then for the first time I heard how the CDS3 was supposed to sound.

One problem of being an early adopter of a new product line, is that the product often matures during its life span through a process of user feedback, and later models can sometimes considerably outperform the earlier ones, in spite of retaining the same model number and lack of any public notification of such.

Everyone would agree that the final production units of the 52 preamp were very much better than the 1990 ones (with the possible exception that the 52PS may have been a tad better than the Supercap). In fact I anecdotally heard of some owners replacing their 52’s every few years in order to get the latest and superior versions.

Exemplary customer service is not about delivering the perfect product everytime (which can only be aspirational and asymptotically approached) but in how responsive the company is to solve individual user problems, even if it is not in a cost effective manner. The first time I had one of my DBL tweeters replaced, 2 people from Chicago NANA and my dealer from Atlanta showed up to my Chattanooga, TN home. Even allowing the markup of the matched pair of tweeters, this was not a cost neutral, but did cement my long relationship with both the dealer and the folk at NANA.

The OP has already expressed he has no desire to give up on the ND555, only to get it working to his expectations. And with the full support of his dealer at the company, this should be a trivial task to do. If the unit is faulty, it will be replaced, and if it is an installation problem, the dealer will earn his profit margin, instead of acting only as a point of sale.

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:small_blue_diamond:RonToolsie,…Interesting and true description,that’s the way it is.
I gave the council below in a thread a while back.
Unfortunately,.the council was ignored. Sorry for who the council was addressed to,which getting worse soundquality as a result.

“A small “Attention To Detail” tip,…even power-amps of the same model.
For example,…two nap300,sounds a little different if you compare them to each other.
It is at a very small level,.but no electronic product sounds exactly the same.
Try swapping your two nap300 between treble and mid/bass,…you should be able to hear a little…very little difference to the better in one position.
In other words,.when the “better” 300 power-amp is on the treble.”

So if you have the opportunity to compare appliances before purchase as you did.
Or as in my example above,.yes it usually results in better soundquality.

/Peder🙂

Any news?

Teresa May is backing Naim to sort out all outstanding issues with ND555s. She is quoted as saying she is confident that all issues will be resolved by early June.

.sjb

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Not to be contrary here, but perhaps the better amp ended up on the mid/bass rather than the treble?

I heard that Nigel Farage is our new Prime Minister but I could be getting my elections mixed up.

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Hi Guys,

sorry for not answering for so long. I just got a second ND555 plus the PS last week and installed it on the weekend. As I’m really busy at work right now I couldn’t do a lot. I’m still testing and hadn’t any time to give you an details report. I will do this the latest on the comming weekend.
So far, the first results are promissing and clear. More on the weekend.
Thanks for your patience
Stefan :slight_smile:

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good

If the initial impressions are positive, after a burn-in period you should be a happy camper

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had you some time listening to your new nd555 Stephan?

Hi Guys,

last Saturday I got delivery from the demo ND555 from the distributor (Musicline) plus a 555PS DR. I also organized two additional Fraim levels to compare equally.
I did set it up, dressed the cables nicely and started the whole thing. To do the comparison I just had to switch the Super Lumia interconnect cable and the ethernet cable.

So, the first listen was with:

My ND555 + My Burndies + My 555PS DR (powered on for over a week)

Vs

Demo ND555 + Demo Burndies (they felt brand new) + Demo 555PS DR (run in, but cold out of the box)

Right from the start the demo unit sounded a bit different. It was more rounded, more polite and easier to listen to. My unit seemed to be more aggressive. What I was missing from the demo unit was the extra excitement. But not bad for the first day.

Next Day:

Setup as above. The Demo unit (playing through the night) got better. The missing excitement was now there. Wow, how nice. I had some special moments. This was definitely better.

The next question to answer was: Is it the head unit, or is it the power supply?

So, I switched the setup to:

My ND555 + Demo Burndies + Demo 555PS DR

Vs

Demo ND555 + My Burndies + My 555PS DR

This was even better. Again, more excitement and better flow. I guess this was because of my Burndies had more miles in them and were just better burned in.

I then had to leave the system for 3 days (business trip) and just left everything on power.

On Thursday I had then quite some time to do a lot of comparison.

To sum it up:

The demo unit is just more elegant, has a lot of feeling for moments, is fun to listen to, gives me inside to the music and is … (I could keep on describing). My unit in comparison is sometimes not bad either (electronic music) but is a notch more aggressive. When A-B testing on certain tracks it is hard to distinguish but for example with female singers it is clear, my unit is then just getting unpleasant when the singer is singing out loud.
But the most import thing: With my unit, after 15 minutes I leave the room and go to watch TV. With the demo unit I must urge myself to stop (for example after 3 hours) because I have to get some sleep.

So, for me the problem is detected. It is a huge relieve for me, as it is for my dealer and the distributor. Both are just discussing how they help me now but assured they will solve the issue.

And yes, the ND555 is excellent and amazing now. Compared to the NDS it is better in all respects now, in a few but only a little bit (inside of a singer) and I regard the NDS still one of the best streamers I know, right after the ND555 now. :slight_smile:

Cheers
Stefan :slight_smile:

PS: Thanks to you all for helping me to stay on track.

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so the nd555 is not night and day vs the nds? a little bit better on most areas, but not night and day? if i understood right?

Hi Frenchrooster,
These things are very subjective. Yes, this is my feeling. See it this way, I think the NDS is something special. The ND555 is even better and this is a real achievement.
Stefan

thanks Stephan. I am wondering because the upgrade is very costly ( around 10k). And my fear is to have something better but also a bit more bright or aggressive, which won’t be what i am searching for.
It’s not possible to listen to it in my system. At the dealer place it was specially good…

whether an investment is worth it or not is very personal. For me the investment, with the performance of the demo unit is ok, because it is special. But you know, diminishing returns.

And to make things clear. The demo unit is not aggressive and/or bright. It is very balanced and gentle to listen to and I don’t experience any brightness …

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Did the dealer and/or distributor get chance to listen to both?

My assumption is that there’s something wrong with your original unit. It’d be interesting to find out what that is (but I suspect we won’t find out).

Good to know that there’s been a satisfacotry outcome - again, assuming you’ll be keeping the demo headunit.