My new Atom lasted 4 songs then it died.

The text is fine - your English is MUCH better than my Swedish (Or Norwegian, or Old Norse for that matter!).

I do understand the disappointment - you've been very unlucky.
Naim actually do quite a long duration 100% test before anything leaves the factory, but early failures do still sometimes occur.  I would have thought that as a replacement unit the distributor would give you priority on deliveries from Naim, but that's a matter for the distributor.

Hang in there, it's worth it in the end.

I had a minor fault with my Atom (a loud cracking sound on one channel when powering up).  My dealer exchanged it for a new Atom which failed the following morning.  No error code, just unresponsive to any button on the unit, any button on the remote and the app.  I understand your disappointment.  Naim is generally a reliable brand however.  Try and be patient and hopefully your Atom will be replaced quickly.  It's a great piece of kit in every way when it works.  You will not regret.  And your English is great.

Hi Magnus, sorry to hear your story.

I used to live a few miles from the Naim factory but had to collect from my dealer/supplier 40 miles further down the road when I had a problem! So I suspect you will be waiting that 3 to 5 weeks (which sounds normal to me, the shortest I have ever waited is 3 weeks for anything, new order or repair).

My very first Naim purchased developed a CD fault (new mech supplier), the next one blew up within 24hrs. However, as weird as it sounds and as angry as I was, I knew Naim could provide a sound per pound (or Kroner?) unmatched. All my poor luck came early, and I have now run 3 all-in-ones for +4years with no further alarms. Still loving the sound and planning for a Naim future as and when the loto numbers come in!

Magnus, sorry to hear of your misfortune.  And such unfortunate timing too.  I'm sure it will be replaced as quickly as possible by your distributor within the constraints of the Naim factory shutdown.

Possibly unrelated to your issue, but it does prompt me to remind anyone receiving kit at this time of year to try to contain their eagerness to unpack the gear and hook it up. The problem is that the kit has often spent days or even weeks sometimes in freezing cold storage and freezing cold delivery van cargo holds, so it's imperative to let it fully warm up to room temperature before plugging in. I would leave for a good few hours at least, preferably longer.  Otherwise you can get condensation forming on the internal circuits and this will usually result in a failure of part or all of the unit in question.  It happened to me - so frustrating - and I vowed never to let it happen again.

(Moved from original reply to wrong thread, hope this works!)

I had a similar great-but-frustrating experience when my new Atom experienced a hardware fault (blinking power light) after updating its firmware. I think you will suffer through the disappointment and, when the New Year and you new unit arrive, you will be right back on track! That’s my plan (I’m away on work for a couple more months) and the little taste was very inspiring - so I’m putting my focus on the positive (no matter how hard it was to hear from the phone helpline that it required return / exchange rather than a software fix!). Happy Holidays and enjoy your new system when it arrives!

Regards alan

Thanks for all the replys. Sorry to hear that both Alan33 and Bryce also have had similar issues with their Atoms. A bit worrying as a first time buyer, i really hope that the replacement unit does not have issues as well.

Really bad timing for all of this as Richard pointed out, but i just got word that a new Atom is being shipped directly from Naim to my store here in Sweden so hopefully it is here after new years.

Yeah Richard, it might have been that the cold unit caused the issue because it was like -5-7 celcius here yesterday and has been for a few days when the unit was on the delivery truck. I will let the new unit warm up before i attempt to power it on just to be safe, makes sense in my head that it could have been a condensation short of some sort that caused the issue.

Thank you all and have a wonderful Christmas and new years!

Magnus posted:

After 4 songs (10-15 min) on Tidal the Atom died. "Warning: Fault detected - Error Code 238" - See attached image link to see the error when it happend: https://imgur.com/QK4Ykoh - Okey i thought, software issue perhaps so i called Naim support and they told me this is a hardware error. The unit wont turn on again, the power button just blinks and nothing happens.

