Uniti Atom ........ again,anyone has any information..?

Crabby, keep an eye on the New Uniti progress update thread, which is a featured topic in the main Hifi Corner.

Naim are keeping it regularly updated - last update a few days ago.  

'Regularly' being rather loosely defined. I don't think Naim gave quite grasped what effective communication looks like. They get moaned at, try hard for a week, then go back to being hopeless again. 

Nigel, I think that's a little unfair; Naim conceded some weeks back that they needed to improve their progress communication on here and ensure a weekly update on the thread in question and that's exactly what they have done.  Hardly "try hard for a week, then go back to being hopeless again" from where I'm looking, or maybe you haven't been following the updates?

Yep, seen the update, thank you 

hopefully we will see something before end of summer. Happy to wait if worth it 

I have to agree with HH really........But then, none of this is exactly new with Naim, is it – it's just a particularly bad (and perhaps the worst) example......In the 15-20 years or so I've been familiar and purchasing the brand, there's always been a whiff of arrogance in their communications (or lack of) and as for 'late' product launches, again, you'll find many a wry joke on the forums throughout the years regarding which month or year – I'm not sure it's the Gregorian calendar that Naim use in their diaries at HQ, that's for sure...

Heck, I'm still waiting for the promised 1080p Scaler card for my DVD5....!  And I can certainly say the comms were no better through those AV days...!

Someone in another thread speculated things have got worse since the merger – I have tended to think the same of late, despite some of the brilliant products that have come to market since that time....or, is it that they have their heads and hands full of mu-so (I admit, I own two of them)....Many will argue the existence and success of the mu-so does the 'halo' thing and bring new customers into the fold (true, and good...) but my personal concern was that it would effectively be Naim's iPhone/iMac moment....(as a long-term professional Mac user, who knew and used the 'niche' brand back in the day when they were weeks away from bankruptcy, pre Jobs return, pre 'i'anything, I feel I can legitimately be considered a loyal customer that has seen that company grow, develop and change.....and I can also certainly attest, as a 'pro' user, to the reality these days of feeling marginalised and ignored by Apple's product priorities – I can't actually remember the last proper power machine with real word professional needs and requirements that Apple has released: The 'current' MacPro, languishing without updates for 5 years, certainly isn't it.......Year on year, it's all iPhones, pads and nice looking laptops without any useful ports) ........Naim, thankfully in my view, are certainly not at this point – as is often pointed out, the Statement and continued existence (though ageing) of the Classic line show this – but, personally, I do feel it's a concern......

I have zero doubt the new Uniti range will sound superb – sonically Naim do their thing and they rarely, if ever, disappoint...Just perhaps a couple of flavours of sound and corresponding price points here and there. How well they function, if they are full of software/firmware, remains to be seen....I must admit to being slightly wary of Naim boxes that rely heavily on programmed software within – It was AV, unusually, that actually brought me seriously to Naim, that audiophile and 'live' sound pedigree a strong attraction to me for AV replay, but I'm sure many of us who own (or did) a DVD5, AV2 or, drum roll, a n-Vi (!) will recall all those 'gremlins' and can relate to such wariness......Naim very sadly killed their AV products, but at the time it was often speculated that all the software & 'electronic' sides of the product type were simply too much for Naim...and that the ever changing and evolving standards of the market was just something they didn't want to (or couldn't) continue with – hence no BD player or AV3 etc and then the discontinuation of the whole product area. Slightly ironic then, that it seems to be 'certification issues' that have delayed their whole Uniti range of Hi-Fi products for nearly a year......

I do feel for everyone waiting for these Uniti products, especially with deposits involved etc. Very early I put my money down for a Core, and although even that was months late, thankfully it was the first of the new Uniti range to reach market – I say 'thankfully' in the context that at least I haven't had to wait the best part of a year to learn it was a disappointing product (IMHO, a 'dumbed down" product) and in all likelihood, unless the software engineers suddenly pull their fingers out (or are allowed to), one that's not for me.....So, 1 lost sale – naturally, no big deal in the grand scheme of things.....And, apparently, Naim seem happy there 'are plenty of Core boxes out there...' (hmmm) ..........BUT, the whole situation with the Uniti 'launch', the reasons, the way it's been handled, the lack of comms (until very recently, and even then...), the release of the arguably half-baked Core, the lack of 'straight' responses to its perceived shortcomings along with the slow development of updates/fixes (that should have been there from the start) to the ones that at least have been acknowledged – all of this, for me, builds a rather damaging image.....and, with all of it, I can't but help feel something is awry here.

