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Naim's New Price List

In terms of premium branding Naim are not so extreme.

My sister has just bought a yacht stateside at a boat show. If you want to see pretentious showy people that's the place to head. The price tags are just mind blowing yet there is a resurgence in demand.

A stack of black boxes with green logos is hardly blingy - unlike some of the watches you see.

In terms of bling a car, yacht, watch or trophy partner on show to the public rate higher than black boxes adorned with green logos. Naim kit is only on show to close friends or burglars and I expect not too many of those would describe it as bling.
 
To be fair i bought a secondhand Rolex GMT II in 2006 for £1500 it's now worth £3500. I've had a good watch for the best part of 10 years and a spectacularly good investment that can be readily converted into cash.

I agree with this. My Rolex has gained steadily in value and works very well too. I don't think any audio is of this sort of quality, which isn't surprising because a firm like Rolex can afford massive investment in machinery, service and promotion. The potential market is vast. With audio the market is tiny. It's probably economies of scale which makes the real difference.
Mind you, it's probable that now Naim is buying stuff from Chinese factories, the value of the brand will decline anyway. That's how it usually goes. The older, Juilan Vereker era stuff will keep most value.
 
Funny, my first thought of measurement you was once you told you haven't heard a Naim setup/gear the last 20 years, yet you are superiour basher in just about every Naim named thread, strange imo
I don't know where you get this from. I've heard Naim many times in 20 years, various levels and ages, and not liked it. I had a borrowed CD3 in my system a few years ago. I don't like what I have heard. This may one day change. Until then I will continue to say that I don't like what Naim offers, I don't like the sound and I think it's overpriced for what you get. If that makes me a "superior basher" then feel free to judge me on it.

One exception - the Aro is lovely. Now feel free to call me a fanboi.
 
The Rolex example is a good one... Naim has become a "brand" that sells to people who maybe get some cachet from saying "I own Naim gear"...

Most people aren't interested in discussing hi-fi and, if it did come up and I happened to tell them I owned naim gear, I suggest I would most likely be met with a blank stare. Everyone knows Rolex though.

On the watch analogy, i saw it mentioned earlier in the thread that cheaper watches were better than Rolex anyway. While I have no experience with Rolex I have owned a lot of watches. All the cheap ones lasted me two years max. I then bought myself a Tag Heuer for my 30th Birthday and 16 years later it is still going strong and, due to the sapphire crystal glass, still looks brand new. Sometime you get what you pay for.
 
Most people aren't interested in watches either. I mentioned a new watch to my GF and the fact that it was probably going to cost about £300, and got the same blank stare. Sure, everyone has heard of Rolex but ask them what the cheapest model costs, new. I bet 99% of people will put in a figure below £1000 and be amazed to hear that the real figure is 4 or 5 times that. You'll then hear the words: "What? For a watch?"
 
Agreed, but how far from the raw cost to price ratio does it get when you have to question said item, the HiCap is a good one, 1300 retail for what? 50 of parts and some labour? Watches are daft example really, i bought one mentioned above 10 years ago and is worth about 4 times what i paid, that will never be the case with a "statement" they will come on the 2nd hand market for 30k guaranteed

It's very rare that you get and old shape Naim for less than half price I think the statement would fetch far more than that on the second hand market it will be interesting to see how long it takes for one to come up. Maybe an estate sale in the near future along with a stable of Rolls and Bentleys perhaps an oyster or two
 
Most people aren't interested in discussing hi-fi and, if it did come up and I happened to tell them I owned naim gear, I suggest I would most likely be met with a blank stare. Everyone knows Rolex though.

On the watch analogy, i saw it mentioned earlier in the thread that cheaper watches were better than Rolex anyway. While I have no experience with Rolex I have owned a lot of watches. All the cheap ones lasted me two years max. I then bought myself a Tag Heuer for my 30th Birthday and 16 years later it is still going strong and, due to the sapphire crystal glass, still looks brand new. Sometime you get what you pay for.

