What’s a ‘visioneer’? Hopefully they have some ‘audioeers’ as well
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I very much hope there is a future for 2-channel audio. IIUC, Barco’s aim is to integrate high end video and audio, and if we are talking Home Cinema in the domestic environment, then this is multi-channel audio, now including Dolby Atmos channels.
This of course does not exclude the the continuation and development of 2-channel audio, it may just be a discrete segment, and possibly not the core of Barco’s vision.
Wouldn’t it be bizarre if Barco move Naim back into multi-channel hifi!
All entirely speculation on my part, but undoubtedly Barco are a respected entertainment company with apparently deep pockets and a penchant for the high end, surely a good thing for Naim.
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It would be great to have some reassurance over the future development of the existing streaming platform as well. Pre and power amps will run and run, streamers need a regular supply of firmware updates.
I get the impression that Barco are pretty experienced with software systems and integration so hopefully we are in safe hands.
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Ah! you good old sweet talking visioneer you !
.sjb
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“Barco intends to support the company’s ongoing strategic plan, which focuses on high‑end premium audio positioning, a technology upgrade towards digital, active and connected products, portfolio rationalization and leveraging its sales network, including consumer channels and brand licensing.”
[My emphasis highlighted in bold]
A focus on premium audio sounds good - and does not suggest abandonment of two channel hifi.
Portfolio rationalisation could be ominous, depending on how it’s done.
Let’s hope the Service Dept of Naim is not rationalised!
Brand licensing could be a disaster for Naim if not executed excellently.
Brand licensing could be a good idea for Focal.
Overall it sounds promising.
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Marketing and corporate fluff.
I do hope you are right and that Barco does appreciate Naim if they are really going to buy it. Hard times for sure, however I wish Naim a long a prosperous life in the future. The Hi-Fi world needs Naim, it’s just irreplaceable.
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As I’ve understood, the „new streaming platform“ has room correction (CI, manually/configurable?; Diva, automatic; Hekla) and supports Dolby Atmos (Hekla). Plus the wireless sync for the Divas.
So, „connected“ is covered. „Active“ is partially in Focal´s hand (with Naim electronics). Yields some available components for „technology upgrade“.
Now give me the Nova+ with active, wireless connected rear-channels. 
This sounds very interesting - Barco have very high quality monitors for healthcare applications and I remember them in connection with high-end projectors including those old CRT projectors you’d see in pubs/clubs years ago.
Certainly a big professional company who could probably harness Naim and Focal’s technologies for their AV business. I think they are to be incorporated under the Entertainment division of the company.
I suppose it’s a question of how affordable new offerings will be in a few years if they aim for the very high-end of AV applications. Just looked at their ‘residential’ Heimdall projector - £78k so not for the average home cinema enthusiast.
Equally, could some of their high-end technology trickle down maybe allowing more Naim aligned enthusiast versions of very high-end projectors for example and allowing for inclusion in anything from stereo to multichannel AV setups?
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I have never done either.
I had a very fortunate decade spent working for a Belgian telecommunications company. As for this change with Naim, Barco acquired Vervent, not Naim directly so any change is likely to be both buffered and more strategic than tactical. It’s pretty unusual for the parent company of the parent company to get involved in any operational issues.
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I’d fear it’s what @feeling_zen says.
First focus would be the balance sheets and sales forecasts and any game changing products about to launch, then who is controlling the narrative of future direction of the group.
Hopefully there is someone from Naim who can represent them at the top table who can convince others.
If lucky someone at Barco knows something of Naims heritage as the most recent history of product success and sales based on the filings says it’s a failing part of the group.
Otherwise best other outcome might be a carve out and look to move Naim out of the group to another buyer.
Very doubtful against all this backdrop that we are going to see any significant new products in near term.
So hope I’m massively wrong on this.
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Having been through several acquisitions during my career, I expect it will all come down to the ‘bean counters’ again, so I have to agree with you guys above. I’d love to think Naim’s future looked rosey but I think that boat sailed a long time ago.
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Yes I have been through several on both the acquired and acquiring side. Dog’s dinner, every time.
I was reading some time ago in BusinessWeek or perhaps HBR about how the success of acquisitions is measured. Financially for the acquiring side, the number of acquisitions considered a success is more than 50%. But operationally, in terms of what and how the acquired business operates, over 90% of acquired businesses consider it a complete failure. Though it was important to note that the survey was only of US acquisitions and against the backdrop of how private equity is destroying businesses in corporate America. This is of course a European acquisition so it is hard to say this maps to the same pessimistic outlook.
