Curious how one would purchase a factory second (Uniti Star, for example), and if shops might sell them under the guise that they’re not.
In the UK at least dealers sell refurbished units, and they are sold as such at a discount.
Outside of the UK it’s down to the distributor, so you could contact them and ask.
I bought my NDX2 as a second from Focal Naim NA. It was apparently used as a static display for shows, and never powered on or setup. It still had the protective plastic cover intact on the screen. The power cord was never unraveled and the accessories (lavender IC, etc) were still sealed in the bag.
My dealer arranged to get it when I wanted to demo the NDX2 at home. I ended up keeping it. I got something like a 20% discount, but a shorter warranty. That all turned out well for me.
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Check the label on the outer packaging. If Naim have sold the item as refurbished it will say to on the label. I forget the exact wording they use, but items I’ve seen that are sold by Naim as seconds/refurbs etc. have been described as such on the label.
That’s correct, they call them Grade A and there will be an A at the start of the serial number
My NDX2 has a regular serial number. I think they sold it to me like a second because it had been opened and placed on static display, and could no longer be sold as new.
The serial number doesn’t change. The unit part number has an A/B/C added to the end, and the unit is updated to reflect this change in the erp system. The box labels are very obviously showing the item is graded.
Clearly Focal/Naim USA can’t follow the same procedure as they’re not the factory making them, and can’t reprint labels/update efacs.
Accessories4less sells refurbished Naim product here in the USA. I’m not aware of any other online seller that does.
Here in Europe (maybe elsewhere too), it is called B stock. I have been buying headphone gear, and I got a €400 discount 20%) on the new Heddphone GT2 from a huge German online retailer, who also have a big shop. I think it was a display unit, as the accessories box was untouched, rather than a return, by somebody who tried it and did not like it.
My SPL Phonitor HP amp was bought as “second hand”, from a shop, at an even bigger discount. It appeared unused and again all the accessories were untouched. I wonder if it was sly discounting of a display model, they could not shift.
I read on the Italian TNT audio site, that there is a lot of massive discounting going on in the higher reaches of the audio world, at them moment, as it is a buyers market.