Hi everyone,
Happy New Year!
I am a newbie here and I just purchased a SN3 + Hi Cap + ND5 XS2.
All the boxes I got looked new and intact, but I found that the paint on the center of the Supernait looked uneven. It looked like a water mark but it can’t be wiped off.
Thus, I wonder if this is normal.
Welcome and the answer is No.
Did you buy as New - Perfect as there are some Grade B units being sold, I assume the latter are excellent internally but have some blemish marks on the casework or may be returned units, which have been refurbished.
I would speak to my dealer/supplier.
The marks seem to be in any area where the unit might be handled for packing(?)
It’s not paint on the fascia, it’s anodised aluminium. If that’s a proper A grade unit then it looks like that fascia it may have slipped through the net. I would speak to your dealer.
From the photos, the box seems to have some sort of grease like substance on it … has this perhaps also got onto the equipment?
Possibly the outer packaging boxes are showing evidence of what many of us do under current circumstances whenever anything is delivered - a through wipe down with disinfectant or anti-bacterial cleaner? We wipe down everything that comes through the door, from mail to groceries.
Anyway, BX830, I’ve asked Naim to investigate further. In the meantime I would get in touch with your dealer who should be able to sort it out for you.
I certainly wouldn’t be happy if I’d spent that amount and the boxes turned up looking like that and if that’s the result of an alcohol clean because of Covid I’d advise everyone to use disposable gloves instead.
I doubt that’s the cause. It should only be necessary to wipe down the outer packaging. Unless of course whatever was used managed to get on the anodised fascia.
Either way, if it was there from the factory then hopefully Naim will find out what is the cause. In the meantime, the OP can be sorted by their dealer and distributor.
@BX830 I hope you get your new amplifier sorted to your satisfaction.
Anyone, Are the B-stock boxes and items marked as such? It would matter to someone such as myself who buys secondhand.
It is printed on the serial number label on the outer packaging. I believe that you should only see new or refurbished items and refurbished the items are grade A or grade B. Grade A means it is in every respect like new and grade B means there may be minor marks or faults on the front panel or casework, but the unit is internally as new. I have a grade B refurbished Nova and it looks perfect to me, although I can see the brushed patterning on an anodised part of the case looks slightly odd if you get the angle right.
Anyway I don’t think the fact it was originally sold as refurbished is really relevant when you buy secondhand.
Best
David
Thank you for explaining. I had not heard of grade A or grade B units or refurbished items before reading this thread.
C.
C.,
If you look at TomTom’s website there are/were quite a few B and refurbished items – well, there was the last time I was there. Plus, some are now being seen on fleabay.
News to me too - I always wondered where such kit went, a bit like ‘quality seconds’ in other markets.
It looks like a remnant of the etching process to me that has affected the colouring stage of the anodising, I’d say a return to the dealer jobbie, obviously one slipped through QC
Naim doesn’t make a ton of these and they are premium products so it’s not right this slipped through QA. They and your dealer should sort this out for you ASAP. Don’t let them off the hook.
While I love my olive nac82,supercap,nap 135 2001 vintage gear owned from new ,this era cosmetic wise was variable,but latest main can’t touch the likes of other brands like moon audio with 10 year warranty, perfection.
Struggling to see what Naim’s 5 or Moon’s 10 year warranty has to do with this, this seems to be a new unit, certainly under warranty, and there is absolutely not doubt whatsoever that Naim will take care of it.
Other than that, I don’t choose my hifi based on the warranty.
I had a black bicycle that started to show this after 3 years, they replaced the whole bike with a new one which was pretty nice. The manufacturer told me it was a production issue that happened more often with this type of coating, and the problem was that it generally only appeared after a few months or sometimes years. This made it difficult to catch during the QA process.
(the bike frame was also anodized aluminium and had a similar coating as the Naim boxes)
I don’t think anyone is looking to be “let off the hook” here. Naim would be the first to hold up their hand and declare “mea culpa”, and from what I understand from my email contact with them this morning, they are disappointed and very keen to put it right. They agree that the customer should contact their dealer who will ensure things are put right. In the meantime, the Naim QA dept. are keen to investigate what happened here.
Always fixable. Of some 36 plus pieces of Naim equipment only one 252 had a pink complexion which was fixed and I’ve not seen anything similar since. At the end of the day one has to remember what an excellent customer focused organisation Naim is.
It could be me, but it still definitely looks like someone ate a very greasy pizza and didn’t wash their hands before handling those boxes (brown cardboard one even looks like it still has some kind of food like deposit stuck on the top corner) These greasy or sweaty fingers could then have easily made their way on to the front facia of the equipment.
I never open anything with dirty hands for that very reason …
Are you sure it can’t be cleaned off?
In any event, I wouldn’t want a new piece of equipment ‘contaminated’ and would want it swapping out with a nice fresh clean one 
