Serial Number questions

Hi-Fi Corner
1

I have a few…

  1. A guy selling an NAC 42.5 tells me the serial number is 13xxx, which according to the serial number chronology on Naim’s website would place the year of manufacture as 1984. However, the product history section of the website indicates the 42.5 wasn’t introduced until 1985. Setting aside the possibility that it’s a 42 that was converted to a 42.5 (was that even a thing?), are the dates on the product history page 100% hard and fast?

  2. Anybody know what was approximately the highest olive serial number ever made? I am curious in part because the Olive and Classic eras overlapped together for a while.

  3. Has anyone attempted to catalog the serial numbers from the Chrome Bumper and Olive eras? What I’m getting at specifically is I am trying to figure out just how rare NAC 72s were. I now know of at least 4 DBL-level systems where the owners use 72s and that is a tremendous endorsement for a preamp that typically costs just US$500-600. I am wondering if 72s are perhaps mispriced due to where they ranked in the product hierarchy, i.e. perception, but perhaps they should trade for more - yes, because of performance, but also maybe there are fewer in existence than people realize? It would be interesting to have numbers to test the hypothesis.

3

Re. the first question, the 42 could be upgraded to .5. I had mine done. So that explains that.

As to how many 72s exist, Naim will be able to tell you, though it probably wouldn’t be their top priority.

4

As HH says above, the NAC42 could be upgraded to a NAC42.5. If it was done at the factory then Naim may have history for it.

AFAIK Naim made a lot of NAC72s, but how many exactly I don’t know. As for the last Olive bit of kit made, Naim could still make some Olive pieces to order well into the Classic/Reference era. It’s worth asking the right person though, so i’ll make an enquiry…

5

Thanks HH

6

Richard, interesting! I didn’t know that about the made to order Olive pieces.

7

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