To 222 or not 222?

No usb connection so no driver required. You would connect via optical or ethernet

Am I the only one disappointed that the component that the 222 relies on would be so cheap.

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Job sheet just needs to specify whether the power supply is added, everything else is the same. Itā€™s not just a transformer but many other parts. plus the extra labour cost for full assembly will be significant.

Naim could make the same cash margin and still knock a bit off a 222i. Extra benefit would be increased capacity of units built by saving some production time.

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With every variant of a product Naim have to jump though certification hoops, safety regulations, Google Chromecast, Apple etc. These are time consuming and expensive and delay product launches.

The reason the CD555PS is still named as such even though itā€™s no longer specific to the CD555 CD player is due to having to jump though these hoops again, just to put a different badge on the rear so they didnā€™t bother.

There will likely be some subtle software differences too in some products, due to the different power option (only 1) and model number. All this adds overheads to regression testing which will stay with it for the life (and beyond) of the product.

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@Ryder35 The only way to play DSD over optical or ethernet is by using the DSD over PCM format, which isnā€™t true DSD. I considering a 222 as an upgrade, but I think I will need to have it do what I want, I am also interested in the phonostage, is it an unshielded stageline? There appears to be little shielding in the 222. Although I am sure Naim have dealt with this in the board design.

In the UK it all seems to be made to order.

I suppose Naim could put a sticker on the back signifying which model is which.

Weight of the transformer might also be a clue.

Wait till you see the price of the dac chips :see_no_evil:.

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Sounds like the ships captain who gave it up because he didnā€™t like the weather.

Possibly. You pay for the end result, not the raw components. $150 would be expensive as far as a transformer core goes and probably, along with the case, one of the most expensive parts of the product.

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They also arenā€™t selling these products at cost, once Naim
have calculated their margin, rationalised their NRE and ongoing R&D costs and the dealer has added theirs youā€™re probably around 40%.
Like many lifestyle brands Naim have also gone through a transition away from a pure engineering led box builder to a luxury lifestyle brand that is aspirational and with much offered beyond many folks modest means. Thereā€™s a reason they created muso and promote collaborations with the likes of Bentley and Sunseeker.

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Well on top of that, these types of items are not priced on cost-plus anyway. Thatā€™s for things like bags of flour and Mars bars. They are priced according to market parity to ensure the price reflects the comparative worth with other items on the market and then the impact of their running costs factored in after that. You would actually make less money selling some items cheap even if you could.

As an simple exercise, pretend for a moment that Naim found the magic sauce and that a 222 costs just $1 to make including all parts, labour and overheads. So at $2 you could make 100% profit. If the rest of the market like Linn, Devialet and so on are selling their streamers for $12,000 it would appear like Naim would demolish the competition. They might. But the market for the item itself is limited. Sure they would mop up the low end of the market too and everything in between but the rest of the world buying iPhone docking stations etc isnā€™t interested. So they sell a whopping 1 million units at $2 each and makeā€¦ $2 million (only half as profit). But Linn, with their $12,000 streamer only have to sell 170 units to reach the same milestone. Clearly, irrespective of costs, Naim would be better off pricing the unit much (much much) higher; selling far less units; and making a lot more profit.

In other words, if the market value of something is high, you will make more money selling at market value. Most luxury items cost very little to make. Their materials are superior but not 10x the cost of standard materials. More care and knowledge and experience goes into them making their high cost worthwhile to the buyer.

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I certainly value the stuff theyā€™ve built for me over the years. Having seen the folks in Salisbury actually making items like Powerline and Hi-Line as examples and having a chat with the lady that builds most of the Statement amps, you realise thereā€™s a little of each employees attention to detail in everything they ship.

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I assume you are talking about a 222/NPX 300 set up?

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The preamps without streaming facilities havenā€™t historically had internal power supplies, yes. Those with streaming have always had internal PS. As does the 222. Seems like what we should expect.

What could be interesting is an equivalent of a NAC 202 + NAP 200, whereby the preamp
is in some way powered by the power amp, yet with a connectivity option to upgrade that optionally with an additional NPX.
Naim specifically discontinued the NAC 202 and NAP 200, I wonder if that was by design or simply because demand was low and they wanted to free up build cycles in the factory.
It could be a useful 200 series addition and give a step on the ladder towards a pre/power system much as the 202/200 offered in the past.

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Thanks @seakayaker , you are correct of course. I wonā€™t edit my post so yours still makes sense.

Generally, Naimā€™s philosophy is to build from the power supply so I would hope there would be some cost involved, after all, the next upgrade is simply a better power supply at a cost of Ā£5700.

Mind you, I completely agree with @feeling_zen on the proper pricing policy for Naim, if they donā€™t make money we wonā€™t get the boxes.

Went to a gig last night and I always think you can hear everything better on your Naim gear.

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Think thereā€™s more RAM tooā€¦

From what I understandā€¦

Removing HDD and replacing with equivalent SSD instead (e.g. 1GB HDD out = 1GB SSD in, etc)
Also, replacing 4GB of RAM for new 8GB RAM
Wondering if they probably transfer data across (for customer) to new SSD?
Maybe time to do this and soak test. Controlled environment, etc.

Personally, I think this is a ā€œno brainerā€.
Love my Zen Mini and defiantly will be doing S upgrade.
Looks like Innous are offering both HDD and new SSD option in parallel for a while.
Only wish they had this SSD option in the first place, when I bought mine January 2022.

My hope is that Innous provide upgrade kits - for Dealers - and let them get on with such things.

KR
R

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Likewise. Definitely on my long term to-do list!

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Uhmm, doesnā€™t sound good.