Hi all…has any of the forum members had dealings with Orange & Lemons Hi-Fi in London?
Not come across them before, but thats OK
Thanks
Yes many times over the years. I started my Naim journey with them. Lovely team as I remember. Got some good deals through them. Why do you ask?
Me too, many moons ago they sold me an original Uniti mk1 - must be 20 yrs ago. Decent company from what I recall.
Got my first Naim kit there and my current speakers. Nice people. Evelyn is the owner if I recall correctly.
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Thanks all…looking to purchase some kit from them. Good to know they are reputable!!!
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Very much so.
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I remember having visited two audio stores in the summer of 1995, or 94; one was in Tottenham Court Road I think, not far from Goodge Street, and the other in a small cross street. One of the two was definitely Orange&Lemons. In one I bought a DNM interconnect, the other demoed the newly released CD3..
Both owners were kind and didn’t mind just entertaining a visitor for some minutes. While writing this I’ve been haunted by a recall of Donovan singing Sunny Goodge Street..
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I lived in London then, as an undergraduate at UCL. Tottenham Court Road was too close for comfort 
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I live within walking distance of Oranges & Lemons and they have been my dealer since 2001.
Bought Naim gear from them, plus Evelyn has performed many an upgrade and service to my LP12 over the years (Lingo 2, Klyde, Trampolin 2, Kore, Krystal, arm rewire, Karousel, Lingo 4, etc).
Back in 2018 I was looking to buy a new pair of speakers and I auditioned some Neats, a pair of ATCs and a pair of PMCs, all at home but none of them appealed. Then someone at the shop suggested Dynaudio Special 40s, which I again auditioned at home and I fell in love with them almost immediately. The whole auditioning process took about 8 or 9 weeks but the guys were super helpful.
My brother bought his Rega 3, Brio, Neo and Neat set up there and Evelyn threw in an Atacama rack and some cabling for free.
Good dealer, with some excellent brands.
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AFAIK, O&L have always been in Battersea SW11 (Webbs Road). Are you sure it wasn’t Cornflake or Walrus?
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Sounds like Cornflake … now what did do with that t-shirt?
My mind inhabits a world of its own. Yes it was The Cornflake Shop, and IIRC it was in a small cross street. But - according to my mind - the one I had the CD3 demoed, and saw white NAC A5s for the first time, was in Tottenham Court Rd. Was the Cornflake Shop in a two story, small location? That’s where I bought the DNM IC, mainly as a souvenir of the visit.
Here’s my personal ranking of reliability, top to bottom:
- Car dealers
- Priests
- Politicians
- Actors
- Audio dealers
- Girls
- Memory
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You missed out Drug dealers 
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No experience, sorry..
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I bought my first Naim kit from them back in 1998 - Nait 3 & CD3.5 (I nearly went for Nait 3R).
I’ve since moved out of London but I recall them being very helpful and friendly at the time.
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I’ve used Oranges and Lemons many times, including this year. Simon is my usual contact there and is very helpful. I am very happy with them.
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Thanks all…your experiences give me confidence.
The mention of Webbs Road rang a bell with me. I see that O&L are a couple of blocks from the corner of Burland Road, where RPM used to be. They were my dealer for a time, and were great. They closed down abruptly in 1992, likely because of the recession. Never heard anything of either of the principals (Jay Parvez & Karen Hole) since. IIRC the late Steve Morris worked for them.
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Yes, I remember RPM. Karen was very unusual - a woman working as a hi-fi dealer, a real rarity then. I bought a Nakamichi CD player (my first CD spinner) from them in early 1991. That’s long gone but I still have the Audio Technica ultrasonic stylus cleaner I bought from RPM.
Incidentally, where O&L now is, there was another hi-fi shop in the early/mid 1990s, after RPM closed. I can’t remember what it was called but the guy who ran it was very nice. He sold a lot of non flat earth, slightly exotic brands such as Micromega and Pierre Lurné. He later relocated his business to the Royal Victoria Patriotic Building in Wandsworth.
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Very fond memories. Evelyn literally sold me the Naim sound.
Having done all my “research” scouring the various hifi magazines of the time (early 2000s), I arranged a demo with O&L. I was pretty sure I’d be walking out with an Arcam or Cyrus system (integrated, CDP and brand to be determined speakers). However both were a tad polite. Next up Roksan Kandy, similarly priced. What a change? Boogie and PRaT which I didn’t really know about at the time.
If I recall, my listening tracks were Gomez - Bring It On, Jamiroquai - Space Cowboy and one other I can’t quite remember. Having heard my tracks, Evelyn popped his head in and suggested I might like a listen to Naim’s entry level offering. I’d pretty much decided on Roksan Kandy, but even though Naim was beyond my budget, I thought I may as well, seeing as I was there.
The Nait 5, CD 5 and Neat Mystique 2 floorstanders were set up with Chord Clearway cables.
Wow! I was blown away. It took me less than 30 seconds to decide that was the system for me. Budget blown by a few hundred quid but totally worth it.
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