I think it would be a short-sighted shame not to retail the elements separately. There is, quite naturally, huge interest in Naim’s new vinyl-based sortie, and I suspect it could be quite profitable for Focus-Naim. However, I haven’t heard the new offering, although rumour has it that it’s not quite the LP12 beater it might have been.
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TBH, I think they’re appealing to different buyers. Apart from the fact most folk don’t have £16k to splash out in one go, (and with the LP12 they start at the entry-level and build up over time), one only has to read the posts on Forums like this to understand that LP12 ownership is a lifelong hobby. I started out my analogue journey with Regas many moons ago, what led me to the LP12 was the (relatively) low entry point and the wealth of upgrades meant it could remain performant. Those 500 Solstice owners no doubt have a fantastic deck (as I’m sure the McIntosh, Vertere, ClearAudio and Rega owners do), but one day something else will outclass it. What will they do then?
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OK, Jonners. I thought that it was announced by Naim and/or Clearaudio some time ago that, once the limited run of 500 (?) Solstice decks had been built and dispatched to their new (and, I hope, delighted owners), they would continue to make and sell individual components from the deck, such as the ARO 2.
I may have misremembered this.
In any event, I won’t be in the market, as I’m very happy with my own ARO, and (to judge from photos that I’ve seen) I don’t particularly like the changes made to the original.
Some enterprising soul should make up T shirts with a slogan along the lines of ‘My ARO Ain’t Broken, So Don’t Fix It’.
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Me too! 
It would have been a Naim announcement not Clearaudio as it is a Naim branded product. I think you are remembering a lot of speculation and, indeed, wishful thinking, on here. All that has been official from Naim has been the announcement of the introduction and sale of the 500 Solstice decks. We don’t know if any further complete Solstices or its components will even be produced. I would speculate that until supply issues and costs have been resolved globally a decision by Naim and a contract with Clearaudio will not be concluded - only after that will there be any announcement to dealers and consumers.
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Thank you, Clive. I wonder if dealers think that the ARO deserves to be brought back.
As I recall, the original was discontinued because Naim could no longer reliably get parts and a key employee who built the ARO retired. You would assume that, now that Clearaudio have taken over the build, those limitations no longer apply. We shall see.
I can’t imagine they’ll bring back the mk1 now the mk2 is available, but to sell it as a separate seems to be a no brainer, if it’s any good outside of the Naim package.
We may be drifting topics, but my impression is that 99% of Aros are unsurprisingly on LP12s. I also understand that the Aro 2 won’t fit an LP12 as it was designed for a Cleauadio/ Naim deck, which would seem to kill the idea . Have I got something wrong are are you wishing for an Aro 3?
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I have heard it said that the ARO2 is just too heavy for the LP12, which I find surprising, as the two look superficially similar. I’d need to see both together, in the flesh (as it were), to form any judgment.
Most Members will know that the original ARO got its name from the fact the the arm wand is made from the metal tube used to make sporting competition arrows. I have no idea what tube is used in the ARO2. (Others claim that it stands for Analogue Rules Okay. Who knows which is right, maybe both?)
Only if it was better than the Mk1.
Very happy with Aro, esp after Karousel / Radikal Mk1 upgrade.
Anyone here called Mark?! 
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…and that the Armageddon was a nuclear button option to blast Linn’s trespass into the world of HiFI electronics into the heart of the nearest super nova, thus heralding the demise of the entente cordial between Linn and Naim in some kind of apocalyptic eruption. Perhaps that’s why the NAPSA had no lights, although it always reminded me of the controls encountered by Zaphod on Disaster Area’s stunt ship:
‘It’s the wild colour scheme that freaks me out,’ said Zaphod, whose love affair with the ship had lasted almost three minutes into the flight. ‘Every time you try and operate these weird black controls that are labeled in black on a black background, a little black light lights up in black to let you know you’ve done it.’
I do miss the design of the Armageddon, particularly the way its little black light winked at me in precisely the way that a star wouldn’t, but perhaps a black hole would.
I’m not at home at the moment, so can’t check, but my recollection the the (unlit) front panel on the Olive Armageddon is different from others in the range, in that the Naim logo is more fluorescent (in order to look as if it were backlit).
I am sure that someone will check and report back.
It’ always good to be reminded of the wonderful Mr. Adams.
Also, I have plenty of arrows, made of pretty cheap aluminium, but it’s been a long time (30 years?) since that sort of thing was the norm for people rather better than me. On that basis, Aro2 should have been made from carbon fibre, with just enough metal that you can find them outdoors with a metal detector. Didn’t Wilson Benesch try that some time ago?
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