perfect reply @NigelB
I know working for a French owend company in the UK is diffcult when you need to work accross market’s and sometimes central marketing does not work
Vindicated at long last !!
You must be loving this!
1 Like
OK fair enough and this has been fully qualified and corrected in my post
1 Like
Exactly.
With regards the rest of what you write, I would only add that it is concerning the number of issues due to reliability which is not good. To quote a well known member here… at these prices it should just simply work!
And I think that’s what underlies a lot of the frustration shown on this thread. A lot of people have invested a lot in their Naim boxes, and have very positive feelings towards Naim - an emotional attachment if you like. It’s concerning that when it’s very obvious that things need attention - quality control, reliability, timeliness of deliveries and good old fashioned customer service - they seem to prioritise a rather pointless special edition that really isn’t in any way special.
11 Likes
Having worked in retail most of my life I can see absolutely why Naim/Focal have done this. This will be an easy sell to someone who wants a complete system and likes the limited edition product status. I am from a cycle background and whilst bikes are not so expensive there are ALOT of people out there with money who will want high quality and ease. These people will not be upgrading!! They will most likely not give upgrades a second thought after buying the system. On this forum we are a microscopic dot of the entire Hifi/Home Cinema/Music market. This product clearly is not aimed at us! This product should be considered a high end Muso.
Naim/Focal is a business and makes decision’s based on past experience. Some work and make them profit and others do not and they get shelved ie speakers. Naim only exist if they make a profit. Why should we expect every product that comes out of their door to suit what is actually a tiny fraction of their potential market?
The pricing of high end HiFi equipment is not so much related to the cost of the manufacture but to the obscenely small quantities they actually sell. Recouping R&D over small quantities naturally means higher prices. Naim/Focal know this and to survive they absolutely have to try new things. I would not buy the system but am sure in some houses it would look incredible. A real statement piece. Concrete is very much is vogue right now and I suspect this product is aimed squarely at affluent younger people who have zero interest in demo’ing anything. They will see the product through marketing and just buy it which is crucially why its available as these people will not wait 6 months. What we have here is a system that creates noise and gets Naim/Focal on websites and in magazines. They would be daft not to do something like this.
What we can’t argue with is that Naim has progressed as a business in the only way that is meaningful and is a stronger entity today than it was in years past. Progress always leaves some people behind. We only need to look at music/bands/artists to see this!
32 Likes
This thread is turning into one where people will need to be making popcorn. Some like the special edition others don’t, why not agree to disagree rather than make digs at others. We all need to remember Naim needs to sell products to survive and this special edition will likely do that, plus get the two brands coverage in lifestyle media and attract more customers.
3 Likes
Best thing I’ve read on the forum in ages, thank you Steve.
4 Likes
This is precisely where I land. If no one was waiting months for their ‘stuff’ to be delivered, the “criticism” would be directed solely to the aesthetic. (I’m not a critic of the aesthetic but my tastes in industrial design are what they are and tastes absolutely can differ.)
I certainly can understand the sentiment of “Why the heck are they working on this when they can’t even get me the NDX2 I ordered 9 months ago.”
Of course putting tin paint on a case is not diluting the effort to obtain chips needed for an NDX2; but it sure feels like it does. And it sure feels like if tin NDX2 are “available” today and the black one ordered 9 months ago isn’t, someone (namely, a long-standing customer who placed said order) is getting scrod.
2 Likes
I understand the desire to leverage the anniversary to test a new market or boost sales. I quite like the speaker colour; not so much the boxes but I can see the appeal.
That said, if Naim/Focal can find resources for this, I would like to think they could find resources for someone to respond to emails. If not permanent staff, an agency worker or two. Take some of the load off the team in Salisbury. Recover the customer service reputation that helped found the company…
5 Likes
Anyone has a naim system in his / hers Pininfarina?
Hardly the point of such collaborations. Like they said about the Bentley collaboration, it taught the engineers much about DSP and other things that eventually was incorporated in Mu-so/Uniti. (Beside the obvious marketing opportunity)
It’s important to find the right collaborations where you can learn the things you need. Forum members have complained for considerable time about power usage being too high, toroidal transformers supposedly being outdated, and Naim generally being not up to date.
The Pininfarina being an electric car project, it does not seem to me to be an illogical place to learn, engineer and try technologies that may find their way into future Naim products
Don’t know if this picture had been posted here already, Naim published this on LinkedIn, so I think it must be ok to share here …
10 Likes
Who ate the Napsc? I must say, that’s the first finish on the Sopras that I actually like and they look very nice. As for the Naims I’m sure some will like it.
It does feel like a simpler system would have been better. The 282 doesn’t seem to me to be a ‘lifestyle’ preamp with 3 different sized boxes. It’s all a bit cumbersome really.
Maybe an NDX2, Supernait 3, Sopra 1 would have been more appealing for a special edition?
7 Likes
Wot, no Fraim included……?
That aside yes it does look quite nice.
I suppose it’s a case of the boss saying jump and one saying how high
1 Like
Some on this thread have criticised Naim for prioritising the tin edition while quality, reliability and delivery have suffered.
Yes, there are long delivery timescales at the moment for reasons we are all familiar with. But I have only seen anecdotal evidence on here regarding quality and reliability, certainly nothing to indicate a deteriorating systemic problem with quality.
3 Likes
The speakers look pretty good to my eyes and in that photo the boxes don’t look as bad as the first photo.
I was just trying to post that after Naim posted it on Instagram
I think the speakers look pretty good. Obviously very modern in style so won’t fit with a lot of interiors.