SuperUnity display fading away

hungryhalibut posted:

Mike-B posted:

Meerkat posted:

Is it a possibility, that leaving black boxes on 24/7, (Apart from thunderstorms) does actually shorten the life of the display?

Yes it does,  there was some forum chat on this a while ago.   Taking heed of that I have my NDX display set to turn off at 30 seconds.  

Isn’t it the case that it’s leaving the display on 24/7 that shortens its life, rather than leaving the equipment itself on? 

I don't think there is way to turn off the Naim Logo is there? I can turn off the volume, balance and button lights on the 282, but the Naim Logos on the 282, 300 & Hicap will always be on. Do I have that right?

Yes, the logos indicate that the units are powered up so aren't defeatable unless you switch off.

You won't be able to listen to anything....but at least you can be confident that you are not wearing out that delicate display by doing something as profligate as having it switched on. 

I've bitten the fiscal bullet and my Uniti is on its way to Salisbury now for its £350 makeover. I wonder, how many days life the new display will have?

I'm going to guess that the repair just might be guaranteed for a year, so on the bright (or slowly dimming) side, that's just under £1 per day. Bargain?

Richard Dane posted:

Yes, the logos indicate that the units are powered up so aren't defeatable unless you switch off.

That wasn't the case on my ND555. After it had gone into a standby mode, when it came back to life the Naim logo was so dim that it was barely visible in daylight. Hopefully that will be one of the issues addressed while it's back at base.

Meerkat posted:

I don't think there is way to turn off the Naim Logo is there? I can turn off the volume, balance and button lights on the 282, but the Naim Logos on the 282, 300 & Hicap will always be on. Do I have that right?

Hi Meerkat,  in case you are getting concerned with the illuminated amp control buttons & the Naim logo.   The fading display type we're talking about is per pic,  they do fade if left on & thats not denied by Naim,  hence my NDX is set to auto off after 30 secs  

The control buttons are (as you know) are switched on & off with the remote & can set to go auto off after a second of so,  but I don't think there is any concern with those as I understand they are simple LED's,  but even so mine are auto off. 

I have to say I’m very disappointed in Naim for this, the failure rate seems almost to make the display a consumable, so was it not possible to have designed easier access and replacement of the screen. What they’ve done is a one fee for a host of replacement parts including the main board and I think £350 is a ridiculous fee for a cheap component that’s obviously has very poor durability. They shouldn’t fail in the numbers they seem to be, I can’t think of any other displays on a host of inexpensive dvd’s, alarms, microwaves etc that have failed, so why a £1500 amp (qute).

Oh and my £3500 272 I can’t glance up to see what the track is because I have to set the display to go off after 10 seconds to prolong its life beyond what, 5 years...really!!! Very poor.

Yep a dealbreaker for me

No more Naim kit

I can now see that my newest UnitiQute2 also has the clock "burned" into the display (this display also starts to fade!). This one is only some 4 years old and already having display problem. So, from now on the display will be off. 

But again, had I just known the displays were such lousy quality I could have set them off from the beginning ... :-( However, why have the option of setting a display ON if the quality cannot stand being ON? Would Bentley accept a display fading after 3-4 years .... ? Would VW or Vauxhall?

This is simply NOT GOOD ENOUGH Naim ... 

Compare this with Leica, who have  had issues with durability of electronics  over the years, the last one being faulty sensors on the M9, but they stepped up, it's a premium product at a premium price and should preform as such, so it was great to see Leica take these cameras back and replace the sensor free of charge, years after the guarantee had run out, and even if the camera had changed hands, and this is the sensor, so not an inexpensive component. Naim on the other hand are not only not taking responsibility for it, they are profiting handsomely by charging a whopping £350 to replace it. Why so much?

A dealbreaker for me

Dealbreaker for me, No more Naim streamer kit !

(Richard why do you moderate this invisible ?)

Because it is thought that people who buy Naim are these who have a bit more money in the pockets so they should not be to bothered with spending a bit more on such trivial things . This comes actually from customers themselves. I remember when some of us on this forum were complaining that there was no Android version of the Naim  application the advice from many others was ' you spent already £3000 on superuniti so £500 more for an iPad should not be a problem for you'.

The displays are not 'lousy quality' It's just an issue with OLED displays that they will eventually lose brightness and fail. The work around (as others have said) is to have the display off function enabled. Unfortunately, unlike the power supplies and amps, the digital products, by the nature of their design and changes in technology will not have the longevity and serviceability that Naim are renowned for. It's no different from any other manufacturers in this respect. At least with failing displays, they can be replaced for now and for not a lot of money. 

I put my 2011 Uniti back in its box in 2015 when I bought my Superuniti. The display was working fine.

I got it back out earlier this year and the display had gone dim, almost unreadable. The display was set to turn off after 10secs, so it seems they fail even when not being used.

james n posted:

The displays are not 'lousy quality' It's just an issue with OLED displays that they will eventually lose brightness and fail. The work around (as others have said) is to have the display off function enabled. Unfortunately, unlike the power supplies and amps, the digital products, by the nature of their design and changes in technology will not have the longevity and serviceability that Naim are renowned for. It's no different from any other manufacturers in this respect. At least with failing displays, they can be replaced for now and for not a lot of money. 

 

I'm not sure I can agree that repacing a failed display in a Uniti that is now probably worth around £900 with another (that will likely also fail becasue of the very finite life of selected OLED technology as you suggest) for £350 - i.e. 40% of value of the Uniti, could be described as a "not a lot of money" solution, perhaps I'm not from the right side of the tracks. I love my Naim for its accoustic performance, but a little less for longevity....and as the post from "TOE" illustrates, switching the display off does not seem to save it, it seems related to the display age more than use.

