Always suspected this would happen, wonder when the rest of the Uniti range will be stocked.
Russ
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And Richer Sounds.
We are?
Ooh… I’ll pop up to the ATV floor next shift, have a looksee at the Chora…never seen a Focal in the flesh.
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Thanks for this news. Seems good to me if it puts the brands in front of fairly affluent UK consumers. It essentially normalises the idea of having decent music replay in the home.
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I only hope shopfloor can demonstrate the Atom/Focal well…I remember when I’d been recommending Muso to a customer ( I don’t work in Audio, but do meet buyers of it when they collect) and I heard the one ATV had put on ground floor - it sounded awful!
This will end in tears with a lot of new forum members needing help, with no instruction manual, no dealer…hope i am wrong.
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RS have had the Atom for quite some time, bought mine from them in fact almost 12 months ago… took advantage of the interest fee payment so I could stretch to the speakers I wanted!
I don’t know. If people can fathom the Muso then the Atom won’t be overly challenging. Thankfully Naim have made them really user friendly.
Good move by JL as anything that pushes hifi mainstream is positive.
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None in stock instore yet, so only online atm.
Hopefully, we will stock and dem them, in time.
I look forward to it!
I remember about 15 years ago John Lewis sold the Arcam Solo and the matching Alto speakers - I guess that is the historic equivalent of the Atom and Focal Chora. Agree it is definitely a good move for the brand to have the Uniti range sold in an environment like John Lewis.
Is it though? An Atom plus the Chora speakers is the best part of £3k. Are people going to spend that on a hifi they have just seen in John Lewis? What about speaker cables and stands? I think I’d rather see those £3k’s spent in specialist dealers to help support them.
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That’s where we forumites, the Praetorian Guard, come in. The new John Lewis buyers start directing their questions to the forum, grow to love their Atoms and Focals even more, but then decide they want separates. And ‘we’ point them in the right direction to independent specialists. So it’s win-win.
The customer base grows and so does the company. Or so I hope.
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Aye, but the vast majority of people shopping in JL won’t be looking for specialist hifi dealers stuck out the back of town. They’ll be the ones who may already have spent £1k on a Devialet/Muso/B&O/B&W speaker for the kitchen and want something snazzy for elsewhere. Personally I trust JL and most of the time they’ve got a good eye for quality products. I think most people trust them too.
It’s a question of perspectives I guess. Personally I’d rather Naim cast their net to a wider audience to help them maintain their business than stick to niche hifi shops.
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I thought all your shops were closed at the moment. Only on-line sales ?
Or are you doing Click & Collect as well ?
I think cable’s included in the bundle and the speakers are floorstanders.
I too would not like to see specialist retailers hurt by this move, but let’s be honest, the Atom is in part a lifestyle product and a store like JL seems an appropriate place to sell it. Perhaps some purchasers will want to upgrade and that will push them towards the specialists. At least it ought to benefit Naim.
Roger
It’s been tried before to sell decent audio in these types of higher end shops in the Uk
Do you guys remember when Harrods had made an attempt years a go
Even had a AMX touch screen set up to control it…think back then it was Linn / Cyrus / B&O
Failed miserably but it might of generated interest to look at speciality shops.
Selfridges sells Phontoms ( even has 3 in stock ) and Ruark Audio but these are one box ( ish ) set ups.
I guess for marketing departments what was old is new again.
Box shifting, no support, Amazon but on the High Street.
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And the Apple Stores selling Muso’s ( in Canada not sure about the rest of the world )
That was a interesting experience and experiment.
Wonder who thought that would be a good idea ?
Wonder how much attention Naim ( or others would get ) if they gave Lewis Hamilton ( or any other in the spot light ) an Nova and some Focals ?
Sure works for the watch industry