Horrible experience with Naim Audio!!!

[altruistic.lemon]

You could try these from your neighbours: http://www.moosaudio.com/

 

[hone_u2]

You could try these from your neighbours: http://www.moosaudio.com/

Wow! Thanks for that! They look quite intriguing!!!

Maybe once they're in production i could travel and hear a pair...

Thanks AL

 

[letsavit2]

Can understand why you gave up with naim, my naim 5i has been fine for about 5 years now and have no intention to upgrade. Sounds like they have ****** the 2 models right up.

 

[BenLaw]

You have partially quoted me paraphrasing you.

I don't actually think they do anything of the sort.

If you read my whole post you would see I was exaggerating. (I also mentioned AVI tracking down complainants and shooting them! Do you think that was true as well?).

I know which is more *likely* to be true.

 

[jcbrum]

You could try these from your neighbours: http://www.moosaudio.com/

Are Moos still in business, or have they failed before production even started ?

JC

 

[hone_u2]

Can understand why you gave up with naim, my naim 5i has been fine for about 5 years now and have no intention to upgrade. Sounds like they have ****** the 2 models right up.

Not wanting to upgrade is a great place to be in! I wish I was in it too... I might not have upgraded my Naim either if I hadn't run into these issues...

I really hope they've solved those things with the new integrateds though...

 

[elevensheep]

After a few days, I received an email from the dealer with an excerpt from who seemed to be an inner engineer at naim, who admitted that he knew about it and the problem existed in every Nait 5i manufactured! And also said that the problem affected a Nait XS as well and that it was the first time that a customer had complained of it, but it existed for god knows how long...!

I find this incredibly hard to believe, especially that i have demoed both units extensively and know many people who own them.

 

[slice]

Regarding electronics companies selling equipment with known faults. A few years ago I bought a denon dab tuner, a tu 1800, maybe?, which had a signal drop out fault. I returned it to superfi, who sent it off to be checked, but after a good while there was no sign of it, so I asked for a refund, which superfi immediately gave me (superfi a good dealer in my experience). Checking a hifi forum (not this one), I found a thread with a history of this fault, with susequent new contributors well after my problems all citing this issue. Recently on this forum a thread showed a particular Marantz cd player to have a common, recurring fault with the cd tray mechanism. I think it is quite possible that manufacturers do know about faults, but just keep selling. Maybe it's because profit margins are slim, and economics dictate they can't keep making small changes. In any event I think the originator of this thread has been given a hard time by some of you, and has a good point.

 

[Sospri]

After a few days, I received an email from the dealer with an excerpt from who seemed to be an inner engineer at naim, who admitted that he knew about it and the problem existed in every Nait 5i manufactured! And also said that the problem affected a Nait XS as well and that it was the first time that a customer had complained of it, but it existed for god knows how long...!

I find this incredibly hard to believe, especially that i have demoed both units extensively and know many people who own them.

Yes I know what you mean, it dosen't seem to add up to me either

I wonder why he dosen't put this on the Naim forum?

 

[AlbaBrown]

I can't comment on international dealers, but having bought Naim equipment in the UK over the years, I've never had the issues you describe.

I don't know if, with international models, whether Naim units have to altered from original UK spec or not but it is impossible that treatment you received was the norm as Naim would not have the pasionate following (from dealers and us customers alike) that it does.

Interestingly though a few years ago, on my original Nait 5i & CD5i, I connected the DIN output of the CD5i to the DIN input on the Nait5i amp and the CDs RCA output to an audio input on a Panasonic plasma tv at the same time (don't ask, it was a very boring afternoon!!) .

The end result was that you could hear the music through the TV ok, but the CD would mistrack/skip randomly AND the amp would produce a LOUD thump whenever changing inputs!! Removing the connection between the CD5i and the TV returned things back to normal.

There was obviously something nasty flying back up the lead from the TV causing the Naim pieces a big headache!

 

[elevensheep]

I can't comment on international dealers, but having bought Naim equipment in the UK over the years, I've never had the issues you describe.

I don't know if, with international models, whether Naim units have to altered from original UK spec or not but it is impossible that treatment you received was the norm as Naim would not have the pasionate following (from dealers and us customers alike) that it does.

As im not from UK, I have been dealing with non-UK Naim dealers. I personally find them very professional, knowledgeable and helpful.

So I find the OP's assertion that ALL non-UK dealers are horrible unfair, especially as it appears that he has only dealt with NZ Naim dealers.

As a frequent visitor of the official Naim forum and other Hifi forums, and having personally extensively demoed both units, as well as knowing many happy long term owners of these models, I have yet to come across the so called left channel static issue affecting ALL Nait 5i2 AND XS models.

Of course this is a very serious allegation, and if false, would be misleading to many potential consumers, not to mention be unfairly damaging to Naim's reputation.

Hope OP can provide evidence to back up what he says.

