Damn those fat fingers. 
Superline Airplug 660R ordered in May 2021 - after Naim confirmed to my dealer that 660R is possible with Airplug and will be built in Salisbury. Naim told my dealer it will take some time thoughâŚ
Now I stopped asking my dealer about estimated delivery because I feel sorry for him. Each time he is asking Naim he is put of for later without further information.
Just to comfort you all waiting for a lot more complex gear: even a few resistors - if not at hand - no product/AirplugâŚ
Maybe Santa will bringâŚ
Regards and happy listening!
2 Likes
Wait Naim sales are only ÂŁ34 million/year? Is it really that small?
Spoke last month with a big Naim dealer in the US about ordering a 552 and he wouldnât even place the order. He said nothing with DR would be delivered until next spring.
Naim are a major player in HiFi, but it is a niche market, that is declining.
Separates type box systems sales are dwindling iverall, with prices rising quickly, as manufacturers try to retain profit as sales volume falls. This is why Naim, amongst many others, are increasingly focussed on âlifestyleâ music systems, rather than an endless stream of black boxes. The âgolden ageâ of hifi has passed. There are just so many ways of listening to music these days that donât involve a stack of boxes. There will be hifi products for a while yet, but it is very much a minority interest.
Many hifi manufacturers are just a handful of people, even just one, in some cases!
6 Likes
Unless he pays the distributor upfront, what has he got to lose. He(you) are last in the queue until he places an order?
2 Likes
I guess servicing wait times are affected too. Any idea of current turn around for 552 service and DR upgrade @Naim.Marketing ?
Theyâre busy, but - as long as they can get the required parts - youâre still in with a chance of getting a service turned around before Christmas. As ever, best to talk to your dealer, whom can liaise with the service team directly and get you all the specific info for your set-up.
Thanks Clare. The dilemma is that I would rather wait with a functioning pre amp than send it in and then find out there is a delay for parts required. Will see what nuggets of information my dealer can come up withâŚ
Your dealer will have a hotline straight to the team - theyâll know what parts they have and allocate when the job is booked in.
1 Like
My system lost the left channel last week the dealer came out and the fault was traced it to the 552 which is back at Salisbury as we speak.
I did ask him how he was being affected by extended delivery schedules and his response was as to be expected saying it was all over the place with all manufactuers.
One thing he did ay is that they had DR upgrades booked in but these had to be cancelled due to he lack of DR bits !!!.
Just wondering how long my 552 repair will take ?
How old is your 552.?
If the serial numbers are anything to go by (a very* rough and ready measure as, apart from anything else, it is comparing production with sales) then, for 16,600 units, the average unit price was ÂŁ2,000 after removing royalty income. Add on dealers margin and VAT and that gives an average retail price of, say, ÂŁ3k+. Given the volume weighting there must be towards the lower value products the size feels about right although possibly a bit lower than I would expect.
But they are growing well. 2 years ago (2018) turnover was ÂŁ29.4m compared with ÂŁ33.7m in 2020 - 15% growth.
*There are some inconsistencies with the published serial numbers by year. There will be sales without serial numbers (e.g. repairs). There was a big drop in stock value which may be implying sales were greater than production. And this is for 2020 so Covid affected. So ârough and readyâ is an understatement!
Thats my concern. I would like to get it done but its not urgent/broken and I donât want to send it in thinking I will get it back before the end of the year and still be waiting 3 months later for parts.
As we have seen from this thread, information changes frequently and forecasting seems to be somewhat optimistic.
Probably prudent to wait, thanks for highlighting the DR cancellationsâŚ
2007
To clarify re DR. Production of new products is given precedence over service if weâre running short on DR modules at any particular time - but thatâs an incredibly fluid situation, so itâs always best to check the latest info via your dealer. Component deliveries land every week, so whatâs true on a Monday may change by a Friday!
Ex demo bought in July, 282 on loan.
Thats a shame, I think we and Naim are stuck with these relays until they are designed out in new models.
Understood, prioritising new products makes sense. If you have a repair request and a new product request at the same tima and only have components for one, they should go to the new product. However, if parts are allocated for a repair/upgrade when itâs booked in and the customer is given an estimated turn around, those parts shouldnât (I believe) be reallocated to a new order which arrives subsequently.
As I understand it, that would not happen. Once something is booked in, parts are allocated to it the same as if it were on the production line.
2 Likes