I see Oxford Audio are closing their shop and moving to a at home location. The shop shuts this saturday and the new venue opens on the 19th. Appointment only apparently,
sad to see the shop close i had some great demos there. But best of luck for them in their new location.
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I live near to Oxford and talking of the city centre as a shopping location, it sucks.
Politics on the forum is banned, so best not go there, but thatās (IMPO) the cause of city centre decline, at least in part. Cars are not welcome and they use parking charges to make the point.
Oxford Audio are located in a semi detached part of the centre so footfall has always been a bit compromised, parking is limited and is not an easy short walk, plus itās located in a bit of an odd spot for such a shop and the other premises around, so Iām not at all surprised they are moving out.
Audio T a bit further out of the city in a suburb on the east side of town completely closed some months ago. A big loss and they were easier to get to and +++ located on a car park ā¦ā¦
It means Oxford is now devoid of a pukka hifi audio dealer, itās Naimless.
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I was told that the landlord wants to repurpose (my words) the building hence the need to relocate. It was never in the most convenient location. If you had to load/unload from your car, you took a risk with the yellow lines outside.
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Yes I heard about Oxford Audio moving via their update emails. Also their change to appointment only.
Within the Oxford area you could always try Cultured Audio for a demo or whatever. They are not exactly in Oxford and their location is not a traditional shop. Cultured Audio are also making changes to their premises to improve demoing of equipment and the like. They do stock Naim and other brands. Personally Iāve found them to be very helpful as are Oxford Audio.
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Oxford, like most cities have become an utter dump, and its intentional. Thatās all I will say on here.
Martin
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Understandable ā A lot of businesses seem to be moving from towns to out of town locations to small business parks in nicer, quieter locations.
Personally, when demoing or collecting equipment, I much prefer a dealer where i can easily park close to the premises - No need to worry about parking charges or running out of time on a ticket. It makes for a much more relaxed experience, which for me, is important when demoing kit.
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Used Oxford consultants just a few times and attended a Naim demo there years ago; always found them very helpful.
In Cambridge earlier in the week for a morning, perhaps itās more compact, but using the park and ride, on the rare occasion I have to go in, I find it a pleasant experience. Observing from the bus, no real evidence of boarded up shops, which can only be a good thing for the rest. The Naim dealers mind, are out of city.
In the case of dealers, those who have moved to out of town locations, certainly report something of a change of customer attitude. Making the journey, means that those who visit, are not simply filling in time, while someone else shops, but they likely come with a purpose. The expression tyre kicking comes to mind, for some shops in city centres.
I know of one or two dealers who own their premises, rather than trading from rented location. For those, not optimal to relocate, unless the old premises can be let or easily repurposed in a financially viable manner.
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Personally never had an issue with this. It plays out better in some places than others but overall it makes the city centre experience more enjoyable not less. The lack of places to then shop is partly a function of the online world but other factors at play too.
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Before setting up cultured, Mike was part of the UK sales team at Naim so is very knowledgable; definitely knows a snaic from a burndy. Prior to that I believe he managed a 7 oaks store.
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Tangential this, however Iām regularly in Cambridge centre. Cars arenāt the problem any more, itās the bikes that will flatten you!
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Was always thusā¦ā¦
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The Audio T in Reading has moved out to the countryside south of the M4, in an industrial unit. Access, parking and carrying of heavy naim gear to your car boot is a lot easier!
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Moving to out of town seems to be the way of audio/AV dealers these days. My nearest proper audio dealer (once Oxford Audio move out) is Cultured Audio in a leafy location just outside Whitney.
I called in to Audio T Reading a few months ago as I was in the area, but for me Swallowfield is the āwrongā side of Reading. Tom Tom in St Albans is aprx the same journey time albeit longer distance, but much nicer drive.
Ripcaster near Henleyā¦ā¦?
ATB, J
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No Naim 
Ah, think I picked up the name indirectly off the Selekt Journey thread, led to a few ātube videos.
Had my own auditions, wasnāt persuaded.
ATB, J
I donāt think there are any on the high street in this part of the world any more. All the ones I know of operate out of converted houses, barns etc. in the burbs or countryside.
Leafy location perhaps, shoe box premises. Went by prior arrangement, for speaker demo; all other speakers stored in same room. Nice chap but very poor presentation and facilities.
Unfortunately with small premises, hardly out of town/city, limited parking and best described as a gate house to a smallish industrial unit. HFL might not be much further from Oxon Mike.
Real out of town stand outs ime, in the south and east of england are Hi Fi Lounge in Bedfordshire in a barn, with several dedicated listening rooms. Further east, Signals near Felixstowe are located in a converted chapel with several listening rooms. Both with excellent ample parking. The locations wonāt suit those who are further a way, but they illustrate what a great environment for hifi auditioning, a good out of town location, week set up, really is.
Ideal for those Naim (and other) demo days, with just enough seating to make it seem like a large(ish) listening room.
At one of the dealers, I spent an entire afternoon āwarming upā a statement system ahead of a demo day. Good way to get a listening fix, without incurring the cost!
Two other dealers ime, one of the forum favourites, is the Leicester one, who moved out of the city centre to Rearsby; plenty of parking in a business unit. Similar set up for the Cambridge dealer, out of the centre, ample parking and facilities. The Norwich dealer, going a little further afield, also has similar setup, in a rural location.
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Iām guessing Iām the only person on this forum who doesnāt own a car.
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Cultured Audio are about to open their new demo room & record store. From the FB nfo it looks very good & I am looking forward to visiting them again soon 