Specifically he metioned that a certain Naim engineer confided in him that this issue existed. Now Naim is a small company, it would be interesting to know which engineer said that.

Lastly, on the alleged markings on the Nait XS's facia, my question is why didnt OP inspect the product carefully before taking delivery? Further it appears very strange that OP said on one hand that the left speaker static issues affects ALL Nait 5i2 and XS, and then after getting rid of the Nait 5i2 due to this issue, he goes and buys the XS. Very strange.

 

[cse]

...end of

'End of' what?

Brio R sounds better than the UnitiQute........end of

There is no 'End of..' in HIFI, unfortunately. This is the awful addiction that we all have to varying degrees. Leaving the 'Forum' is the only way to begin the rehabituation process. As with 'AA' , it is something you must fight against every day of your life, in order to reach hopeful remission.

 

[hone_u2]

After a few days, I received an email from the dealer with an excerpt from who seemed to be an inner engineer at naim, who admitted that he knew about it and the problem existed in every Nait 5i manufactured! And also said that the problem affected a Nait XS as well and that it was the first time that a customer had complained of it, but it existed for god knows how long...!

I find this incredibly hard to believe, especially that i have demoed both units extensively and know many people who own them.

I KNOW THIS IS INCREDIBLY HARD TO BELIEVE... Which is why my opening statement was that "This may shock many!"

Im not here to defame a company, I just thought that because this was such a terrible experience and SHOCKING on so many levels, it must be shared... The truth value of this is something that will lie in your perception...

I am completely aware that they make fabulous products and have a great customer service, but mistakes in the Hi Fi world or any industry for that matter are not uncommon... Its important how the company deals with things... In this case I'm not sure if i'm happy with the result...

 

[hone_u2]

After a few days, I received an email from the dealer with an excerpt from who seemed to be an inner engineer at naim, who admitted that he knew about it and the problem existed in every Nait 5i manufactured! And also said that the problem affected a Nait XS as well and that it was the first time that a customer had complained of it, but it existed for god knows how long...!

I find this incredibly hard to believe, especially that i have demoed both units extensively and know many people who own them.

Yes I know what you mean, it dosen't seem to add up to me either

I wonder why he dosen't put this on the Naim forum?

I do agree this is shocking, and I did expect responses such as yours, but I still thought it was important to share the incident, what you make out of it is completely your perception... And since I was a longtime Naim user, if I would have read something like this before, even I wouldn't have believed it... So I completely understand.

Yes, if you go on the Naim forums you will see the original threads of the crackle and the fascia marks...

But I was really put off when they locked the thread, so i deleted my account... And posted on whf, because I wanted people to have a neutral perspective towards what happened, not in my favour, not in Naim's, but neutral...

 

[hone_u2]

I can't comment on international dealers, but having bought Naim equipment in the UK over the years, I've never had the issues you describe.

I don't know if, with international models, whether Naim units have to altered from original UK spec or not but it is impossible that treatment you received was the norm as Naim would not have the pasionate following (from dealers and us customers alike) that it does.

Well the only change that I am aware of is done (from the information I was given) is that the fuse is changed for New Zealand, because apparently it sounds better... I don't know, since i personally have never tried inverting the fuse...

This I am certain isn't the norm, and I'm not indicating that to the slightest... The problem I honestly find is communication of Naim with its Distributors and customers Internationally..., and it is not only in NZ that I am aware of, but other parts of the World as well, there are incidents happening, which I later found out from the Naim forum... There have been incidents in the US, India etc., and SURE thats like with any other company, problems will arise, but the problem i see with each and every complaint is that the customer has always been upset that he was confused as to whether Naim was communicating with them or not, or whether there was anything going on to address their problems... International customers (i am not speaking for anyone else, just from what i've read on the Naim forums) are tired of having to deal with their distributors as the authority, because it isn't very clear if they are communicating with naim or not... If the procedures that the distributor is doing, are authorized by naim or not (I had the same question with the power cord in NZ, but there was no indication of whether Naim had approved of the procedure or not), and when they call Naim (I did too!) the time difference sometimes is too much for people to reach someone to help them... There have been a lot of times when there was no one everytime I called at Customer service... YES THESE MIGHT BE VERY LITTLE THINGS, but to a customer who is literally desperate for some clarity... it really isn't comforting in the least...

But with my problem, even customer service at Naim didn't know it! It was upon me insisting that they then asked the engineer...

 

[hone_u2]

I can't comment on international dealers, but having bought Naim equipment in the UK over the years, I've never had the issues you describe.

I don't know if, with international models, whether Naim units have to altered from original UK spec or not but it is impossible that treatment you received was the norm as Naim would not have the pasionate following (from dealers and us customers alike) that it does.

As im not from UK, I have been dealing with non-UK Naim dealers. I personally find them very professional, knowledgeable and helpful.

So I find the OP's assertion that ALL non-UK dealers are horrible unfair, especially as it appears that he has only dealt with NZ Naim dealers.