Im so sad and disappointed about this, my friend who has Linn/Naim systems spoke very highly about Naim and he was very suprised that this happend to me.  Now i have to wait another 3-5 weeks until i get a new unit because here in Sweden where im from the main distributor has a hard time getting the units from Naim and shipped out, high demand perhaps?

Just a general observation that regardless of the high quality of Naim products (or any other electronics for that matter) one never knows how a product has been treated once it leaves the factory.  

I briefly sold Hifi and video equipment at retail in the early 2000’s and while the percentage was small, a fair number of items (mostly DVD players as I recall) were dead right out of the box   It happens, but don’t let it ruin your overall ownership experience.

Jeff

Richard Dane posted:

Magnus, sorry to hear of your misfortune.  And such unfortunate timing too.  I'm sure it will be replaced as quickly as possible by your distributor within the constraints of the Naim factory shutdown.

Possibly unrelated to your issue, but it does prompt me to remind anyone receiving kit at this time of year to try to contain their eagerness to unpack the gear and hook it up. The problem is that the kit has often spent days or even weeks sometimes in freezing cold storage and freezing cold delivery van cargo holds, so it's imperative to let it fully warm up to room temperature before plugging in. I would leave for a good few hours at least, preferably longer.  Otherwise you can get condensation forming on the internal circuits and this will usually result in a failure of part or all of the unit in question.  It happened to me - so frustrating - and I vowed never to let it happen again.

Thanks. Very interesting. Would never have given this much thought but in colder climes it makes real sense. 

Magnus - i had a few issues with my Nova all resolved, all I can say buddy the Atom was so damn good less than two weeks in I went Nova.

Just hang in there, frustrating but think you've had a glimpse of what the Atom can do and it just gets better.

Surely if a product should get to room temperature to prevent bricking once powered up this should clearly be in the manual. 

It amazes me that it's constantly trotted out how reliable Naim units are when there is huge evidence that this is an historical representation of reliability rather than a reflection of current reliability. 

Nam currently may be no worse than average but I don't think they are much better than average either with their new products. 

Mind you it's how one deals with such issues that wI'll really define Naim in 2018 and I still think they are pretty good in this area. 

.sjb

Sloop John B posted:

Surely if a product should get to room temperature to prevent bricking once powered up this should clearly be in the manual. 

 

Who reads manuals? A warning sticker across the power socket would help perhaps. Or better, a sticker that changes the colour when exposed to temperatures below 10 degrees or so.

Sloop John B posted:

 

Mind you it's how one deals with such issues that wI'll really define Naim in 2018 and I still think they are pretty good in this area. 

Hi sjb -

I agree it’s not at all perfect - we may hear a disproportionate number of the problems and failures here, but I admit to being shocked and dismayed with my own experience.

I had gone on a road trip to get the new Atom unit while briefly home in October. Great dealer experience (new dealer a couple hours away), great first installation experience (plugged in, turned on, worked)... left for almost a month (unplugged but otherwise connected)... came home again for a day, plugged in, got the message to update firmware (not sure I had any choice but to agree), then after the download I had only the blinking power light of doom. Not an issue with cold, that’s for sure.

After futzing around the way you do (it showed up in the app but wouldn’t connect; the remote wouldn’t pair), I called the helpline and, despite the dismayingly bad news, had a pleasant and quick call and was given a case number. Via email, with astonishingly quick turnaround, my dealer organized a FedEx pickup to return the unit and, because I was leaving again at 6am, we agreed that the replacement unit could be held at his shop until my return home. 

Overall, again aside from a mystery fault that rendered a brand new unit into a brick, it was an exemplary case of customer care. Worth money, and somehow reassuring that I bought new, but probably one of those “early failures“ that characterize most production errors in modern electronics. 

Is Naim experiencing higher or lower early failure rates than normal or expected? I have no idea, although we know they are experiencing at least some. 

Is the treatment and reaction time what one expects from a top line brand? I’d have to say yes... but I can certainly see how any first time customer of any expensive thing could be angry, anxious or whatever else when this (rare?) unexpected and unfortunate thing happens.

Regards alan