Perhaps I owe it to myself to buy a new Uniti Star with 5 year warranty, and make sure I set a reminder to sell on at 4yrs 6 months..... 

£350 seems a lot. I think I paid about half that here in New Zealand earlier this year.

I paid $50 shipping, one-way to Naim for my 3-year-old NDX-FM.  Returned promptly, no additional charge.  While I cannot fault the service, being a buy-and-hold guy, I hope they never run our of replacement displays.  Because of the cosmetic aspect, there is more reason to worry than there is about changing internal part specs, which sometimes improve over the years. 

Mine failed even though I heeded the warnings from day-one, but it was ex-dem from a knowledgeable dealer.  My UnitiQute2 is four years old, and going strong.

Nick

Tony2011 posted:

We should be able to access all  functions and settings  via the app. It cannot be that difficult, can it?

If I am not mistaken that is already the case with the new Uniti range (Atom, Star, Nova).

Woj posted:

Because it is thought that people who buy Naim are these who have a bit more money in the pockets so they should not be to bothered with spending a bit more on such trivial things .

I doubt that is the case because Naim dont strike me to be that sort of company. But I could be mistaken.

james n posted:

The displays are not 'lousy quality' It's just an issue with OLED displays that they will eventually lose brightness and fail. The work around (as others have said) is to have the display off function enabled. Unfortunately, unlike the power supplies and amps, the digital products, by the nature of their design and changes in technology will not have the longevity and serviceability that Naim are renowned for. It's no different from any other manufacturers in this respect. At least with failing displays, they can be replaced for now and for not a lot of money. 

I'm sorry but that is just not true. There are OLED TVs and other devices in the market which have lasted for a hell of a lot longer than 3 or 6 years. And even if that was the case then Naim should have done their homework and used LCd instead. I have an original iPhone whose screen hasnt stopped working and I have not noticed any such deterioration. I'm not sure what you consider "not a lot of money" but £350 seems quite a lot to me.

bobbyrab1 posted:

Compare this with Leica, who have  had issues with durability of electronics  over the years, the last one being faulty sensors on the M9, but they stepped up, it's a premium product at a premium price and should preform as such, so it was great to see Leica take these cameras back and replace the sensor free of charge, years after the guarantee had run out, and even if the camera had changed hands, and this is the sensor, so not an inexpensive component. Naim on the other hand are not only not taking responsibility for it, they are profiting handsomely by charging a whopping £350 to replace it. Why so much?

It is one of the main reasons that I was willing to splash the money for my Q and why i will always be a Leica customer. I do hope Naim take a leaf from them and change their approach. They may get away with it here in the UK (coz we keep calm and carry on...letting them walk all over us) but they will be left with a bitter taste in their mouth if our cousins accross the pond slap a class action lawsuit on them at some point.

Woj posted:

Because it is thought that people who buy Naim are these who have a bit more money in the pockets so they should not be to bothered with spending a bit more on such trivial things . This comes actually from customers themselves. I remember when some of us on this forum were complaining that there was no Android version of the Naim  application the advice from many others was ' you spent already £3000 on superuniti so £500 more for an iPad should not be a problem for you'.

This is not about whether I can afford to buy a new display - this is entirely about a premium product, that is non-premium regarding its display. You pay for a premium product and you expect a premium product.

If I buy a Bentley - of course I can afford to replace the dashboard display every 3 years - but I would be very upset and expect much more. The point is, this display shall not fail (so fast) - LCD displays are 100% proven technology (if OLED causes problems, then use another technology, there is plenty to choose from). A 3-6 years life span of a very simple non-colour display is simply not good enough. You expect much more (I do) of premium product. If the displays of Bang & Olufsen fail after 3 years you would also received complains because you should expect more of a premium product. If you new LG or Samsung OLED TV goes broke after 3 years you would also be disappointed. 

I had to send my UnitiLite back to the factory earlier this summer to have the display (totally unreadable after 3 years) and CD player replaced (it really never worked from the beginning - brand new when purchased). 

I promised to get back to you with the feedback from Naim Support ... 

Support asks me to book a service at the local retailer to get the display changed ...  
(so another £700 I assume as I have 2 displays failing)

Shouldn’t there be a quantity discount? Perhaps if you had a third one :-(

I have a fairly early UQ which I upgraded to the 192 boards not so long ago. Now the display is failing. I have always had the display set to auto off after 10 seconds.

As others have said, there is no way that £350 is a reasonable price for an unavoidable replacement of an excessively short lived component. 

None of us have much choice though do we? Nice.

Well, that is the HiFi Choice Naim would (presumably) not have wanted you to make, but unless they happen to read this thread, they will never know the cause of your decision. I don't see any sign they read these threads.

The other aspect, of course, is that had the display continued to work, you wouldn't have had the need to replace your streamer with Naim or any other for several years more, so they won't feel (or know) they've lost out on your current purchase requirement for a streamer with a lasting display. ....and of course, if you do find a good alternative, you won't be allowed to mention it on here! Heads we win tails you lose?

Tony2011 posted:

Certainly it will come a time when Naim will do away with displays altogether. We should be able to access all  functions and settings  via the app. It cannot be that difficult, can it?

I absolutely agree that all functions/settings should be available without having to use the onboard display.  Equally if there is an onboard display on newer devices I feel they need more functionality than they currently have.

To be honest I would not regard the display on the new Uniti series, ND 555 and NDX 2 to be particularly important to me - the ND5 XS 2 must manage without one.

The big concern I guess is loss of compatibility of the Naim app with future portable devices if we rely on them as controllers.

Network connectivity setup is not an issue for ethernet, and even for wifi there are many devices now which can create their own ad hoc network for initial configuration and to setup your own wi-fi details.