It is, after all, worth noting that some audio acquisitions have been rather good. Although derided, when IAG acquired Luxman, they put a stop to Chinese manufacturing and reopened the Yokohama plant and put everything firmly back in the pre (utter disaster) Alpine Electronics era.
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At least they are in the hands of a serious company with history and who actually make and sell products.
I have seen so many firms in other fields end up being bought by financial funds, and then asset stripped. Or that vast raft of Harmon brands who were sold in a fire sale to Samsung.
So I guess it looks like good news.
Edit.
With my morning coffee, I took a look at the Italian TNT Audio site,( there is an English version) who have a lot of frank editorials on the Hi Fi world. Cabasse a French Hi Fi brand is in deep trouble. I quote the last part of the editorial.
It is difficult to pinpoint all the reasons that led to this situation. Perhaps the repositioning in the luxury sector has not worked. My feeling is that no one in this sector is safe from financial problems. There are too many brands, and the number is constantly increasing, in a market that is shrinking more and more, due to a chronic lack of generational turnover.
Long-time audiophiles who sooner or later leave the sector are not replaced by a sufficient number of young people, today more interested in other technologies and, let’s face it, substantially satisfied with the sounds they listen to through smartphones and headphones. In addition, the middle class has practically disappeared, there are only ultra-cheap products of Chinese origin and multi-millionaire madness. It is evident that this dichotomy can only cause major problems. It is in the nature of things: the presence of too many players in a market that to define bizarre is little to predict that the trail of companies in difficulty is destined to lengthen.
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I think that’s 50% true.
Hifi was always very niche. 99.9% of people have always been satisfied with their Argos stack system, Walkman, iPod, Phone, whatever.
But the middle class is shrinking. You can be a highly trained professional and still only scrape by these days. And there are way too many brands now for the same size pie. Probably half of the hifi brands could go bust tomorrow and we would still have too many.
The biggest problem is that it’s survival of the fittest, not survival of the best. They aren’t the same thing. We’re going to lose a lot of brands over the next decade and we won’t be left with the best ones.
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No, that’s ok. But the takeover makes sense. It’s mainly middle-aged people who buy Naim and when you get to a certain age, it’s good to be able to measure your blood pressure.
Looks like they have a thing called a “Barco Smart Amplifier” that will launch shortly. It’s the only product they have that looks like hi-fi, though they have a few more things more AV related.
https://www.barco.com/en/products/cinema-systems/media-servers-and-audio
The press release suggests a lot of what has been speculated about on the forum -more lifestyle orientated digital devices with active speakers. Maybe will will see a decent integrated amp/streamer with stereo and AV (Atmos) capability - linked to wireless focal speakers. This is where the market is heading I think.
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Great news!
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I think this is a good strategic alignment. At ISE in Barcelona it was clear Barco continues to have ambitions in high-end residential- this has in fact been true even since it manufactured CRT projectors. I was involved in the early 2000s with Digital Cinema projection and at the time Barco had a poor reputation in the Broadcast market having made good products but with poor support. I’d say the 1980s acquisition of EMT was a good one but the support element let them down at the time. We fed this back to them as we were selling early DLP machines into broadcast and film post production facilities that had long memories and they did respond very well. Today they manufacture high-end home cinema products based directly on the rental and staging/digital cinema chassis. They also manufacture a new direct view microLED display (which retails about 500k) and have alignment with other high end brands on their trade show stand. Let’s not forget they also supply displays for aviation, air traffic control and medical and have a generally financially solid and diverse business model. Let’s see.
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There will be a certain symmetry to the Nait 50 being last integrated from the stable.
All the “discontinued due to inability to source parts” has a context to it.
Every acquisition I’ve been involved in, on either side, and it’s approx 20 off the top of my head, all played the same way.
Company looking to be acquired batons down the hatches and looks to minimise cost and paint a great picture. Acquiring company takes a while to understand what they have and unearth all the skeletons.
Then a degree of divesting of items deemed not in the strategic path.
All of the press release talks off hi end, deal with less customers for more money at higher margins.
The warning signs have been here for a while and are now becoming clear.
Real shame but sign of the times.
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