AV3? Will we ever get one?

Ha!.....

I used to hold my breath, but I've had to start breathing again....

As you say, others are out there filling the void (and their boots)....

im still waiting.....come on , christmas would really come early !!
steve though is unfortunately correct.

probably not

Why would they pour even more problems on them selves?
AV doesn't seem to be a strong suit.

A vexed subject! I understand Naim wouldn't wish to burn their bridges but it would be nice to at least have an inkling regarding their future plans on the AV side.

The AV2's a very good processor but without the benefit of HDMI and HD decoding its future's pretty bleak.

As I've argued before Tony, I'm of the opinion they are burning their bridges by NOT saying anything....

After being burnt so badly from the promises of the scaler etc, they seem to have gone the extreme opposite way and say nothing at all.... Equally as bad IMHO.

I just don't understand what is going on with the whole AV range - every time I look at the website page it's a head-scratch; outdated products, over priced and often problematic performances......Seems as though Naim's approach is to simply just ignore the elephant in the room, which is rather baffling....

It would be interesting to know how the range is selling, if at all ? It can't be many units. The n-Vi is, well...the n-Vi, the DVD5 spec is ancient for it's cost and quirkiness, the scaler & switcher units never arrived and the poor old AV2 is being rendered obsolete as technology and formats march on around it.....The DVD5 isn't even on the current UK price list. Any dealers here care to comment the last time they placed an order for a DVD5 ? You really would have to be a member of the blind faith to be purchasing any of these products at new, full price....And yet, pick up any popular audio/AV magazine and the pages are stuffed full of TVs, surround amplifiers, BD players, one box players, speaker sets, associated gadgets, blah blah - a BIG piece of cake.

In light of the history, I would totally understand if they went nowhere near AV products for the future, especially source players. I really don't expect a BD player from Naim, but even if they did, you just know it would be ridiculous late on the scene of the format's life, much like the DVD5. Leave it to the Japanese seems to be the guideline. However, where I really see and appreciate Naim's strength is audio and hence why the AV2 (and a AV3) to be a perfect product to retain in the whole range. It's strength lies in the fact it is just an audio processor. That simple and true Naim approach. It's easy to integrate with the stereo stuff and it brings an audiophile standard to the requirements of 5.1 or 7.1 etc. It just needs to be updated and improved with, on the face of it, two very simple facilities, as Tony says: HDMI (which could be a pass-through for video) and on-board decoding of HD codecs.....Oh, and maybe stop it buzzing in some people's systems!

Actually, I've hypothesised previously that any possible AV3 should be more of a system hub - with the right DACs on board it could be the multi-media centre for both surround audio and multi format, and multi sourced, stereo audio.....In such light, all the 'excitement' and hype around the forthcoming DAC seems slightly low (arguably mis-) sighted....

But, alas, all our chatter is just amongst ourselves and seems to be falling on deaf ears at HQ...Lost potential sales is all I think of, but perhaps the returns are just not worth enough to them....

I'd never thought I'd buy a product from Arcam, but the AV888 is starting to look good.....

Steve.

I was over the factory yesterday and I think the answer to the question is inevitably "yes". Barring a seismic shift in the market, I think it's safe to say that there will most likely be a new processor at some point in the future. Naim certainly has not abandoned AV in any way. More difficult to answer is "when?". There are plenty of R&D projects on the go and AV is certainly a part of that, whether it be working on improvements to existing products or developing future ones. But, as ever, it's a case of juggling priorities on the various projects.

It's been a steep learning curve, but I think nobody is any doubt that Naim has established an AV performance benchmark. The DVD5 is still the best sounding DVD player out there (even if picture performance has moved on with Blu-Ray), and the same goes for the AV2. The n-Vi gives you a big slice of both in one box. What's needed now is to build on the performance, bring all the decoding up to date and iron out the idiosyncracies in the useability. Anything else? Naim is listening...

I just fell off my seat.....!!!

Very good news Richard ...Almost too good to be true !

I totally agree with what you write - Naim did set a benchmark with the AV2 etc and in many ways have everything going for them to take it up a notch and update the products.....But, AV, perhaps unlike stereo, doesn't seem to hang around for anyone - I'm not sure wondering 'when' is going to cut the mustard...

Requests ?

1. AV3 featuring HDMI audio input (video pass-thru if its contained in the signal) and HD codecs. OSD of AV3 settings direct from unit.

2. AV3 plus - Enhanced version incorporating upgraded stereo DAC and extra inputs, i.e. USB.

3. BD transport - universal capability, incl DVD-A and SACD.

4. New high-end Centre speaker - part of the O(that word I won't say) range ?


Oh, and PLEASE, put the AV3 in a full size case at long last...

Steve.

I think naim should concentrate on the audio, its what they do best. Video is being better handled else where and the DVD/HDDVD market is going to be over taken by computer just a surely as the CD market is. I have not loaded a DVD in many months other than to rip it to a harddrive.

Naim do audio, so do audio.

AV is firmly in the hands of the Japanese type mentality, and it WON'T be allowed to stand still. Just look at what has already happened. Just getting all your blue ray products? Dump them 3D is here. How long before 2160i arrives etc etc.
Got all your storage sorted ? Now SSD are just around the corner (in affordable sizes).
What does the next 1-3 years bring?
This whole thing is a moving target IMO.

