552 burndy locking ring

Yes, I had the same issue with my burndy locking rings but when my 552 was being serviced Naim made some minor adjustment that seemed to make it slightly better. Even now they are still the stiffest burndy's to lock when compared to my others, so I'd not worry too much as long as your 552 is sounding good.

I think it's the NAC552 Burndy which I cannot get to lock either at the preamp end or the PS end. I assumed it was designed to be like that, despite the fact that it is the only one which doesn't lock.

In my accessory drawer, alongside my stylus force guage, my CD lens cleaner camel hair brush and my spare Super Lumia 5-pin DIN interconnects , I have a large gripping plier that closes down in four places, so applies pressure evenly - absolutely essential if you have anything connected with burndies, e.g. 552, 555PS's, NDS, CD555.

I had initially contemplated using the plier to tighten the burndy connections, but suspected that this might cause future problems, so they are used to loosen the connections when hand power alone doesn't work.   And as the years sail by, I've come to realise I no longer have the muscle strength I once had in my hands.

So worry not, Laxton, you're not alone; in fact I rather think there are a few folk on the forum who choose not to reveal the full contents of their audio accessory kits 

l can get the ps end to lock only if I can get a very good grip on it, which I can’t without removing the levels above, I was considering a strap wrench but it’s a little short of locking at the moment.

Laxton posted:

Hi,

i was trying to rearrange my Naim boxes the other day and I noticed that the burndy locking ring on the 552 end is exceptionally stiff. I had to use a large amount of force by hand to unlock it and it’s the same with locking it. A pair of pliers gripping the ring made things easier though. The burndy is properly aligned and straight. The 552DR Power supply end is fine.

Has anyone encountered something similar on their 552?

Thanks.

Hi Laxton, If I recall correctly  you and I bought our 552’s almost simultaneously A little under 2 years ago so I guess they are of similar vintage. Mine are also extremely hard to get to click completely tight - much harder than any of my other Burndies. I wonder if it’s more recent 552’s in particular that exhibit this problem? If it’s any comfort, I’m finding them slightly less tortuous each time I have cause to loosen and reconnect them..

rjstaines posted:

In my accessory drawer, alongside my stylus force guage, my CD lens cleaner camel hair brush and my spare Super Lumia 5-pin DIN interconnects , I have a large gripping plier that closes down in four places, so applies pressure evenly - absolutely essential if you have anything connected with burndies, e.g. 552, 555PS's, NDS, CD555.

I had initially contemplated using the plier to tighten the burndy connections, but suspected that this might cause future problems, so they are used to loosen the connections when hand power alone doesn't work.   And as the years sail by, I've come to realise I no longer have the muscle strength I once had in my hands.

So worry not, Laxton, you're not alone; in fact I rather think there are a few folk on the forum who choose not to reveal the full contents of their audio accessory kits 

 

It sounds like a good idea to tighten as much as possible by hand and use a wrench to loosen it. I too have those kind of wrenches that’s meant to grip larger objects and I’ve been using it to tighten the ring.

kevin J Carden posted:

Laxton posted:

Hi,

i was trying to rearrange my Naim boxes the other day and I noticed that the burndy locking ring on the 552 end is exceptionally stiff. I had to use a large amount of force by hand to unlock it and it’s the same with locking it. A pair of pliers gripping the ring made things easier though. The burndy is properly aligned and straight. The 552DR Power supply end is fine.

Has anyone encountered something similar on their 552?

Thanks.

Hi Laxton, If I recall correctly  you and I bought our 552’s almost simultaneously A little under 2 years ago so I guess they are of similar vintage. Mine are also extremely hard to get to click completely tight - much harder than any of my other Burndies. I wonder if it’s more recent 552’s in particular that exhibit this problem? If it’s any comfort, I’m finding them slightly less tortuous each time I have cause to loosen and reconnect them..

Hi Kevin,

Yeah I think we both bought ours at around the same time. I’m not sure if it’s the more recent vintages having this issue, though I felt uneasy initially about it being to tight. It’s reassuring to know that other 552 owners are also having tight locking rings.

I use a strap wrench, where the strap is made of rubber. They are available from any number of retailers for around £10.

The honourable member from Stowmarket alerted me to this device a while ago.

The locking rings on all of my Burndy cables are tight and the wrench is indispensable.

I gave a Boa Constrictor Grip strap wrench - which I think is the same idea - to Jason when he came to collect a demo NAP500 and couldn't get a good enough grip on the burndies and commented that he constantly had this problem.  Basically a handle with a rubber strap attached to the handle at one end and unattached at the other.  Wrap the rupper strap round the burndy collar, and then back into a groove on the handle, which grips it.  This gives a really even and 'soft' but strong grip to the collar.  Extremely useful.

I do not know if this is good or bad but mine just seem to glide in as if they are almost pulled in by themselves when they are aligned. They also are relatively easy to undo with a firm hand grip on the collar.

As regards alignment I have marked, with a dot, the top of the plug such that it is easy to realign when I remove and reinsert.

Richard

Oh they glide in OK but stop before the ring locks. Mine is also a couple of years old.

mine is also very tight and I have to use a strap wrench (would have struggled to name it, thanks NFS).

however, interestingly, Andy @Signals did not have any such problem with my 552 Burndy last time he was here...

so, old age might be a factor here...

enjoy...

ken

Why are burndies tight and signal cables wobbly?  Don’t some burbdies also carry signal and in any case have the ability to transmit micro vibrations?

Gavin

i was wondering the same. I am having serious trouble locking/unlocking the 6x 500 burndeys not so much with all the others ie 552, snaxo, Sl burndeys. So for some time while the setup was not final I did not lock them completely and left the ring un snapped. It Worked fine yet I did neither notice an improvement nor deterioriation. 

A deep breath, the right mole grip, a soft duster and the right amount of pressure. My dealer has asked for a duster more than once.

Then inserting the beasty, line it up square. Not easy as the cable has a mind of its own. A small chalk mark can help with both actions.

At my age its a dealer job.

Douglas.

In my experience, the NAC552 Burndy connector should lock quite smoothly and relatively easily. It should not need plumbers grips to do so. If that's the case I would be a bit concerned.

However, the NAP500 connectors (and also the NAP300 connectors) have sometimes presented quite a challenge, particularly if you're trying to do them up or undo them when they're in an awkward place.

I tighten mine at tight as I can by hand and the units work fine and sound great.   Do I need to tighten until I hear a click?  Why?

My 552 Burndy (2009 model) fits very tight as well. Very difficult to remove by hand when we recently moved house.

Clearly it is relatively common for Burndy cables on the NAC552 not to lock properly, or at least as easily as they do on other components. I wonder the same question as posed by Skip, above: does it need to be tightened until a click is heard? Does it matter? What difference would it make if it did lock? Or is it designed/intended to be like that?

That’s the issue with irregularities - they pose more questions than answers!

ken c posted:

mine is also very tight and I have to use a strap wrench (would have struggled to name it, thanks NFS).

however, interestingly, Andy @Signals did not have any such problem with my 552 Burndy last time he was here...

so, old age might be a factor here...

enjoy...

ken

Strap wrench for me too Ken. Well, on some of them anyway. Having arthritis makes these things very difficult.

My XPS/DAC Burndy partially rotates the locking ring just by pushing the connecting plug into the socket. A final turn and it's done.

My 552 burndy locks smoothly but it is a bit tricky to undo - rubber gloves were resorted to last time. Fortunately it is rare that it needs to be disconnected.