‘out of sight’, for goodness sake!
I would definately contact Naim…about this…it is so nice to see such an important piece…I am quite jealous…
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Richard has told most of what there is to know, it was in the hands of the Irish distributor who sold it to me, they got it in the way Richard described as far as I know.
Of course not necessarily the easiest thing to hide in all circumstances, but surely in most domestic environments it is beneficial for them to be tucked away out of sight, whether tatty or pristine? There are multiple benefits: a rack of black boxes is not pretty, while if behind a cabinet door or somesuch they would be more isolated from the sound from speakers, and at the same time less evident to casual visitors…
It is a classic piece of JV Naim history…….you would hope that some leadership at Naim would intervene before it gets a spraycoat or hammerite finish.
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With the present Naim leadership it could end up with a Tin finish - No one wants that 
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They didn’t want them when they had them and sold them off. Why would they want them now?
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Yes, but you wrote ‘out of site’. There’s a difference.
To be fair I think the original finish was just a satin/flat black paint job on the prototype alloy. They weren’t designed to look pretty but rather give an approximation of the (much finer finished) actual production metalwork and to prove the electronic design within. Anybody who has seen the video and pictures of the NAP500 casework being made will know how involved a process it is - I’d guess that this casework on the prototype was much more easily fabricated.
Lapman, I’d suggest you get in touch with James at Tom Tom Audio and take a look at the unit he has. Then you can decide whether to keep it as is or refinish the paintwork.
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Ooops!!! Stupid me!
Definitely out of sight, but out of site might be a challenge!
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Oh sure, I should have been explicit in case my assumption was incorrect. In the case the damage occurred after its use at Naim, restore away. Heck, it’s the OP’s decision either way, I was just saying what I’d do if I was lucky enough to own the equipment in question and on the assumption the scrapes and dings reflect JV clobbering it repeatedly with a Flatcap.
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Sorry, I used to be a litigation lawyer and partner in a big law firm in London, and know only too well what can happen when people use words inaccurately!
IIRC they all looked similar to the picture shown in the opening post. That was why one of the lucky new owners decided to get the rattle can out and repaint the metal case parts down in the factory soak bay after work. The results looked surprisingly good, and as I mentioned above, I think that example now resides with James at Tom Tom Audio.
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I guess some like the patina, and some don’t, which is fine 
I’m definitely in the “like patina” group - I wouldn’t restore Paul Newman’s Daytona. Admittedly a dev NAP500 isn’t in the same league, but I like to apply the same personal criteria consistently
Interestingly i showed my wife……no don’t change it.
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They always know best 
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Yeh, why not have a ‘rat look’ NAP500.
It’s fascinating to see (from the power supply box) that the NAP500 was in development during Naim’s 'Olive" style of casing. Indeed, if Naim had released the amp in the 'Olive" phase, I might have stretched for one rather than my cherished pair of NAP135s.
Does anyone know who the chief designer was? I assume that Roy George was involved, but was this developed during Julian Vereker’s time at Naim?
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Hi Richard,
Thanks for the info, I’ve seen the pictures of the one on Tom Tom Audio web site, looks very good.
I didn’t think this post would generate so many comments.
Just to throw in my opinion, if it came from Naim R&D looking like that, and you can maybe find out more via the dealer who already posted, then personally I would really agree with leaving it like that as part of its history.
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