There are some very interesting recent comments in the other 'Atom Delayed' thread....One of which mentions 'Brand damage' – I have to say, I'm feeling the same. Which saddens me. As I've said elsewhere, I stopped my Core order (and to be open and honest, I presumed I'd convert the deposit into something else and spring for a 'toy' in some other direction, say perhaps a 100 to go with my desktop DAC-V1 that I use with headphones whilst working, just for the sheer sake of it and that the money was already there etc...) but all of this current 'picture' has got me hovering, seriously hovering. I'm well aware I am but just one customer.....but, how many others have done the same, or are beginning to feel the same....or, have even already gone elsewhere.....? I know Naim are big enough and strong enough to shrug off a few lost sales, even from loyal fans, but is that the point....Brand identity – and loyalty – is everything these days, if it never wasn't. I am sure Naim, as a company, realise this. But does it concern them to hear something like the fact that one of the dealers I use (who shall remain firmly anonymous) described the situation with the Core as "pathetic" – As I re-read the sentence of his email, it certainly made me think.

Simple fact of the matter, Naim make sublime sounding products, especially when it comes to amplifiers, pre and sources. I am sure the Atom et al, when they do arrive, will sound great and most of the patiently waiting potential purchasers will finally be over the moon with their boxes.

But I do feel something has been tarnished and, lost here – quite frankly, for me, the PR dept should be taken outside and shot. Give the roles to the service/support dept, its high reputation well earned and extremely justified. Just my two pennies, but a little more listening, talking and, dare I say, transparency throughout would go a long long way with 'customers' and fans – old, present and new.........

I'm really nothing more than bang in the middle Classic series owner, with a now ageing NAC282 and various components (some a few years old, some brand new) that I would love to reshape and tweak to be my ideal HiFi & AV system (frustratingly some of which perhaps isn't possible now with what is available).....I would love to potentially own and reach the echelons of 552, the 'next' NDS, et al....If I'm honest, I perhaps never will be in a financial position unfortunately, unless I splurge an inheritance or seriously commit and save etc......But the thought and the loyalty has long been there to do so – and I know I could if I seriously wanted to. What more could a company want from its customers.  I'll say this though, for what it's worth – Even if I could tomorrow, I'd very very seriously think and consider it all, even have a look elsewhere......All in a way that I certainly wouldn't have before the last year.

If Naim can't give the respect to customers to be more open and honest with their timeframes or to come out of the shadows and even, as an example, make simple decisions and commitments to what metadata support they are going to activate, then really, I just wouldn't feel good about any of it which, for me anyway, is a big factor....I'd be barking mad to be throwing those sort of funds into something or someone I didn't feel good about or that felt tarnished to me. But that's just me.

I completely agree with HH,  the products were announced way before it was market ready & the rest is a freakin' disaster.   Imagine one of the car or TV cmpys launching new product like this.   No excuses or mitigations.   

SC posted:

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If Naim can't give the respect to customers to be more open and honest with their timeframes or to come out of the shadows and even, as an example, make simple decisions and commitments to what metadata support they are going to activate, then really, I just wouldn't feel good about any of it which, for me anyway, is a big factor....I'd be barking mad to be throwing those sort of funds into something or someone I didn't feel good about or that felt tarnished to me. But that's just me.

I can imagine that for many Naim aficionados it would be enough if Naim would give the impression that they know that errors have been made and that improvements are being developed. Arrogance is not a major problem when it comes together with outstanding performance. But arrogance in conjunction with products like the Core becomes just embarrassing and, frankly, mildly annoying. To Naim's defence I can say that, in my experience, Google has been even worse in conveying the impression that they do not care about what they throw at the market. Perhaps there is simply too much money floating around and it is time for interest rates to increase a bit ...