Yes, the price does seem to have gone up a lot in recent years, I suspect to satisfy the shareholders expectation, which forever spiral upwards.
I have considered buying a few shares, if its possible. then when a new piece of kit arrives completely out of the blue (…cough) I can say it was part of the shareholders bonus scheme?
I agree that some items seem overpriced: some of the power supplies for instance. I can’t understand why an XPS should cost more than, say, a Supernait 3. It’s been around for donkey’s years, in differnt forms. Is it because there less demand for those items?
Maybe I have started a controversial topic but I don’t mean to provoke anyone here. I am like everyone here that I am a Naim user. I like Naim and the exclusive PRaT that other brands don’t have. Naim has it house-hold sound and the taste is so special, just like at sunset you keep your eyes locked on a beautiful 35-year-old woman who is smiling and she also keeps her eyes on yours. It just touches the softest part of my soft heart… I am now using 202/200/HCDR/NAPSC and I am satisfied with the sound quality, so I am curious how it can be if I reach a higher level. Last night I start to think: If I upgrade to brand new 252/300 then it approximately takes 23000€, then what other brands and which models are the same price range? As we know, “source and power supply are the king” is a common view in Naim and so I heard some people said that the price for Naim amps or sources is affordable and the prices are ok. But to dig the full potential of an amp or source then the total price can be even more than doubled since the PSU is the best way and mandatory. Of course, the sound quality after adding a PSU can be huge progress, but compared to the products of brands at the same price range, how the situation will be? I don’t mean that Naim products are bad but just thinking if there is a product which is better than Naim in every aspect at the same price range. I know keeping a company running smoothly, producing high-quality products and the best after-sale service needs money and customers will pay for that. But I also noticed the price increased a lot in recent years. There is a price for everything, we also need to pay for the special PRaT and our enjoyment.
Keep healthy and let’s enjoy our Naim.
If the question is whether 25000 is better spent on either Naim or a competitor (or a mix of competitors), you will have to listen, count boxes, think about cable messes and the constant hassles of units with different widths, heights, and depths, then decide yourself 
If you jump to 252/300 then you’ll need a Supercap as well…
My only motto that stands consistently true in life is ‘You get what you pay for’… whether that be a screwdriver or supercar. Naim equipment is historically well researched, designed, and built. Nearly everything the factory has boxed up and sent out is still serviceable/repairable. The signature sound is consistent across the range, just improving with each upgrade you decide you need/want. I can’t speak for the modern streaming kit as I have no interest in it at the high level, but my kit will stay at a certain level of appreciation from those in the know, and more importantly give me wonderful pleasure every time I put a disc in the CDS3 for many years to some!!!
People like the Naim sound, and that’s what drew me to buy a Nait 2 (Olive) when they were first released. Resale value is always very high which is good news for upgraders.
Naim’s upgrade path strategy makes it easy to enjoy better sound without dumping the lot and starting from scratch.
It’s mostly cheap really when you consider how much it costs for a new car every three years. 15k for a motorised shopping trolley like a Nissan Micra (other shopping trolleys are available). You can lose 4k just driving it off the forecourt! Put some miles on it and it’s a 6k car. Add the cost of some main stealer servicing and that’s another 1k gone. Makes a 252 look bargain basement. 
I’ve just spent £200 on a mint Burndy SXPS cable and it has been the finest £200 i’ve ever spent on any audio gear, ever. Simply amazing! The thing is it took me over £15K to be in a position to spend only £200 and get what i was looking for all along! Oh the irony! 
I know a supercap is needed so this is why in total it will be 23000€. You use XPS or 555ps to feed your cds3? Do you think your cds3 is replaceable?
Of course there is! If that wasn’t the case, why would anyone buy any other brand of hifi in the same price range? It simply depends on the criteria the individual applies, e.g. what constitutes good sound quality to the their ears.
Why buy a new car ever? And why change as frequently as every 3 years?
Indeed - though it doesn’t mean the most expensive is always best!
I am relatively new to Naim. Its products are certainly not cheap but I decided to vote with my money because it sounds amazing and is an awesome piece of kit. Admittedly I pay a big premium being located down under with exchange rate not what it used to be.
Of late, there are so many that claim they come from big companies, feeling sick of the greed of large corporation and management, realised how little manufacturing cost actually is, and asking you to buy their new better cheaper products. I like the idea but I also hate it. Taxing on the reputation of very corporation they are bagging. I believe there should be $ in R&D, in selecting good components, workforce, etc. Employees need to bring food to table and company investing into more than just building and shipping out products.
I am happy to pay for that as long as I can afford to. I don’t like imitations, even if it is as good as the real McCoy. Closer to the photography and IT industry, I often see many claim digital prints are cheap and rubbish the work one depends on to make a living. Likewise, for softwares. I hate the race to the bottom approach, focusing only on cost and profit. I can do with less things but better things.
How much does it actually cost to build a motor vehicle, not going there.
@Innocent_Bystander, so true! Car makers will have you think that you can’t do without new model as though they made a big mistake with the out-going model. Likewise, tax, financing will try to make it feel attractive.
I am old school, tax benefits does not mean free. And I don’t like tire pressure sensor which means there is a radio transmitter inside each wheel where battery runs out over time and you have to bring it into shop to replace and no longer can rotate wheels unless you recalibrate the radio. I don’t even like the electric handbrakes (I do have). What happens when it fails? How much does it cost to re-code a key fob? There are so much useless tech in cars nowadays in my opinion.
Sorry for going off-topic.
20% of that is VAT (given by the dealer when new to the govt, not recoverable on used). So it actually lost 10%…
Which is partly the reason used kit is better value - it’s automatically 20% off…
Whilst true, it’s a tautology (unless you’re a thief 
). It is also used to suggest that the more you pay, the better something is - which is, in general, possibly mostly true, but many many times, completely false. It’s possible to pay £2k for a tv in one shop and buy the same TV from another for £1.6k - doesn’t make the 2nd tv worse. And many people spend a good long while sourcing bargains, so get great value for money.
To the OP, value and cost are different things. When the things you value are achievable in terms of their cost, then they are not too expensive. When you don’t value them as much, then they are - or if you cannot afford the cost, then to you they are too expensive. So it’s a bit of a moot question. It can also be answered by asking how much disposable money you have - if it’s ~£1m/month, then no, they are not. If it’s £5/month, yes they are.
If your question could be interpreted as ‘can you get a decent sounding system for less than a Naim one’ then the answer is - possibly. But Naim has good competitive products from £500 to 2 orders of magnitude above that, so wherever you are looking, you will probably have Naim on your shortlist.
Alternatively, if you are asking, do we wish Naim kit was cheaper - then be careful what you wish for - they need to make enough to stay in business so they can service my kit and continue to offer upgrade paths. I don’t think all the employees are rolling in cash…
All the Naim gear I’ve purchased was either used or ex dem. Great savings on the new prices meant I could buy from higher up the range, everything nicely run-in, any faults or issues already sorted and far less depreciation when I traded-in.
For me it’s a no brainer.
This is a very strange thread. At one point it has the beginning of a romance novel, then devolves into car prices and at the end used vs new prices. How about this: Outside of the U.K. Naim is very much overpriced. In the US a DR500 plus 552 preamp and the ND555 is $80,000 dollars; not including thousands more for Fraims and cables etc… Huge markup by US importer.
At least there is a much bigger market in US. The mark-up down under where I am is even higher. This was recently discussed in another thread. May be you can have a laugh at me and count yourself lucky. 
Haha that’s of course why I did not become an accountant. You are absolutely right.
