I’m looking to pick up a used ND5 XS2. Any advantage in buying a newer serial number, in terms of improvements over the life of the product?
No, they are all the same.
thaks
Rajeev
FYI I believe the service interval is every 12-15 years.
Thanks
Rajeev
I would always prefer a newer one if your budget allows as it will have more service life left and Naim do make small improvements through the lifetime of their products to fine tune their sound/performance. However, if you see a great deal on an older one then I would still be tempted.
That more or less mirrors my thinking on the subject, thanks! (esp since there are no moving parts or a display).
Rajeev
The later ones may have a white logo? Could be something to consider?
Well, that is what naim have told us, but have they actually tried to do a service? As we know a number of naim products are now being revealed as being “ unservicable”. NDS, Superline……reasons tend to be around poor design of their PCBs. Naim are also now telling us that some items ( ndac) dont need service. For that I read that they cant, rather than they dont need it. Items that contain caps, degrade. We all know that, yet naim have designed PCBs that make cap swapping near impossible.
1 Like
I suspect we will need someone who is knowledgable in electronics to score Naim on serviceable designs on all their gear. The ND5 XS2 is at most 8 years old, so probably no-one has had one services as yet.
There certainly doesn’t seem to be an issue in servicing many of the pre-amps/amps/PS associated with Chrome Olive and black range. I’m not aware of any other manufacturers that still service gear >30 years old
CD’s are an issue now that parts are unavailable. The older gen 1 streamers are struggling these days to stream directly from the streaming companies, but it does seem that Naim are still providing updates and doing what they can, in an area that other manufacturers are not. Thankfully there are good workarounds for these streamers as they still stand up well in terms of the DAC side.
I thought the advice was that power supplies and power amps, especially regulated designs need servicing, which is mostly capacitors and that other devices mainly resistors, chips etc., are best left unless there is a fault. I don’t think this has changed. Preamps always were on a longer service interval anyway.
1 Like
My experience is that stuff with big caps benefits the most, so power amps and power supplies. Pre amps services have given me little more that on going confidence.
Naim’s serviceabilty issues are in the more technical areas and especially those where they have limited/no control over their supply chain.
Their ability to service early products is both a blessing and curse. Great for the likes of me that wish a product to be serviceable for near ever. But a curse when we think this ability extends beyond naim’s traditional products. ( think cdps, streamers etc al). Yes, they can swap out complete boards, whilst they jave supply and for that read upto 5 years after the product has stopped being made.
Naim’s tune on servicing changed a couple of years back when they realised they couldn’t service their own designs. Some due to part supply and some due to design of their own PCBs.
Obsolescence is unfortunately something I spent too many of my working years worrying about. There are a number of well established strategies but owning the IP and the supply chain helps, but at a cost. During design the need or want to maintain must be considered. Most suppliers are not intrested in maintaining old stuff, they’d rather sell you new. But, if your business finds “new/replacement ” a challenge, think aviation, nuclear, military etc., then obsolescence requires a clear strategy from before day 1. I’d be intrested in where maintainability fits in naim’s priorities for their newer kit.
1 Like
naim and dealer both said nDAC didn’t need a service when we bought ours a few years back now.
However, they did replace the PSU caps when we pushed for service - although they said being a low power device there is little load related degradation (2011 box).
The rest of the device was inspected and everything found shipshape so left untouched.
I believe current naim guidance for the nDAC is send to service on fault only. Which is what we were told, but asked to ignore, several years ago!
We really just wanted peace of mind.
The band 7 service charge should put most people off a service - was almost as much as the box cost us.
We would be gutted if ours had a real fault and couldn’t be repaired, but being realistic it is nearly 15 years old. Trouble is it sounds so damn good.
1 Like
I suspect it’s all a balance. The psu caps ( 2 from memory) will degrade and benefit from exchange at some point. The time/trouble/cost will likely put 99% of people off. I will likely exchangethem myself in a few years.
The Ndac is another of those naim items that improves with a better psu, be that xps or 555, so the benefits of changing the psu caps must be significant for thise that dont use an external psu?
1 Like
Well, nDAC uses internal power for some sections EVEN if you use external PSU. 2 powerlines required 
I think the big caps in centre will be what were changed out at service. Pretty sure service sheet just said “PSU caps” or similar.
So not unused even with 555DR connected. Hence why we wanted them checked and changed in line with the 12-15 year recommendation for other classic boxes.
Without an external PSU these feed analogue board too, obviously.
2 Likes
Thanks guys, I’ve located a brand new sealed box ND5 XS (white light) at a store.
1 Like
Excellent, no need to worry about serial numbers/servicing for a while 
Nova. How often service for that one. Maybe never.
My spanking new ND5 XS2 is likely being delivered as I write this, anyone looking for a new (sealed box) one might still find one at Moorgate Acooustics in Sheffield, at a decent price too, all things considered. But hush . . . what’s that on the horizon ….?
Rajeev.