how happy with your dealer?

Kuma,

I bought my NAIM system in France (Brittany), from the local dealer.

I'm very satisfied with his advice. First, I came to the shop and explained what kind of music I listen to, the room where my system works, etc. We settled a rendez-vous one week later. My dealer had prepared several systems for me (Linn, Naim, Rega) and I listened music for more than 3 hours. I selected 2 systems and one week later, my dealer came at home to make me listen these 2 systems in my living room. He stayed there from 8 pm to 11 pm. We switched systems several times, listening to 3 or 4 selected CDs (my own CDs).

Then, I chose the naim system and the dealer came once more to install the system at home, plugging, testing and placing the loudspeakers.

Actually, I'm very satisfied with the advice I had and I recommend the dealer to my friends.

Hoping this willanswer your question

Regards
Klva

Mine has Naim kit at home. He has been know to steal components from his own systenm to provide the right combination for a customer demo.
For me for example he brought his own XPS2 in which promptly blew a fuse in the shop. He informed me later that the biggest problem coming from that was that his wife was thoroughly pissed that she had to do without the CDS3 will he got a fuse and fixed his XPS2.
I think that is a pretty proactive approach.
The other thing is he has advice and will give straight answers to questions such as what he recommends as the order of stacking of components on a Fraim. etc.

He is also always ready to try and help by telephone, which in my case is pretty important since I am a long way away.

You may say all this is no big deal but IMO it is not common in modern customer relations. He is not about the customer is always right, you get an honest answer which is far better in the long run.

I reckon he's a pretty good dealer.

regards
GEOFF

I can only say that I have been very well served by my local dealer, Audio Excellence, in Worcester.

When I first met them I was having problems with my SBL's. They eventually came to my home with a top man from Naim and reset everything up for me. This included re sealing the base units, re stacking my rack and sorting out cabling and other anomalies.


This was all FOC.

I have subsequently bought a CDX2/XPS2 from them and am awaiting delivery as you read this posting. However, this is some 12 months after their visit and I have never had any pressure from them to buy anything until I had had the A/B demos and was happy with my selection.

I have to thank Maurice for him patience with us and say that that he is a good guy to deal with (other than he is a Man U supporter but I guess no one's perfect).

T

First Naim dealer - Suttons in Bournemouth (this is going back 15 yrs or so - no longer Naim) were initially good and did me a superb deal on my introduction to Naim: ex dem 62/140 and Aro for just over £1000. Found the after-sales wasn't brilliant though, snaic failure meant being without amps for a couple of weeks and the best they could offer me as a loaner was my old Cyrus amp that they were supposed to have been selling for me! Not been back since.

Grahams, N London. Superb. Can't recommend them enough. It's two hours each way but worth every minute.

Phonography, Ringwood. Started going there just after they stopped being Naim dealers (is it me?!). Top service from friendly and knowledgeable staff who really care. Shame they no longer have the franchise.

Audio Destination, Tiverton. Another long drive and not a Naim dealer but they were selling a 3.5 + Fc for a customer which was too good to resist. Another long drive which was well worth it for friendly staff who couldn't do enough when it came to the demo and making sure I was happy with what I'm getting.

And that's it really, 15+ years of hifi buying summed up. I see that Movement Audio in Poole have just picked up the local dealership, I bought most of my early kit from them but not been in there for years though. Might just drop by at the weekend and see what's happening.

For now though, I'm as happy to buy on ebay/PF/hififorsale.com and go to either Phonography or Graham's for any work that needs to be done, both are highly recommended.

Steve.

It's a grand old team to play for...

Rayleigh Hi Fi at Chelmsford have been A1+++ in all respects.

Graham.

Not a lad any longer and not from London!

I really like my dealer here in southern California tho he is 1.5 hr driving time away from me on a good traffic day. However, my first setup was second hand and I had to draw a diagram of the cord setups and connect everything myself. A frightening proposition when it costs so much and I was a fraid of connecting something wrong. I get good recommendations from him, sometimes s/h equipment, and he answers questions fast, either email or phone. A pleasure to deal with him.

glenn

Life is analogue

Audio T at Chandlers Ford (called Southampton) I have being spending money at the same physical address since 1976. So now I count them as fellow travellers on the journey to bankruptcy.

