Let’s see if your post will be the same when Naim will tell that Nd555 is not serviceable anymore.
I hope it won’t happen of course.
I promise - I will be the same!
I had the same issue with my 52 - no service in Germany and more than difficult to arrange in the uk after brexit.
And to be honest - never had the streamer head unit on the service list.
I don’t see that anyone has been critical of the Naim staff, in particular, the service team.
More criticism of the corporate management decisions.
DG…
1 Like
When you look at Neil’s answer I tend to doubt that there has been some issues.
1 Like
Not sure id seen any critisism of naim service team either. They do a great job and are the unsung heros. If i ever do a naim tour these peopke woukd be the first on my list to go and see.
However, what i did pick up from his post was frustration. Frustration in not being able to deliver a service for a naim item.
2 Likes
To give this “SuperLine service quandary” debate some focus, the core of the issue is maybe more likely cost. That is, the standard service cost of £399 simply does not cover for a service on a SuperLine, now allowing for the known issue of having to replace a whole board, rather than just replace 30+ capacitors, then test, etc
Let’s break that down ( for UK dealer pricing)
399, less sales tax VAT of 66.50 = 332.50
Allow for dealer margin, say 1/3
So, service dept only benefits from 219.45 from this job.
(Maybe they have to pay £20 for return carriage to dealer too)?
Ballpark of £200 ?
If their service dept is a profit centre, they have to turn a profit on each job, or at least overall.
It’s ridiculously good value when you think about it.
Maybe for an hour or so of labour** and a few capacitors that job cost might be okay.
**( Note : Based on experience of waiting for Class A to service items, an hour or so. Including receiving the bag of parts replaced too).
So, imagine spending an hour ( hour of technicians labour) then finding you’ve damaged the main board anyway. Then having to endure the cost of replacing the main board too.
The main board - with all components fitted and wiring loom - might have a manufacturing cost of maybe £300-400-500. That’s before adding technicians time and any service dept margin, or indeed any dealer margin.
So, obvious solution is to price for this service task differently.
Charge for a rebuild instead, incorporating cost of simply replacing the main board. Although the material costs will be higher, the labour cost is significantly reduced. Maybe reduced to opening the case, removing old board, fitting new board, testing, closing case again. Finishing with notes and paperwork for return. This becomes an operational process with controlled outcomes again.
11 Likes
But apparently after some years the sound of the streamer degrades. If it wasn’t the case, I would not bother. As you say in UK, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix.
But if it degrades, then service is needed.
@matfff wrote: « 252 and NDS has been back from Salisbury for a couple of weeks now and sounding superb, much better than before they went!
So much improvement, got me thinking about the rest of my Naim gear.«
2 Likes
Agree, but don’t forget, naim set this £399, not the customer. As i’ve said further up give us options. And also, naim designed this pcb.
3 Likes
Agree 
Reputation, customer satisfaction and sales are closely related, Naim should take this on the goodwill account imo.
4 Likes
These are all good points and I believe one of the main reasons we are so upset is that its such an incredibly good phono stage, the best one naim ever made really, the NVC cannot be as good as its designed to be more of an allrounder instead of a high performance MC only stage. The best way forward is to manufacture more boards and make the service viable and fair to all who have invested in a superline.
Maybe even give it a white logo!
3 Likes
I can fully understand the dissapointment in not being able to service a Superline as a buyer of used Naim boxes I try and look for recently serviced items so they are in good order and so servicing is valuable to me.
However, if one were so upset that it makes you invest in another company’s phono stage of similar quality and cost one would not be much better off as that company is unlikely to provide a service function like Naim does for most of its offerings.
4 Likes
I’m really struggling with the “Service” vs “Repair” distinction. What is the difference? If the parts are available for service and the Service Department people can solder and desolder the offending parts on the PCB for repair, why can’t they do it for service???
Again, non-sequitur.
1 Like
Service = replace a load of stuff (like all the caps) even if they still function.
