Yes i did compare to etherregen and the Innuos switch. The initial impression was it was very musical, but after a few hours i found it too soft and a bit sickly to listen to. Put my etherregen back in and i much preferred it. The Innuos was to my ears much better than both, crystal clear, improved timing, but still very musical and engaging. I think the room and system play a part in this, my room is quite heavy on damping so something that cuts through the damping i like?
Andy (and Phil) at Winchester Hi-Fi are terrific. As well as being a 500 series dealer, they are full au fait with the needs of active Isobariks too, Mark.
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Signals are an excellent dealership. Plenty of equipment and no pressure to buy.
Also have three listening rooms with widely differing dimensions.
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So only tangentially related to the OPs post but this is on my mind lately with the changes to how Naim is managed here in NZ. My question is are you /should you be loyal to the brand or the seller. Do you follow the brand if the distributor changes or do you stick with the shop that gave you great service over the years and align to the brands they now sellā¦
Itās not a straightforward question IMHO
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If in doubt do nothing until the doubt departs.
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I live with the equipment (brand) not the guys from the shop so I guess my loyalty, if thatās what you want to call it, will be to the brand. My local dealer ceased to stock Linn a good while back now so I had to rove further afield at the beginning of 2020 when adding Radikal, Keel and Kandid. Audio T in Brighton did a great job that time but I have closer options so thinking of getting to know them before the next, final?, round of upgrades comes round in the few years before retirement.
Edit: Thatās assuming you want to remain with the brand of course. Thatās not a certainty.
Thanks @Gazza for feedback, sorry to side track the thread!
Alas Iām down South and canāt comment on the dealers recommended above but needless to say those giving relevant advise are a sound source of guidance as always.
Norwich is probably too far from Essex, but I highly recommend Ian Hammond at Martins hi fi. Excellent service and help to get you where you want to get to.
My dealer choice always depends on what non-Naim gear I want to listen to in addition to the Naim stuff!
My last visit was to Audiobarn in Harlow because I wanted to listen to Vertere, Auralic and Audiovector. I ended up buying Audiovector QR1 speakers so glad I made the effort to travel a bit further although I stuck with a Naim streamer and Rega turntable in the end.
I can certainly recommend their service as excellent but likewise I have had great service in the past from Hifi Lounge, Tom Tom and Cymbiosis. Whilst there is some overlap in product choice there are quite a few different brands in each.
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I can never understand why they are doing this though
there are some prices but this is the used speaker section.Bit pointless ?
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Just feeling lonely and fancied a chat.
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Yes a tough one and relevant for me. Iāve had excellent service from my NZ Naim dealer, but Iām at the end stage of building a Naim system and reluctantly had to move to the new dealer for a 250 despite having it on order with the first dealer for 3.5 months. It was a very disappointing situation for the customer to end up in.
Unless you want to change brands, thatās really the only option other than second hand gear.
Can wholeheartedly recommend Jack at the AudioBarn. Great service and super range of gear in a stunning barn! I bought most of my set up from him and have just pressed the button on new NDX2 streamer after a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon up there.
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I have to say my worst experiences in a hifi shop was at Acoustica, around 20 years ago when I went there to audition 202/200 against 282/250. The guy* insisted on playing his choice of CDās instead of the ones Iād taken along, told me they were unable to budge from list price. He then phoned me every other day for a fortnight asking if Iād decided which combo to plump for and was I going to make a purchase (*name known and now no longer the owner I believe).
I must add I was recommended Acoustica by a friend so maybe I just caught them on a bad day.
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Is it possible to buy the 250 dr online, from NZ?
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Yes, the dealers have on-line shops here.
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Another vote for Tom Tom, great service, great guys and they have always given me very fair value. I am very lucky to live in St Albans!
Also a half vote for Hifi Lounge. I havenāt bought anything from there but have been for an open day. Great people and they have a lovely set up.
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From purchasing experience Cymbiosis, TomTom and Audio-T Oxford and Reading have all been brilliant. Audiobarn and Signals Iāve never purchased from but I do know them and are top guys as well. As has been said it really depends what youāre after and if you might want another brand non-Naim component most obviously a TT or speakers.
Regards,
Lindsay
I was in a similar position, many years ago, when my dealer of long standing & high repute, who sold Naim, Linn & more, ādisappearedā. Fortunately, I had already visited Cymbiosis, so they were an obvious replacement. I think they may do quite wellā¦ 
I have also dealt with TomTom and they have also been very good.
I doubt the OP could go wrong with any of those mentioned above.
Always found TomTom great to deal with and James is always super creative in trade ins. Both James and Henry really friendly and zero pressure when making casual enquiries.
Only had a small interaction with Signals but they were also really helpful and quick to help out when buying Kudos Ks-1 speaker cable from them.