SO York actually started up before the London branch closed IIRC. Hamish went up north while Roger (RIP) was still in London. Sadly the three I recall from SO London are all now gone. Roger, Derek and Steve.
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Rayleigh Hi-Fi is my dealer, although they are no longer a Linn dealer so I have to trek further afield for LP 12 attention. Brighton Audio T last Feb.
Interesting re Nytech, I worked in a garage close to Nytech Audio and Richard Hay used the garage for fuel and I did end up visiting his house on numerous occasions to listen to various systems etc.
At the time I had a Sytemdek which Richard said bring over one evening and demo it against his LP12 that ended up with my first venture into Radfords to do a deal on a LP12 which I used with a Nytech active system with ARC 202 speakers.
This started me on my hifi journey which has been extremely enjoyable and rather heavy on the wallet at times.
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Nice story.
Thanks, so I am not going mad. I remember going there to listen to some Epos ES11s.
Signals didn’t become a Naim dealer until quite alot later. Maybe mid noughties but not sure. I vaguely remember them selling NVA amps before stocking Naim but again could be mistaken.
Russ Andrews in the Edinburgh New Town with its damp basement treasure trove. Marvellous.
G
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Westwood & Masons (Oxford), Long gone, closed mid 1990’s
Radfords (Oxford) Gone, never used them
Sound Gallery (High Wycombe) Still there, but I’ve long gone from South Bucks
Bought my second LP12; Itok and Troika from them, way way back, well before 1994.
I then found myself being in London quite a lot so bought my CDS from Grahams circa 1995, having previously bought my Rega Planar 2 from Grahams years earlier when they were in Pentonville Road.
My LP12 came from Radfords, Bath in the late 1990s. By the early-mid 2000s I think, they were gone.
Bath very well served these days by the chaps from Audience.
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I think Phil still operates Phonography online but he also offers the LP12 fettling through Andy at Winchester Hi-Fi.
Central Ringwood has never been the same since they vacated the shop in the centre of town. It was a great place to idle away a Saturday afternoon shooting the breeze, listening to Naim kit with Shahinians and maybe part with cash !
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You mentioned Derek (RIP). If you are referring to Derek Jenkins I am sad to here that. He used to service and upgrade my old LP12 when he was at Infidelity.
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hmmmm … Way back when … there used to be a jolly good Naim retail outlet in Salisbury … my first venture into Naim was there …courtesy of some guy called Julian, who operated out of a small emporium in Salt Lane. Behind his emporium outlet was some kinda workshop/small-factory.
He sold the whole range of Naim equipment of that era, which apparently he hand-built (with a bit of help from a few other guys in that back shop), together with Linn LP12, Grace, Supex and some rather wonderful speakers called Linn Isobariks.
I bought an LP12/Grace/Supex plus a Nac12/Nap160 and a few years later (he had moved to just off Southampton Road by then) a pair of those Isobariks (which I still have).
But no longer on the List of 1994. Whatever happened to him ???
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Sadly yes.
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Billy Vee (No 1 on list, natch) still going strong and I still buy my Naim gear from them. First buy was a shoebox NAC62/NAP90 sometime in 1989/90
I got Salisbury hi-fi to make up 5m of NACA 5 for me many years ago. Sadly, long gone.
You mean this guy 
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Yep, No.4 on the list. I don’t think they’d been open that long in 1994. Prior to Oranges and Lemons there was another Hi-Fi shop in Webbs Road (different shop slightly further up) called RPM also Naim dealers where I first head the Nait 1 which I couldn’t afford.
There was a thread here when Derek died, some touching (and very justified) tributes to a lovely guy.
I was another SO London customer, that list surprised me when I realised I still knew 403 2255 off by heart. Lovely guys who loved music and knew hifi well.
When my ES14s died from a lightning strike around 2007 I bought my first piece of kit in 14 years from Grahams hifi, I’m glad they’re still around.
My current dealer, Audio-T Manchester, is nowhere to be seen and it’s interesting to note that neither Leeds or Manchester had a dealership back in 1994. (Or I’m even more unobservant than normal.)
Rayleigh Hi-Fi for me too.
I started dealing with the Rayleigh branch in April 1986, switching to Chelmsford sometime after it opened around 1989. I eventually saw the light and bought my first Naim gear (72 & 140) in March 1994!
Rob and his staff have given and continue to give outstanding service to both me and my late father in law and are an absolute credit to the industry.