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Naim Prices?

It really is Groundhog Day isn’t it? :). All the new Naim stuff will become affordable on eBay in about 20 years or so. Whats the problem? Most of my kit is 30+ years old. It’s about patience vs instant gratification. At least reading the title of this thread made me smile (again!).
 
stevec67 said:
Lifestyle products. Sign up and have the badge, or don't bother. Rolex used to be priced at Rotary level plus about 10-20%. Naim used to be priced at Japanese mid fi level plus 25-50%. Now both are top of the shop boutique brands. Both are very successful.
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There is a difference.

Rolex watches are still made in the same way they always were. They are mechanical devices which can be serviced and repaired. You can pass on a Rolex to your grandson and he will always be able to get it fixed.

Naim are making products which are difficult or impossible to repair. That's fine for a cheap blutooth speaker from Tesco but unacceptable for a very expensive product claiming to be of the highest quality.

All mechanical and electronic products deteriorate with age and serviceability is prerequisite for genuine high quality. It's an indication of the sad state of play that neither Naim nor their buyers seem to care about this.
 
My cats hate class D amps and have warned me that if I get one they will move out. Apparently, they are not nice and toasty to sleep on. Fortunately, we agree on the disadvantages of Class D amps and I will happily be sticking with my New Classic system, which for the money sounds excellent. Naim kit has always been towards the expensive end of the hi-fi market and to my ears each generation has improved the SQ, unfortunately for my pocket. Naim has astutely responded to market demand for high-powered single-box systems and provided it. Therefore the Nova PE is aimed at the lifestyle market and also the people who erroneously still believe that speakers are the most important part of a system and think power is the be-all and end-all for measuring quality in a hi-fi system.
 
paulbysea said:
My cats hate class D amps and have warned me that if I get one they will move out. Apparently, they are not nice and toasty to sleep on. Fortunately, we agree on the disadvantages of Class D amps and I will happily be sticking with my New Classic system, which for the money sounds excellent. Naim kit has always been towards the expensive end of the hi-fi market and to my ears each generation has improved the SQ, unfortunately for my pocket. Naim has astutely responded to market demand for high-powered single-box systems and provided it. Therefore the Nova PE is aimed at the lifestyle market and also the people who erroneously still believe that speakers are the most important part of a system and think power is the be-all and end-all for measuring quality in a hi-fi system.
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….. but I do believe that speakers are the most important part of a system 😲
 
Mr Pig said:
There is a difference.

Rolex watches are still made in the same way they always were. They are mechanical devices which can be serviced and repaired. You can pass on a Rolex to your grandson and he will always be able to get it fixed.

Naim are making products which are difficult or impossible to repair. That's fine for a cheap blutooth speaker from Tesco but unacceptable for a very expensive product claiming to be of the highest quality.

All mechanical and electronic products deteriorate with age and serviceability is prerequisite for genuine high quality. It's an indication of the sad state of play that neither Naim nor their buyers seem to care about this.
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I doubt that the vast majority of luxury watch buyers care about this either. I'd bet that any number of luxury watch as get traded in before they need a service or as soon as they start getting a bit unreliable.
 
Mr Pig said:
No it won't.

I think they do. Serous watch collectors care very much about the quality and longevity of their watches.
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I'm not talking about serious watch collectors. I'm talking about lifestyle brand consumers. You can keep a Porsche for 20 years. How many do? Likewise watches, electronics, handbags, shoes. Nobody wears Jimmy Choos until they wear out.
Cue one person who's owned a Porsche for 20 years and wears a pair of Lobbs on their third sole. Great, but you're the exception.
most Rolex buyers aren't "serious watch collectors" any more than Porsche buyers are "serious car enthusiasts" . A few may be. Most not.
 
Kraus said:
A common problem for devices using displays, disc drives and/or digital components brought in from outside manufacturers whose business model relies on innovation and obsolescence.
There’s a limit on the practical future support of such units.
Which is not a good thing.
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Naim first got caught out with their CD players. Rega have been much more conservative and far less vulnerable as a result. The fact that they make nothing with an LCD display is telling.
 
Rega are an admirable company in many ways.

Not the least in the way which Roy has worked toward devolving management out of existence.

Difficult, at times seemingly impossible, this project appears recently to have come together. Although I’ve chatted with Roy about the intention I’d be grateful if anyone has a link to more details as to the implementation.
 
That Linn and Naim can sell their electronic tat for such obscene sums is yet more evidence that you don't have to be clever to be rich.
 
Just for information (and I didn’t read the whole topic ):
The Nait 5si (released in 2012 I think ) is now officially 2000€ in Germany and France.
Until recently it was 1800€.
When it was launched it was around 1200€ I think.

For information , the rega Elex mk4 official price is 1500€ in Germany.

To be honest , I just think it’s a bit sad because I did listened to the 5si , and it’s a good amp , and it will be a matter of taste between him and the elex.
But the price difference between the rega and the Naim is so huge I don’t think Naim is a clever buy at the moment (At least in Europe ).

Inflation is real, and it’s a fact. But Naim pricing is really becoming crazy.
 
remiorange said:
The Nait 5si (released in 2012 I think ) is now officially 2000€
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Soon to be discontinued if not already.
Next Nait will be priced much higher if they follow the Nova PE agenda.

Not even a Muso is cheaper than the entire Rega System one.
 
remiorange said:
Just for information (and I didn’t read the whole topic ):
The Nait 5si (released in 2012 I think ) is now officially 2000€ in Germany and France.
Until recently it was 1800€.
When it was launched it was around 1200€ I think.

For information , the rega Elex mk4 official price is 1500€ in Germany.

To be honest , I just think it’s a bit sad because I did listened to the 5si , and it’s a good amp , and it will be a matter of taste between him and the elex.
But the price difference between the rega and the Naim is so huge I don’t think Naim is a clever buy at the moment (At least in Europe ).

Inflation is real, and it’s a fact. But Naim pricing is really becoming crazy.
Click to expand...
Size is no guarantee of strength. Price is no guarantee of quality.
 
I think the issue here is that Class D is inherently cheaper than class A or A/B amps. Class A/B with high output levels need large transformers, large filter capacitors and multiple output devices which all need large casework. There is an inherent cost in this.
You can buy well reviewed 200W ish class D amps for about £200. I note PMC have released new active versions of their speakers with built in class D amps for only a few hundred more than the standard ones, which is very reasonable. Charging a premium for class D isn't.
 
My hunch is that the nova PE was designed to go with a specific focal loudspeaker at a specific price, and like the Rolex example above, it needs to be priced accordingly. This is the reason it is relatively outrageously priced compared to the class AB version.

The rest of this thread is just rinse and repeat …..

.sjb
 
Sloop John B said:
My hunch is that the nova PE was designed to go with a specific focal loudspeaker
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This strategy may be right.
IME with latest Focal loudspeakers, they need to do more than beef up a Nova to get those speakers listenable.

"But as long as its expensive it must be good" I hear a few nuts whisper in the show room.
 
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