Arbitrage on a Naim 250

This alleviates the "Loot" syndrome of purchasing a used piece, sight unseen, that turns out to need a fair bit of remedial (or corrective) service to function at a reasonable level of performance.

A six-to ten-year old 250 (new cosmetic) will, transformer vintage notwithstanding, leave here looking like a current-production unit on the inside, down to the trim pots and the thermal heatsink grease.

Dave Dever, NANA

dave, a quick question: on a really old 250, say 16 years old, is it the case that the xformer cannot be upgraded to the current ones? sorry if this is obvious, but it may explain something for me.

enjoy

ken

Great to hear about the quality of work that you guys do. I was thinking about getting my 72 and Hi-caps serviced. Should I send them direct or via my local Naim dealer (Innovative)?

Regards, David

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David Denver's "small discrepancy" between Naim prices in the UK and the US may seem quite large to some. As far as I can see prices in the US are roughly twice the sterling price. Give the exchange rate has been about 1.45 dollars to the pound for some time, it is hard to see how this difference can be justified in terms of tariffs, transport costs etc.

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# lo hi ave
US 18 $765 $2200 $1595
UK 20 $725 $2100 $1315

I have not yet studied the differences in relative terms across all products; I was surprised however at how small the difference was (yes, I was expecting larger).

Erik Hoel

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Dave, not sure I understand. Are you suggesting that 2nd hand gear in the US is likely to be higher quality than 2nd hand gear in the UK, and that could explain the price difference?

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Not necessarily--what I am suggesting is that, by tracking equipment from the time it's sold to a dealer (retail sale or demonstration), registered for warranty purposes, re-sold on the used market, serviced, and re-sold again. a fairly accurate history of an individual unit can be constructed, using a power amplifier as an example:

- what speakers the amp was used on
- unauthorized modifications made by the dealer
- whether the amp was serviced, and by whom
- has the unit ever been "blown up" by misuse or a lightning strike, etc.

which may all be minor details to you, but show up in stark relief in the testing process.

By insisting that our central office performs all of the major service work, one can add details to the history (not computerized, BTW) and eliminate any possibility that something was overlooked due to inexperience.

I'm also of the mind that, if it costs two dollars more to replace a complete set of five components of a type (rather than the two that were faulty) that can fail or affect sound quality, it'll be done, and notated as such (saves the hassle, too, of re-shipping the unit later to accomplish the same task, and makes for longer periods between service visits).

Dave Dever, NANA

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By insisting that our central office performs all of the major service work, one can add details to the history (not computerized, BTW) and eliminate any possibility that something was overlooked due to inexperience.

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Does this mean that, in your view, NANA applies a higher standard to management of equipment Naim equipment retailed and warrantied in the US, than would be the case in the UK or some other markets?

Regards, David

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# lo hi ave
US 18 $765 $2200 $1595
UK 20 $725 $2100 $1315

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Very interesting - the difference is smaller than I had thought. My own, much less disciplined survey, was comparing new style only. Is there anyway to break this data out by new versus old?

Regards, David

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Very interesting - the difference is smaller than I had thought. My own, much less disciplined survey, was comparing new style only. Is there anyway to break this data out by new versus old?

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Regretfully, not at present. I did not collect this important piece of info (though I will in the future). Also, these prices are also not descriminating based upon service history.

I guess the current info is better than nothing.

Erik Hoel

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Does this mean that, in your view, NANA applies a higher standard to management of Naim equipment retailed and warrantied in the US, than would be the case in the UK or some other markets?

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No, it means that we are more likely to know an individual unit's (somewhat anecdotal) history if it was imported by us, sold through normal retail channels to an end-user in the States. You'd expect this, of course...

"I suspect that there may be large difference between Naim prices across the EU"

I am really interested in how prices are controlled and I would really like to know what retail price differences may exist for new products. In the UK it appears to me that all Naim stuff is priced the same everywhere. Can anyone confirm whether this is also true in the US - does a NAP250 cost the same in NY and SFO and Anchorage for example?

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Because NANA insists that Naim equipment be "serviced" at a centralized location, which we all agree is a good thing right now, I think you would have to agree that a naim owner can be serviced quite well from a long distance, right?

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True, in the sense that when "service" means repairs, updates and upkeep NANA has the capacity to provide experienced service with authentic Naim sourced parts. So whether a Naim owner lives in Chicago, Seattle or any where else in this vast country, they have access to consistent, accurate equipment service.

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Why do you think a naim purchaser cannot be served as well from a distance by one of your selected retailers? What is it that a local dealer can provide (other than home set-up, which is important to some) that any good dealer that NANA has underwritten cannot? Why has NANA restricted Naim sales to dealers in the purchasers "territory".

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When "service" means demonstration, installation, and after sales service the local dealer is best positioned to serve. If a dealer knows your system and its operating environment, they can provide better (and often on-site) system service and maintenance, than someone guessing from long distance. The dealer can also use their diagnostic skills for example, to narrow down a problem to a specific part of a system and get it serviced or replaced for you. For many people, its difficult for them to know whether they have a knackered cartridge, or if they need to submit their preamp for surgery...

I don't think you can make comparisons with watches, cars, and other self-contained items in these respects. A Hifi can become a pretty complex and unique system, which can behave quite differently according to how and where it's set up. We have never assumed our customers have an automatic ability to set up and analyse the performance of their systems. Therefore it has always been NANA's policy to recommend customers to their most local dealer for their own best interestsand long term satisfaction.

Regards

Chris