Australian pricing

Well it would seem the AU/NZ pricing blood bath is over (maybe lawyers were involved).
The old distributor has stopped the insane discounting and we are learning the new stable and very high price of everything.
Damage done though. Second hand gear has plummeted in value.
Interested to hear from any down here who have taken the plunge in the (relatively) new gear? Anyone?

1 Like

@cdboy

Yes good to see the mad saga is over

I’ve taken the plunge with the NC 333/332/250

Trading out 252/SCDR/250DR/SN3/HICAPDR

In my view the NC gear is magnificent, very impressed with the NSS 333, overall the 3 boxes does it for me and don’t have the urge for any PS boxes. Also using with the LP12 40th anniversary Klimax

Highly recommend an audition , I don’t think you would be disappointed

1 Like

A seriously deep plunge Bevo. Time and Lotto will decide if I join you. Pleased it’s working out for you.

Maybe simply at last they have got shot of the old stock they had been left with when contract ended, leaving them free of the old baggage for which base support had been cut off?
It must have been a great time for buyers.

1 Like

Well they didn’t fly off the shelves. That situation persisted for ages.

I was pleased to buy an ND5xs2 and a Mu-so 2 Bentley Edition at the low prices.

The low prices certainly got my interest in streaming internet radio by Naim, especially after hearing a friend’s Marantz streamer that whalloped some poor quality Apple streaming attempts.

Fortunately for me I have neither traded nor sold any Naim gear, so am not yet impacted by s/h price changes.

Shame about the prices reversion to full retail, I had those Statements sitting in my ‘purchase cart’ on the A2A website for many months contemplating…

4 Likes

My most recent acquisitions were a new NAC202 from A2A, and a hardly used NAP200DR from a local dealer. Both purchased just before it all ended, About a year prior I bought an XS3 and then Flatcap, which I now use in my second system. To be honest it was the sale prices which got me into the whole Naim thing. Until early 2024 I hadn’t owned any Naim gear.

3 Likes

I live for around half of the year in Sydney where earlier this year I bought 333, 300, 332, 250 to replace my NDX2, Supernait 3 combination.
I kept my Neat SX5i speakers.
My dealer actually price matched the 300 PS as it was the one item that was still being sold in the fire sale by the previous people.
I didn’t PX anything - my niece & her husband were more than happy with their hi-Fi present :slight_smile:
I’m happy with my system, although not a match for my active UK system.

3 Likes

Well one would hope that there are more sales going on than in Aus than reported here. But good to see a few made use of the crazy price fiasco. Interesting to see where it all settles, obviously, but I hear things are extremely tight out there in retail land.

@Blythe

Audio Genesis Blythe ?

1 Like

I got myself an ND555 as part of the firesale. Ordered through an NZ dealer who matched the pricing. Although I’m now looking at the rather low prices as I get my 300DR ready for sale… :hushed_face:

2 Likes

@JonoB

Yes it’s all a bit painful JonoB

All history now but the antics of the previous distributor certainly left a chasm in the trade in values that’s for sure

1 Like

Good luck, I’ll be watching with interest. Was it DR’d 500 you got in the end? I think I saw both versions on the market recently?

Yes, Harry (& Norman) has looked after me well for over 25 years when I first bought a CD3.5, Nait 3R and Royd Minstrel SE from Audio Genesis.

Yep, it was a 500DR. Let’s just say I’m very happy on that front (The Future Sound of London’s Lifeforms on now and it’s sound fantastic.

1 Like

@Blythe

Same here - customer of Harry and Norman for some 35/40 years

What service - not many around like that anymore

2 Likes

Whether the bloodbath is over or not the whole affair has done irreparable damage to the Naim brand in NZ. The new distributor has yet to re-establish brand representation through NZ channels and it is a poor shadow of what it used to be.

This is reflected in the values of second hand gear. I am very realistic about resale values (someone has being trying to sell an NDX for NZ$2k and has literally had zero interest). I certainly have no interest in new gear but, as I am so invested in the Naim brand and eco system i’ll be interested in any 282/250DR combos that hit the market. Other than that i’m out.

3 Likes

The damage done has all been on Naim’s parent holding company, not the local distributor.

Australia has a small hifi market, about 30 speciality stores in the entire country. The old Naim/Focal distributor was in about 10 of them, literally a third of the country. And 5 of those stores were their own specialty Naim/Focal branded stores, one in each state capital city, with large showrooms, everything you could want.

But that was not good enough for the investment company who own Naim - they pulled the plug on them, and just after they had spent over a million dollars rebranding all their stores Naim/Focal.
https://www.channelnews.com.au/breaking-newsfocal-naim-axe-busisoft-how-much-has-it-cost-them/

https://www.channelnews.com.au/rampant-discounting-a-problem-as-westan-take-on-focal-naim/

2 Likes

Hmm. Do we actually know who dumped who? I have heard it the other way around but have no idea of the actual facts.
The treatment of the previous distributor of its dealers, not to mention those that immediately left the brand when they were appointed, is however well known.
Not worth dragging all this up again.
Best of luck to the current mob. A very difficult starting position for them. Here’s hoping for what can only be an improvement.

2 Likes

Agree cdboy

I think Westan the new distributor does need to get out there more , get their website up to date and promote the product range far more than what they are currently doing

Time will tell I guess but yes a bit of a tough start for them

1 Like