Bought a 82 shipped internationally from the UK. Noticed it had no serial number.
Searches on the forum point to it being a staff build, but could it be that the serial dropped off? How do I check if the 82 is working in perfect order?
The napsc that it came with has a serial number on the bottom (it might have been a replacement unit though)
Many thanks guys.
Assuming youâre in North America, consider sending it to the Focal Naim distributor to get checked out and serviced. The 82 is a lovely pre. I feel their price to service is reasonable and doing so will bring you some peace of mind and years of enjoyment. They could convert the voltage on the napsc while theyâre at it. They did a nice job servicing my old 72. If youâre in the States, AV Options is another way to go though their rates are higher. I bought my Olive hicap directly from them and their work is impeccable. I dont think the SN is stickered on the inside in the Olive units.
Would Naim permit a staff-build amplifier to differ from the standard build, especially as it might get onto the second hand market?
This is a picture of what I believe is a standard 82, without phono boards.
Yours has lots of little red things and little round black things - Iâm not technical so forgive me - which means itâs been modified, and possibly significantly so.
You have various options: live with it as is, get it put back to standard, which may not be cheap, or send it back for a refund. The latter is of course difficult when youâve bought it internationally. Was modification mentioned by the seller? Was it a dealer or private?
A staff build will be as standard, but who knows whatâs happened over 30 years?
My understanding is that Naim staff builds do carry a Serial No, but a ânon standarsdâ one.
Having no Ser No - and given the number of internal variations, I am not sure that the OPâs unit is legit.
@Richard.Dane - ?
Upon closer inspection, the red WIMA blocks are capacitors, which seem to replace the bulb tantalum caps on the original.
The cylinder upright caps seem to replace the bronze/yellow sideways caps of the original. If I were to guess, it has been serviced and those are replacement parts.
Would appreciate if anyone can comment on the suitability of such replacement components?
Naimâs policy re. serial numbering has changed over the years. For a while during my time at Naim, staff builds had no serial number at all. Also there are pre-production units and ex R&D units that often find their way into staff hands - these usually had no serial number. For example, I had a very early pre-production NAP250.2 with a green paper rear label and a few slightly different details that meant it had to have its own uniquely drilled sleeve cover as a regular production one would not fit properly.
p.s. Staff builds usually used B stock (or âBish Stockâ as Shirley would call it) cosmetic parts. However, the electronic components of all staff builds conformed exactly to Naim production spec and all units had to go through the same testing procedures as production units. Those of us with less than stellar soldering skills or little time would usually ask someone on wiring to do it for us on their own time, with suitable reward for doing so. That way we could usually ensure that the soldering was top notch and units would perform just as a production unit should.
Definitely modified, not a Naim spec productâŚ
Thanks guys for the replies. Since its a modified product, would a naim authorised dealer be able to revert it back to original + servicing? Would that add to the cost significantly?
If I were to keep the modded components, would they be considered at least on par, or better than the original spec?
A Naim approved Service agent probably could, yes - but a normal Naim dealer, probably not (or they shouldnât). Depends if the modifications have cause any damage to the main PCBâŚ
Cost would be at least the same as a Service - maybe more. Circa ÂŁ200+ in the UK.
An authorised Naim service, whether done at the factory, or by a factory authorised servicer such as Darran at Class A, would, provided the modifications are easily reversible, return everything to factory spec. It may cost a bit more than a standard service, as you might expect, but at least youâll know itâs whatâs itâs supposed to be. They would not touch a unit where someone wished to keep things modified.
@ThatsMynamedude - I hope that the price you paid reflected that this 82 was ânon-standardâ - or at least the sale clearly mentioned that is had been modified and/or serviced by a non-Naim approved agentâŚ?
Based on the questions posed here, I am thinking not - poor show by the seller, IMO⌠
The seller may not have knownâŚ
Yes, I have a feeling that the person who sold it to me (who was the one who did the import from UK) did not know about this.
Hope i dont cross any lines here âŚbut i would listen to it in your system and if your system sounds pleasuable to your lugs (ears) just leave alone or sell on when you feel urge . Much cost for an unknown outcome.
David
Would you guys be so kind as to look over the olive 250 I got as well, seeing that the 82 is not to factory spec, im worried for the 250.
The 82 has definitely been modified, a lot of the tape output buffer stage has been removed/bypassed.
It would be a good few hours work to return it to standard.
The 250 on the other hand looks standard.
Regards
Neil.
Does that matter, if the tape output is not going to be used?
Thanks for the reply Neil. I am not familiar with the components, do you mind circling on the image where the modifications of the tape output buffer stage are?
Other than the tape output buffer, it should be functional I suppose? Does it seem like all that has been done was replacing caps with non standard ones?