As a frequent visitor of the official Naim forum and other Hifi forums, and having personally extensively demoed both units, as well as knowing many happy long term owners of these models, I have yet to come across the so called left channel static issue affecting ALL Nait 5i2 AND XS models.

Of course this is a very serious allegation, and if false, would be misleading to many potential consumers, not to mention be unfairly damaging to Naim's reputation.

Hope OP can provide evidence to back up what he says.

Specifically he metioned that a certain Naim engineer confided in him that this issue existed. Now Naim is a small company, it would be interesting to know which engineer said that.

Lastly, on the alleged markings on the Nait XS's facia, my question is why didnt OP inspect the product carefully before taking delivery? Further it appears very strange that OP said on one hand that the left speaker static issues affects ALL Nait 5i2 and XS, and then after getting rid of the Nait 5i2 due to this issue, he goes and buys the XS. Very strange.

I don't think I said this "So I find the OP's assertion that ALL non-UK dealers are horrible unfair"... I said in my opinion it loses its reputation of customer service internationally...

I know there are several happy customers of Naim, because I was one too! And the question of whether you've demoed the equipments thoroughly, I don't doubt that, as i said before even customer service at Naim said "We've never come across this issue before" took them a few days to come back to me and then only the engineer knew of it!

Now, if I didn't have proof, I wouldn't start a thread in the first place, this is not a court of law, I am only trying to raise enough awareness, so that the company thinks twice before deceiving and being unfair to any other customer again... NOW YES I KNOW THERE ARE SEVERAL HAPPY CUSTOMERS!!! And i am even ready to admit, that I may be the only one, but the question is not of number of happy or unhappy, the question is of why unhappy, and what merits such behaviour from a company?

I respect your view and completely understand it... I only hope you try to understand mine...

 

[hone_u2]

I can't comment on international dealers, but having bought Naim equipment in the UK over the years, I've never had the issues you describe.

I don't know if, with international models, whether Naim units have to altered from original UK spec or not but it is impossible that treatment you received was the norm as Naim would not have the pasionate following (from dealers and us customers alike) that it does.

Of course this is a very serious allegation, and if false, would be misleading to many potential consumers, not to mention be unfairly damaging to Naim's reputation.

Lastly, on the alleged markings on the Nait XS's facia, my question is why didnt OP inspect the product carefully before taking delivery? Further it appears very strange that OP said on one hand that the left speaker static issues affects ALL Nait 5i2 and XS, and then after getting rid of the Nait 5i2 due to this issue, he goes and buys the XS. Very strange.

AND... I know this is a very serious allegation, I am not on a hate train for Naim... What am I possibly going to get from this I wonder?

I am just making people aware that an issue like this did happen... And I'm hoping that the "potential customers" are CAUTIOUS and not REJECTING the products...

YES, I made a mistake by being over confident and not checking before delivery, doesn't change the fact.

I thought one incident (Nait 5i crackle) shouldn't be used to judge the company's entire line of products... THAT'S WHY I BOUGHT THE NAP-155XS... Not the integrated...

 

[hone_u2]

Regarding electronics companies selling equipment with known faults. A few years ago I bought a denon dab tuner, a tu 1800, maybe?, which had a signal drop out fault. I returned it to superfi, who sent it off to be checked, but after a good while there was no sign of it, so I asked for a refund, which superfi immediately gave me (superfi a good dealer in my experience). Checking a hifi forum (not this one), I found a thread with a history of this fault, with susequent new contributors well after my problems all citing this issue. Recently on this forum a thread showed a particular Marantz cd player to have a common, recurring fault with the cd tray mechanism. I think it is quite possible that manufacturers do know about faults, but just keep selling. Maybe it's because profit margins are slim, and economics dictate they can't keep making small changes. In any event I think the originator of this thread has been given a hard time by some of you, and has a good point.

Thank you...

 

[chebby]

You certainly made up for there being no updates in the last 4 days. Six posts in less than an hour!

Are you trying to 'bump' it up to the first page when people Google 'Naim' or 'Naim Audio'?

You have some way to go yet.

 

[ID.]

I like forums that have a multiquote button.

 

[hone_u2]

No.

 

[Tear Drop]

The only thing that surprises me about these clowns is that they are still in business.

 

[spiny norman]

The only thing that surprises me about these clowns is that they are still in business.

I know – and working so hard to keep bumping their posts.

 

[Tear Drop]

...

 

[Paulnaim]

[UNPUBLISHED DUPE]

Guys just had to comment, Its clear that Hone did not have the experience he wished for... But I contacted him directly as my distributor and retailer also have, we have made plenty of offers to solve the situation and replace any equipment he did not think was 100%, he has declined. I really cannot see he wishes for a happy ending. We do not keep secrets from our distributors and retailers and work fully for every genuine complaint to be resolved.

Paul Stephenson

Managing Director

Naim