They have arranged some very good in home demos for me and because I live relatively close to Salisbury I have occasionally been able to collect the demo kit and the actual purchased kit from the factory. (A bit like collecting a new Mercedes from the factory in Germany <g>

THe lights dim, a fanfare plays, the curtains open, and there is the new pride and joy ready to run....... dream on .....

Derek

<< >>

Hello good post, glad to hear of the effort you dealers have done, not the case with me, let me explain. First the dealer with whom i deal is not bad, they are nice guys and have a nice store BUT, they only have the sereis 5 gear and I had to climb the ladder on a lark, incidentillay Naim is the only company I would even think of doing that with. Anyway my point is a good naim dealer should have the gear on display and be able to show you the differences IN the store, that is a big part of why they are there, here in New england there is one dealer in NH. they aren't too far from me which is good. I have said it in other posts that Naim really needs to rethink how they display and sell their gear here, I think they are missing the boat. It is far and few between the number of people who are going to do what I did,basically a naim nait to a cdx2/xps2 282/250 etc. Ironically both Naim and Linn have always touted that the reason to buy their equipment is based on a DEMONSTRATION, not reviews or hype, i fully agree with that thinking, then they have a store that doesn't do that not even close, I have far more knowledge and experience with Naim then they do...not good, Imean I cant ask them how a cds3 sounds or a 252 etc, they have never seen one. Naim the company is being somewhat hypocritical in my view..I hope someone from Naim is reading this. I even mentioned this to the dealer, they said well you cant have everything on display, true I guess, but if you go into a hiend clothing store, they have the merchandise they don't just show you pictures of a suit etc, so just my thoughts, but like I said here in new england Naim is missing the boat...big time.

I have nothing but praise for Graham at Basically Sound (near Norwich UK) who provides an excellent service and sensible advice.

It is dangerously close to my home and I hate to think what I've spent there since 1982.

I've made numerous friends from the similarly afflicted customers of Basically Sound and we continue to enjoy each others company and music.

You can't put a price on that.

If there's a better Naim dealer on the planet than Chris Murphy at Real Music Company, Wellington, NZ I'd be very surprised.

The man has the patience of a saint

Cheers, Murph!

Redeye, I believe that the Real Music Co man Chris Murphy is the same bloke who takes several trips to Christchurch so us southerners can hear THE top end Naim.
Top HiFi in Christchurch have given me great advice over the years and always cool for a chat/coffee/demo. They have put up with me "tyre kicking" a lot over the last few years, but suddenly a 250 and now a CDX2 has been ordered. Service is fantastic, and they are more than happy to give my LP12 a tune up annually FOC.
Cheers to Bruce, Graeme, Jason and Keith.
Now if only I could afford a 252...

quote:

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Originally posted by PJT:

Now if only I could afford a 252...

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Don't worry mate, you will

I am very happy with the service provided by HiFiFoFum (Canada).

Impressive.

Overwhelming praises for Naim dealers outside US.

Naim should be so lucky to have such a strong dealer and customer loyalty.

As a first time would-be-Naim user, a local dealer was not too keen on loaning me a gear home nor offered any home demo assistance. I sort of understand it since long time users would be more likely to purchase than a first-time buyer testing a water.

Anyone from US had any good experience with a local dealer, learning and sharing a knowledge with a Naim newbie ?

As Naim attracts more mainstream users, such as myself, set up expertise and knowledge of a dealer is ever more important. Especially, I realised Naim stuff is more sensitive to placement, mains condition and cable dressing than any other solid state equipment I came acrossed.

