NaimNet With Used / Second-Hand Equipment?

I suppose there may be another sub-text to my dealer's reluctance - that they themselves are no longer feeling fully-supported by Naim with NaimNet.

A lot of Naim's recent progress has been with streaming products and NaimNet seems to have stood still and received little attention.  The problem may be that the Naim / NetStreams synergy isn't working as well as had been hoped and an alternative has not yet been found.

I'm still attracted to NaimNet - I want Naim quality and the Naim sound but I also want a multi-room solution that I can enjoy throughout the ground floor of my house and in one or two places upstairs as well.  Also, I'm rather committed to the stuff I have already bought so I hope it cann all be made to work.

Perhaps Richard has a comment from the Naim standpoint?

From the perspective of one who gets involved in fixing other people's computers & networks I can empathise with your dealer.  Once I put my hands on a computer it becomes completely my responsibility in the eyes of the owner;  fine if the underlying kit is OK, but occasionally I unearth a serious problem (e.g. a failing, but not yet dead hard drive or a partly corrupted Windows system).  Try telling the owner this was a pre-existing problem... some are OK and some are most definately not OK with the news.

If I took on responsibility for a variety of Naimnet with differing histories and software levels, I'd want to very sure the owner understood all about what problems could lie in wait.

My advice is to talk nicely with your dealer/installer, explain that you undertstand the potential problems and are prepared for them to surface and that you would never even think of blaming him/her for them !!  Explain too that you have every confidence in his/her ability to overcome whatever lurks within the network or the hardware;  it's surprising how far a little encouragement and empathy will drive a technician (be they audio, network or computer).

And never forget - peace starts with a smile  

Many thanks.  I can see all the issues you mention and a second opinion on such things was what I was looking for. 

Relations are good with the dealer, who has been selling me stuff for twenty years.  I've also gone into this with eyes more-or-less open, knowing that I've saved a lot of money on kit but may also have wasted a certain amount on defective items, hopefully not too much, and hopefully not on the two NaimNet amps which are the key to everything and come with a decent pedigree.  So I'd like to encourage the dealer to share my approach, as you suggest, and hope we can both enjoy and profit from a slightly unconventional approach.

Thanks again for your insight.

Not sure why the hardware can't be updated to the latest versions (which should all be compatible).  A quick phone call to NAIM should clarify.  I suspect the dealer is miffed at not getting his margins on the hardware.

Is he actually a naimnet installer, perhaps he is just going to land up giving the job to someone else.

I have a naimnet system in my house with 3 zones, it was installed and configured by my dealer about 4 years ago, we had a lot of problems in the begining with my network and getting everything working properly, during this time i had great service from both naim and my dealer. since the initial install the only updates have been to the i linx app and my nso1, so i am not sure what updates he is talking about.

Martyn.

Did you get your netstreams stuff sorted. It is easy to update and install.

I have not yet got it sorted.  It has been on the back burner for a few weeks but I would like to resolve it.  How do you think you might help? 

I appreciate that my approach is unconventional but my dealer has been rather precious about the whole thing so I have rather lost patience with him.  I need someone who can take a more practical approach but probably it has to be someone who is at least an authorised Naim and/or Netstreams dealer who has access to the necessary software.

My HDX was bought new and works perfectly.  My two room amps were bought second-hand but from a dealer so I don't expect any problems there.

My Netstreams stuff was all bought second-hand and is a mixed bag so I can imagine there may be problems with some of it.  Bits may need updating or replacing.

As a first step I'd have thought everything should be connected-up on a work bench by someone who knows what he's doing.  If it can be made to work this way and any obvious problems resolved, it should not then be a difficult thing to re-connect in my home and do any final configuration.

All the netstreams kit can be updated by the software to the latest version. As long as they have the same version they will work fine together but if you have bought them from different sources they are bound to be different. You also have to use the software to get them work together on the same network. Once its done then thats generally it unless you add more zones.

Guys,

Be aware that NaimNet is an installed system - it is intended to be installed by an installer and not an end user. The configuration software is available only to installers who have completed the NetStreams training course and - more to the point - there are specific network requirements to be considered (you can't just throw in regular network switches and expect the system to work).

Naim continue to support NaimNet (that's what I do) but as NaimNet is not a user installed product then our support is for our installers and we cannot support any user installed systems - similarly, NetStreams will not be particularly enthusiastic about supporting product of theirs that has been end-user installed.

Best Regards

Phil

Many thanks Phil. 

I'm under no illusions and have no intention of using anyone other than an accredited installer or (heaven forbid) trying to do it myself.  It's just that, for better or for worse, I've gone down the path of acquiring some second-hand kit which makes the situation less straightforward. 

The Naim dealer I had intended to use seems a bit sniffy about working with second-hand stuff.  We haven't fallen out and he hasn't even said that he won't do it but I've decided that I need to look elsewhere for someone who'll take a more practical and cost-effective approach.  Separately I'm now doing just that.

My purpose in raising this in the forum was to canvass other users and see whether I was barking up the wrong tree.  Was I totally wrong to imagine that you didn't necessarily need brand-new kit for a NaimNet system?  Or, to put it another way, is an NNP01 or NNP02 fit only for the scrapheap once you remove it from a particular system?

I'll let you know how I get on.  I expect that I'll find a good, open-minded installer; that the two Naim room amps will be fine; that the NetStreams stuff will be a bit buggy and some of it will need chucking and replacement; and that in the end I'll have a good working system at an affordable cost.  

Equipment can obviously be reprogrammed over and over again - similarly kit can be firmware updated to latest code (as has been mentioned here) so there is no issue there.

Cheers

Phil

Thanks for your interest.  I haven't yet got the system going but that's because it has been on the back burner since my last posting - my financial resources keep finding other distractions.

I'm based in London and would be interested in speaking to a good, properly-accredited, London-based installer.  I think there's a rule against advertising in this forum but perhaps it would be OK to mention the name of someone, accredited as a NaimNat installer, with whom you've had a good experience aand then any further contact woulld be private and up to me.  

My people are Netstreams-accredited, rather than Naim-accredited, so on the assumption that we are talking about Digilinx stuff rather than Naimnet, try Clic2control. Ali and Reza are great and very customer-responsive, and quite reasonable pricing.

Peter 

Kember - I saw on another forum that you had purchased the Naimnet Speakers. Can I ask how you find them?

Thanks

Wazza

Sadly, I haven't got round to plumbing them in, yet. I want to bury the NACA cable in the walls (as an afterthought to my installation work - doh!) But it is the work scheduled for the next couple of weeks, so I'll report back.

Best

Peter