Repair = replace just enough stuff to make it work again.
The first is elective and requires more components and happens more often than repairs due to Naim reliability.
1 Like
Steady on……that would be a step too far! 
How about a Gen II Superline in a full sized case with NPX300 power supply. MC only.
2 Likes
No that’s not a good idea until the servicing issue with the original superline is resolved.
1 Like
I find it hard to understand those of you defending Naim in this issue. Are you employed by Naim? This situation is totally unacceptable and I’d go as far as it’s a a case of false marketing. The NDS was said to be serviceable and hence safe to buy with an outlook of possibility to get it up to original spec when it was 12-15 years. Naim also claim the NDS is in need of said service and that they would be selling this option down the line. That is at least what I bought. Now after I bought it it does no longer exist. How do you suggest I should look at this? The product I bought no longer match the product I bought. It seems difficult for some to understand this concept and no matter the possibility of repair the possibility of a service is still gone. I bought it used from a Naim dealer and was expecting to service it if I kept it for as long. Since it is very good and difficult to move on (now possibly impossible) I decided to keep it. It’s a 2013 so still a few years left until it “needs” a service. How is this not a scandal?
9 Likes
Dear Mr @Lucifer
I am so sorry to say I share your opinion on feeling that an understanding at the point of purchase has been undermined.
Except in our specific case, a new SuperLine was bought, along with ancillaries, ( a new HCDR as a psu and several z-foil Airplugs). We were delighted and thought it was a “keeper”.
After carefully exploring alternatives, we bought what we considered to be THE BEST mc phono stage. It cost us a lot of money too. Part of that calculation, was that we could get it serviced at first service interval - say 12 years - and that would do us for a life time 25+ years.
Then, after just 12 months, we are told we cannot receive that service. So, the Naim item we paid for, full price new - its performance will now likely drop off and degrade, after about 12 years. That’s half the life and usage we intended, when we paid our money.
The latest news has likely undermined the value of the SuperLine too, with limited interest in buying pre-loved examples or indeed any new ones.
Having bought so many Naim boxes, in recent years - with confidence - this has really disturbed me. Has a promise been broken?
Being positive, I applaud Naim for being open about the reasons for withdrawing a service option for the SuperLine. When you examine the initial and official statement from Naim as well as Richard’s and Neil’s contributions here, it’s easier to understand the Naim view in this issue.
However, I don’t agree that simply withdrawing the SuperLine service option - with no other option to maintain your SuperLine in peak condition - is a particularly customer centric or properly thought through solution. Even now, see lots of option that might be offered to 500+ SuperLine customers. So, I’m waiting to see what follows?
I still think the Naim SuperLine is probably the best phono stage and would hope Naim agree enough to find amicable and mutually beneficial outcomes, to honour the legacy of this fantastic product. Come on Naim, do the right thing here….
R
9 Likes
It will be interesting to see how Naim responds to this sensitive issue and I can totally understand why people are disappointed in the news.
I’m guessing from reading through the thread that the time/cost in carrying out a service is a large issue especially with a very high risk of damaging the main board.
So perhaps a cost to replace the board assembly is an option but then I thought maybe that is the problem, I’m sure earlier in the thread someone mentioned the original caps are not available anymore, perhaps it’s not possible to reproduce the board assembly to a level that replicates the sound quality of the original without going into a considerable amount of research and testing.
From what I understand you can no longer buy a new unit, maybe that’s the reason it has been discontinued, it’s seems it has a very highly rated performance so why would you stop selling it, unless it’s not cost effective or you can’t source the components needed to continue with production just my thoughts.
2 Likes
Some thoughtful ideas in there.
But the exceptionally puzzling thing here, is the SuperLine is still available ???
It’s on the Naim website, it’s listed in their most recent price list. If you made a dealer enquiry, you could still buy one.
No EOL statement has been announced. At least not yet anyway. So it’s a kinda unique and exceptional situation ???
Let’s see what happens next?
R
3 Likes