So NAIM bring out a new AV x, you lot will be whingeing and whineing as soon as it's out because it doesn't have.........
Mind you that seems to apply to ALL the latest products, some "vital" thing has been left out.

I am amazed that NAIM bother with AV quite honestly, I can only assume the profits to be had are just too good to turn down. I don't see how that can be mind you.

So as garyi says stick to audio.

I agree with some of these comments...

However, as I've said, I really see a place for a AV processor from Naim, at the minimum...It's right up their street, they can apply their excellence to it and it potentially bridges to a MUCH larger market......

Did I just read this correctly ? there is a new processor on the way ?

I will have to think about my av3 wish list but of the top of my head.

1/ I pod input

2/ hmdi inputs

3/ new hd codecs

4/ room correction of some type

5/ full size case work

I think you read right Neill...Amazing hey ! I'm sure Richard must be on the wind up....

I hadn't initially thought of room equalisation, good point...Mind you, on my former Marantz AVR, I ended up manually setting it to my liking anyhow (with a sound meter)...Still, Naim's experience with the Bentley job and the DAC could perhaps aid them here, or I guess they could licence the facility from Audyssey...

I suspect Naim are trying to avoid the situation where they pre-announce, then it's a year or more before there is actually anything to show.

For my mind, a simple LPCM via HDMI, with good DA and Analogue stages would be far preferable to trying to cram in bitstream decoding (if you think you need this, then read the BluRay Profile 2.0 spec - a Profile 2.0 player has to be able to decode DTS-HD MA and Dolby True HD to enable secondary audio), room correction, video processing, etc. Ideally if they could add in a (programmable) RS232 control output which could switch an external video processor / switch that would work well - option of something like Octava for basic switching and then iScan Edge for full scaler / processor could work well - rather than trying to develop their own video processor / switcher / scaler.

Lack of "badges" wouldn't be an issue I would think for most of Naim's potential customers as the dealers are there and can properly educate customers over the need (or lack of) of certain features.

Eloise

PS. basically I want an AV2 with a single (or maybe 2) HDMI inputs for LPCM and the RS232 to interface with an iScan. Oh and for it to cost less than £2500 seams reasonable.

Dear Eloise,

I agree, keep it simple.

My fear is that they will try and make it some form of Meridian combination - add on a 'higher' quality pre; and pump up the price.

If they feel the need to add anything then how about a stream reader - a la Uniti?

M

yippppeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee ! come on naim , dont hang about. Id be happy with all of Neils requests. Ive held off buying a new av processor and been running leads straight off the dvd player decoding off there for now and even that is a big improvement. A proper AV3 is going to rock

can you put steve and i down for the first 2 please. thankyou

And I want mine in white.......!

See Steve, I TOLD you not to be so pessimistic! I knew all the time they were working on something...

I'm with Eliose mostly, but I do think it would be wise to include HD processing. I'm convinced that in the foreseeable future we'll be receiving HD surround via satellite & perhaps via downloaded movies too.

On the BluRay player issue, a number of firms in the USA appear to offer upgrades to existing players & I can't see why Naim shouldn't come up with their own "Special Edition" player based on a Pioneer or Oppo. After all, they don't manufacture their own CD or DVD mechanisms, it'll just be Naimed electronics.

quote:

Originally posted by tonym:
See Steve, I TOLD you not to be so pessimistic! I knew all the time they were working on something...

I'm with Eliose mostly, but I do think it would be wise to include HD processing. I'm convinced that in the foreseeable future we'll be receiving HD surround via satellite & perhaps via downloaded movies too.

On the BluRay player issue, a number of firms in the USA appear to offer upgrades to existing players & I can't see why Naim shouldn't come up with their own "Special Edition" player based on a Pioneer or Oppo. After all, they don't manufacture their own CD or DVD mechanisms, it'll just be Naimed electronics.

I will be honest I will never drop any serious money on a video source component again in my life. I spent a fortune replacing all my videos on DVD only to find DVDs are worth less. The problem is you can listen to music over and over but there are only so many times you can watch a film. I have no interest in Naim Blu-ray player an AV3 yes and a DS style video streamer in the future yes a ds music streamer yes but sadly not a blu-ray player.

I really hope that the AV3 isn't a couple of years of summer time next year for me would be ideal and I do hope Naim offer an upgrade route for existing AV2 DVD5 customers.

I think a revised AV2 which allows 6.1 inputs for HD audio from a appropriate source would be a good short term stop gap.

Waz

The AV2 can already take a 7.1 channel input from an appropriate source such as a blu-ray player. Inputs 1 & 2 are Versatile Inputs (VIPS) and can be configured for this.

Welcome Wazza69, better late than never....!

I would be interested in a Naim AV3 type product. It would be good to see Naim focusing on the audio side of the unit, with a good pre-amp built in, HDMI audio processing and room correction built in to it.

Would be nice to see it for under £3k and a trade-up program for existing AV2 customer would be nice. Of course, can I just put my name down for that now ?

Roy.