I've got a Casio which cost me £8.99 in 1988.. it's on only it's 4th battery and is more accurate than a Rolex.... fact :)
 
Being made in China is not automatically a problem - many ladies luxury handbags and shoe brands are.
Watches, bags, yachts and sports cars are all the feeders of the "luxury lifestyle" magazines, full of advertorials
Brands like Rolex spend a fortune sponsoring tennis etc to get the brand recognition
 
I've got a Casio which cost me £8.99 in 1988.. it's on only it's 4th battery and is more accurate than a Rolex.... fact :)

Hotel Clerk: Do you have seventeen dollars and a good watch?
Del: No I don't. I have uh... two dollars... and a Casio.
Hotel Clerk: I'm going to have to say goodnight, so...
 
I've got a Casio which cost me £8.99 in 1988.. it's on only it's 4th battery and is more accurate than a Rolex.... fact :)
I hate to be battery-driven and prefer to count in minutes not seconds (ok, i am no electronics engineer).
;)


re price hike: Naim (sc. their owners) have to decide how they want to stay in business. There are several alternatives of a similar sustainability; others have disappeared. The quality of the Naim service is, however, second to none, which is not free of charge, but depends on human beings.
 
Don't you just love these threads, I could buy a new Naim statement amplifier, a rolex, a Prada, a Porsche......I charge £1,000 a day,.... aren't I great, pass me a bucket please.
 
It seems clear, reading this thread, that this stuff is no longer about reproduction of music - or telling the time
 
I was looking to replace some of my rather ageing Linn amps (now 20 to 30 years old) and Naim were an obvious consideration. I was somewhat surprised at the prices for relatively basic kit (some of which I recognise from when I last owned Naim). If the price increase policy story told here is true then there's not much point in me starting on a course where I would be chasing prices that continually increased in real terms. I thought Linn's prices were high enough but at least the equipment appears to evolve a bit more. Are there any other manufacturers with more realistic pricing policies worth a look? I don't mind paying £3000 for a box that actually contains something worthwhile and gives 20+ years of service, but I don't like paying spurious increases when the product hasn't changed and inflation is zero.
 
I was looking to replace some of my rather ageing Linn amps (now 20 to 30 years old) and Naim were an obvious consideration. I was somewhat surprised at the prices for relatively basic kit (some of which I recognise from when I last owned Naim). If the price increase policy story told here is true then there's not much point in me starting on a course where I would be chasing prices that continually increased in real terms. I thought Linn's prices were high enough but at least the equipment appears to evolve a bit more. Are there any other manufacturers with more realistic pricing policies worth a look? I don't mind paying £3000 for a box that actually contains something worthwhile and gives 20+ years of service, but I don't like paying spurious increases when the product hasn't changed and inflation is zero.

Rega.
 
Price rises during a period of deflation - very good. If the gear was made in Switzerland then there may be some justification. It isn't so just the usual profiteering. Good for owners though, if selling on.
 
I was looking to replace some of my rather ageing Linn amps (now 20 to 30 years old) and Naim were an obvious consideration. I was somewhat surprised at the prices for relatively basic kit (some of which I recognise from when I last owned Naim). If the price increase policy story told here is true then there's not much point in me starting on a course where I would be chasing prices that continually increased in real terms. I thought Linn's prices were high enough but at least the equipment appears to evolve a bit more. Are there any other manufacturers with more realistic pricing policies worth a look? I don't mind paying £3000 for a box that actually contains something worthwhile and gives 20+ years of service, but I don't like paying spurious increases when the product hasn't changed and inflation is zero.

If you haven't been considering a service of your old amplication? then:
Older and used Naim, maybe serviced Naim kit are often excellent value

Say a pair Nap 135 w/Nac 52 or 140/72/HC if your speakers are not demanding
If you prefer the recent black stuff a Nap150X or 200 with a preamp is no slouch either, plenty s/h out there

Resell value is high, service support is excellent.
 
Considering that the new product must be RoHS compliant, lead free solder and so on, the old equipment is likely to outlast the new
 


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