A trend for a hi-end dealer now a days, at least in the US, is to move as many as black boxes as possible. ( hi-fi as a commodity ) Sales figues need to be met, they need to eat in the tough economy. But, I'd think that if they took time, learn customer needs and care about what they sell, not only they are showing a gear in the best light but they'd gain a stronger loyal customer base who would stay with them.
PJT, hats off to your dealer.

Many of the responders seem to benefit from the 'right' service given by a dealer and vice versa.

Kuma,

The folks at my local dealer in Seattle (Hawthorne Stereo) have always been first rate with advice, demos, and fair deals.

Bruce

Robert Ritchie (Montrose): Service is second to none - first rate, the way all dealers should be.

Loud & Clear (Edinburgh): Poor in comparison to above. No setup offered, always seemed anti-Naim.

Russ Andrews (Edinburgh): Used to sell Naim but not any more - still a good dealer, even if they do come across as slightly snooty (they're not once you get past this, of course)

Stereo Stereo (Glasgow): Again, no longer a Naim dealer but a decent bunch of guys. Firmly up Linn's bum but friendly and approachable.

Just my experience. Had good service (mail order) from Adventures In Hifi (Wigan) too.

John

Billy Vee...

My recently purchased CDX2 has developed a fault whereby there is a scratching sound whenever I play discs. It seems part of the laser transport has not been installed 100% perfect.

The salesperson there is driving out to me very shortly to deliver a brand spanking new one.

You can't get much better service than that..

Stevie D

my experiences with billy vee have been poor.

i bought an ex-demo p25, was promised a box but, despite a number of phone calls, one never materialised.

also, they wanted sixty quid to change a 4 pin connector on a snaic to 5 pin. sixty quid!

I have spent about £13k at Cymbiosis since I started buying Naim. I travel from Nottingham to leicester to them, pete is spot on with attitude and service. There are 2 Naim dealers on Nottingham.

I'll leave the rest to y'all to work out...

andy c!

I can also highly recommend Pete at Cymbiosis. He has always been very helpfull and his advice has always been spot on.

He has a great ability to set up a hi-fi and get the best out of it and you can see he thoroughly enjoys it.


Regards


NB

Harry York at Audio Genesis here in Oz will bend over backwards to keep music happening in my home. He lets me borrow anything to try out and always gives me ample time to pay for the kit. Even if I decide to buy something and just ask him to get one in for me, he insists on me taking his store demo until I'm sure that I'm happy with the product. I guess he knows that I'll get hooked, but at least he gives me all the opportunity to make a good decision. Customer service second to none.

regards Mario.

I have bought a lot of equipment over the years, mostly from Derek (was Sound Advice) and now is New Audio Frontiers in Loughborough.
He and his wife Clair are a delight to deal with and Derek has bent over backwards to bring equipment to my home in Birmingham, demo it and install it.
I used to live near Loughborough so simply continued with him. Derek knows a hell of a lot about all things Naim and many things Linn (no longer a Linn dealer) and also carries Shahinnian, Denson, Rega, Royd etc. Top dealer IMHO.

I hear excellant reports on Griffin Audio in Birmingham but have not frequented their shop. Again, like Derek, Bob Griffin knows one heck of a lot about musical systems etc.

My Sydney system I bought from Harry York at Audio Genesis and he was great to deal with and did the installation etc. He seemed to be on my wavelength

I get the impression that Naim are quite particular with regards to who stocks their equipment.

Computers are supposed to work on 1's and 0's - in other words "Yes" or "No" - why does mine frequently say "Maybe"?......

I hope Naim are listening and taking note of which dealers are providing good service and which ones are abusing the priviledge of selling Naim systems....

J.

quote:

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Originally posted by Top Cat:
I hope Naim are listening and taking note of which dealers are providing good service and which ones are abusing the priviledge of selling Naim systems....

J.

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But of course.....

Perhaps even more interesting to us would be recommendations of great service from dealers who aren't yet offering Naim.... especially outside the UK!

Richard

Have to agree with J N; with regard to Graham at Basically Sound, Norfolk. Knows his stuff, does not always recommend more exspensive gear, and puts the music first, which is what it is all about