Aah, butler, is that Mr Rhett at the door?
I would be prepared to bet that there isn’t a single box ever produced by Naim that they couldn’t improve by putting the power supply in a separate box.
They are indeed moving away from this approach in an increasing part of their range, but always as a lower performance option. My take on it is that they simply understand the strong demand from their customers (including me) for smaller systems and are responding to demand as best they can.
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I don’t think there’ll be another power supply. A streamlined one PS fits all makes much more sense, the idea of confusing punters with 5 or 6 separate power suppliers wouldn’t be on top of Naims list. There’s also the additional manufacturing costs and compatibility issues to think of as well.
Apart from what we know or believe is on its way I would love Naim to drop a new CD player one that’s capable of playing all CDs.
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Naim have already told us that are going to simplify their range, and the new 300 power supply is the Jack of all trades capable of supplying both sources and preamps. I wouldn’t expect to see a lower level PSU appear, but I think they will inevitably want to replace the 500 series, which is the last remaining green light product, and that will inevitably use separate PSUs. Presumably these will be available as upgrades to the lower level 200 and 300 series boxes, just as the 555PS was.
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That would be fascinating, but I wouldn’t count on it. Naim have produced some fantastic CD players over the years, but their interest seems to have waned recently.
And I still have a ‘sick’ CDS II, needing a new transport mech.
Yeah, I’m sure a lot of components can be made better with a separate PS. The point is they’ve figured out a way to improve SQ without the extra PS which is where the market is or is going. There are some amazing sounding single and two box systems that simply weren’t available previously. Which is a good thing for those of us who are tire of fussing over stacks of boxes.
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There is already another power supply (for the phono stage) what if name made sure a new shoebox 100 series was compatible with that as an upgrade option?
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Yes I did forget about that but I was mainly referring to PS for pre amps and streamers/dacs etc.
I think it is a weakness in their product line , or even a CD transport to go with the DACs in their streamers
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I know most good manufacturers do and I can’t see why they wouldn’t. But hey what do we know we’re just customers. 
Pete so would I it may be a minority but there are still significant numbers of particularly classical music lovers who have CD as their first choice. My CDS3 is treasured.
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The market Naim are in is only really a niche anyway. If it’s profitable to have 3 stand alone streamers surely one good cd player has got to be worth the effort.
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It’s worth considering here that for small high-end brands wanting a source for their range a CD or SACD is often seen as much more attractive from an investment and development point of view. Streamers demand huge investment, not just in development (ever evolving need to develop software to keep up with streaming service development) but also in ongoing support. For most high end brands it makes no financial sense. CD player development is a cake walk by comparison. Naim has chosen Streaming, and I guess you’re either “all-in” or…
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Well that makes it harder to understand why they won’t.
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From what i have heard Rega made the decision to not go-into streaming for the reasons you mentioned, others are also absent, so far.
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My 2 cents worth.
I think the updated range is complete for Muso, Uniti, NSC222 and the new 300 series products, with the later two products upgradable with the NPX300 power supply. A nice simplified range and a standard single PS as an upgrade.
I would expect an updated 500 series at some stage, looking like the 300 products, but without the onboard power supplies, using the floating chassis etc and a better power supply that is the same for the streamer and pre-amp. The power amp an updated version of the current design.
I don’t foresee a shoe-box range, that is covered by the Uniti range.
The grey area is the SI and XS range and the Supernait. I wouldn’t be surprised to see all of these discontinued. It’s hard to see where a new Supernait with the NS333 would sit against the 222/250NC - that’s the outlier for me.
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Don’t forget Youtube. A lot of young people use Youtube to listen to music. No, I don’t understand it either.
It’s a streaming platform. One can stream music from YouTube, Spotify, Qobuz, Tidal, Apple Music, etc.
If one pays for YouTube to avoid the ads, then streaming music on that same platform vs. perhaps paying for another makes a lot of sense to me.
There is no reason to divide platforms among “video streaming” vs. “music streaming.” It’s all content; all 0’s and 1’s as we say.
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I have a slightly different view on how I think Naim segments their market. Uniti and Muso are single box offerings for style conscious, space-constrained music lovers. They’re the “gateway” the Naim addiction. The Naits are integrated combined pre/power amps with options for upgrading with “separates” from the “Series” ranges and separate PSUs. And then when we’re well and truly hooked the Series offerings provide unlimited temptations to spend our money in pursuit of SQ Nirvana. For me the ranges have too many gaps and missed opportunities for additional spend for the range to be complete despite the protestations that Naim want to simplify their product offering. Offering only one PSU, NPX300, would be madness. It’s a costly option that many would resist so there’s a pricepoint at say two thirds of the cost that could accommodate a simplified “NPX200” surely. As for a “100 Series”, I’m certain that there are plenty of music afficionados who would welcome a shoebox size separates range as a step-up from the integrateds and as add-ons to Unitis. How about an Atom HE with a NAP100 as the first upgrade at £3500 before being tempted with an NSS111 and a NAC112. Perhaps even a NPX100. All these would provide a ladder with sensible increments in cost and many a happy hour plotting how to get next jump in SQ on the way to the mythical “End Game” system. That still leaves the 200 and 300 ranges short of options. Naim have been canny I think with a reduction in the number of special PSUs and more univeral connectivity of the rationalised offerings. But why are we limited to streaming and (someone else’s) vinyl players as sources. I’ve bemoaned the neglect of new CD players on another thread and to me that’s short-sighted and saddening. I know everyone says that CDs are a dying format I love my CDs and they can produce great music. However, I think cassettes are dead and I’m not advocating for the return of that format.
And then there are the 500s…
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