New from Naim – Solstice Special Edition turntable

Maybe lots isn’t the correct wording, but looking at the numbers I know off for sale its about 7% and that’s just a few dealers and these un opened ones, so it’s going to be higher than that I would say.
But like I said, it looks like naim got the numbers about right, because at first I think we all thought it wouldn’t be enough, when in fact it was.

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Interested to know where you are getting your (misleading) info from… unless it’s just speculation?

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I think that’s a bit unfair… :confused:

@Dunc 's post is based on what he has been told - and found out.

I don’t think its necessarily ‘bad’ either. It might be nice for Naim if all the 500 Solstice units sold out ‘immediately’ - but if it takes a few months, that still a success, in my book.

YMMV, as always… its the Interwebzzzz…

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Exactly: uncontested rumours all too easy become ‘fact’.

The slower than expected rollout of Solstice - due to the numerous well-documented issues around supply chains and logistics- has meant very few people have had the chance to see and hear one yet.

Now more dealers are getting demo units, many are finally able to offer listening sessions etc.

Meanwhile, we continue to handcraft more Solstice units to meet the global demand for those 500 collections.

I’ll take the bait: Please finish handcrafting mine and get it in its way overseas :upside_down_face:. Appears the first shipments that got sent to US early escaped the perils of the supply chain and arrived quicker than anticipated. Hoping the same thing happens for this next batch!

More being made and despatched every month. All good things come to those whom wait (and sorry it is such a wait, but such are the insane realities of the ever-evolving 2021…)

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Made up ? Errr NO and why would I.
It’s no secret that there are, or has been a few for sale that are un boxed and for whatever reason no longer wanted, it doesn’t take long to find them advertise.
Also my dealer has also said on his Facebook page he has 2, plus I have had an email from a different dealer this week also offering them, plus I don’t get why the such defensive reply, as I was trying to point out that it looks like naim got the numbers right.

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Thank you - I was merely seeking clarity, which you have provided (after correcting ‘lots’ to the equally vague ‘a few’) as have I.

It’s not defensive to seek facts in a world of conjecture and speculation.

Yup. Me neither… :thinking:

Looks like a raging success to me.

It is - we sold all 500 units into retail shortly after launch!

I just want to ensure this thread stays factual. Defending the truth :slight_smile:

You’d never guess it’s been a full moon around here :slight_smile:

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I am not a potential customer, but I would hazard a guess that:
Soon (not defined) all of ‘the 500’ will end up being in the hands of users who like both the sound and the aesthetic. No doubt, there will be some bumps in the road ( buyers who want to speculate, people who don’t like the sound or the aestetisc)…I am equally sure that companies like Naim would not sacrifice quality in the name (couldn’t resist) of expediency.

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It seems Naim have got the numbers about right, even if they have supply problems. I’m not in the market for one but if I was I wouldn’t buy one at 1k off from a non dealer. On the other hand I might ring round the Naim dealers and look for 20% off on an ex demo or surplus stock item to help the dealers cash flow.

Dear Clare.
I don’t want to make any controversy, I wait for my Solstice patiently. One seems to have arrived in Italy. I’m number eight. I hope it arrives at Christmas. From you I would like to know which cover I can use to protect it from dust. If you can please give me the model and who produces it.
Many thanks Clare.

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It depends which rack you are using - we’ve been using the Clearaudio ‘cloche’ style covers here, but there are a range of options that could suit other set-ups better.


Il Rack è Alica .

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That’s working visually very nicely with the facts. :+1:

Lovely set up!

The lift-off cloche covers would be ideal here, though ensure they have cutouts at rear for cable routing

I suggest including a cutout to clear the tonearm wand, to avoid clobbering it when setting the cover down over the table. I have that on my cover, and that’s what Stereo Squares does for their covers.

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Having nothing to do with the Solstice, or Naim, I reluctantly decided last weekend to forgo my preorder commitment so my dealer can find a more deserving home. As my order was his second to last allotment (this from the day after Naim announced) and not originally planned to show Stateside until late this year, it’s most likely still a few months from arriving.

Unfortunately, a few things transpired last weekend that made it clear I was forcing the issue with taking possession of this collectible. The first happened while listening to my cdp, when my youngest, who is nearly 5, walked directly up to my RP8 - which is now slightly below his face - and proceeded to intently stare at the tonearm / cartridge for a good 10-15s while I calmly waited to swoop in and collect him at the first instance of any arm movement. All was good. But clearly this was a harbinger of what might one day happen when the Solstice takes the place of the RP8, the latter of course can always be moved to a wall shelf.

The second event followed the next day when I opened Radiohead’s Kid A Mnesia which I had been patiently waiting for a few months. As is typical of so many recent (i.e., last few years) modern pressings, I had to wash all three records right out of the sleeves to clear all the crap clinging to the grooves. On side 2 of Kid A I discovered a deep gouge a full 1 cm across the grooves! Unbelievable! I played side 1 of Kid A and there was still an abundance of pops and clicks even after being cleaned. Upon close inspection there were numerous fine scratches and what appeared to be some sort of residue imprinted on the surface. Oh give me a break. Amnesiac’s turn next. Won’t fit on the spindle. Flip it, won’t fit that way either. This has become an all too frequent problem lately. I never had this issue before the last couple of years TBH. Being a bit frustrated at this point on a brand new $50 record I decided to push Amnesiac all the way down. Played ok, but certainly not the quietest. No where near a flat pressing as the Tonearm bobbed up and down like a ship tossed about in a storm. Tried to get if off. Wouldn’t budge. Had to pull the whole platter off to pry the vinyl’s grip from the spindle. Good decision! The recoil force was so strong the Rega’s subplatter popped out and separated off from the two belts. A bit of oil lost in the process! F#&*!

So it was at this point that a (brutally) honest self and I had a conversation regarding the merits of spending $20K on a TT package for a house with a young curious boy and a record collection dwarfed by my CD collection. Why spend a pretty considerable sum on something only at physical risk that would force me to buy overpriced vinyl to flesh out a collection not worthy of the Solstice? I envy those who have a considerable vinyl collection when the average pressings were well made. Not me; most are fine, but more and more are crap.

And so I concluded my decision to purchase a Solstice in the first place was ill-founded and short sighted, with a heaping dose of poor parenting as a liability thrown in to boot. Socrates loomed large in my mind; an angry me scolding my curious son for breaking the Aro II because he saw his dad use it. Know thyself. Sure do and I’m not going down that road. Glad I figured it out before wasting the investment and reducing the functioning count of the 500!

My dealer was very understanding and said no worries; he would be able to move my reservation on with no issues. I told him I still wanted to improve my source, so ordered an XPS-DR for my CDX2, which as luck would have it already resided with the North American distributor and should be here this week! So looking forward to having my first PSU for a Naim source. Happy Ending after all!

Footnote: received a replacement for Kid A Mnesia yesterday from my local record store. No gouges or Earth like precession of the records. Still lots of free floating pieces stuck in the grooves, Amnesiac had the same labels as Kid A - so yes, for a bit thought they gave me two Kid A’s and zero Amnesiac, and side 1 of Kid A had a fair amount of surface noise, unfortunately. Also, the third disc won’t fit on the spindle. Sigh, still an improvement from the last one, and now the wife can add the Clearaudio vinyl LP drill as a gift for the stocking this Christmas.

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