Is Naim dying?

‘The report of my death was an exaggeration’.

G

"Not dead . . . just smells funny" is what I was waiting for G.

Four words say it all. A very well  run company keeping up with times.

Amen !

Maybe because of the forum people are better educated and therefore "general" discussions reduce. 

Maybe because Naim produce such a diverse range of products that people are sat at home just enjoying and listening to the music...what a bizarre concept, who would of thought.

As far as Naim tweaks are concerned, do I dress to the left or right!!!

Naim is here to stay. I spent a small fortune the last 10 years trying to get the kind of sound I love. I've owned Musical Fidelity ,PASS LABS , Ayre and Moon. Nothing wrong with these brands.Just didn't seem to  work for me.  I had almost given up on high end gear .Finally found the music with Naim. I'm even a convert to the NAC A5. Never dreamed. 

Is the HiFi industry as we knew it dying? I'm not sure. When I look at what's going on around me on a micro/local level, I would say yes. When I look at Munich Hi-End, I would say know.

Is NAIM dying? If the industry is the Titanic than NAIM will either be Leo DiCaprio or make its way onto a lifeboat and be one of the few to survive. Depending how they respond to demand and innovate will be key to which fate they have.

Is this forum dying? All the traffic on my favorite forums is down. It's summer. I think I'm posting for the first time in months!

The one thing I've never understood about Naim is putting a gigantic transformer in the same box as the electronics but seeing as though I don't know enough about audio design there is obviously a good reason why they do. Weird.

To the average man this does seem odd especially when everything is supposed to be in a quiet environment. Only the very highest kit get's the privilege, again this seems odd, to me at least,  as there is more dirt getting pumped into the mains in the modern world, hence more hum

 ....

The infamous Naim hum is a subject that has been covered to death on this forum. Has it ever been addressed  directly  by any of Naim's engineers on the Naim forum ? Not that I'm aware of ? My original SN and new SN2 both had/have a mild hum I can hear when the music is off and I put my ear close to my Harbeth's  The SN2 sounds so wonderful ,it's a quirk I can live with. 

I still love Naim... My first encounter was in 1998 and I was blown away by the sound. The concept of the boxes appealed to me because of the upgrade possibilities. A very good friend of mine has a Linn Klimax DSM. A pre and streamer in one and a pair of active speakers. Compared to my system it looks very meagre, but the sound is overwhelming. No extra power supplies and cables.... just a small box.

The thing is, in my opinion, it lacks the prat of a Naim system. Though I think the current concept of Naim is a bit outdated. And don't forget, the world of stereo-system, high-end, is slowly dying.

To their credit, all of the preamplifiers from the earliest models onward have lacked in-built power supplies, though it could also be said that the AC mains purity of forty years ago was quite different than today (in spite of great strides made in both large-scale power engineering and public utilities).

It's probably a safe bet that the supply-side technology from the Statement devices will make its way (in distilled form) into newer items, where applicable, and that products such as mu-so will use switching power supplies due to space and manufacturing constraints with respect to transformer size and heat dissipation.

As for the death of Naim–well, one doesn't last forty years in the corporate world without a struggle.  The ascent to fifty will be as challenging (and exciting) as the first forty....

I think the issue here is the products that have been released in last 12 months.

statement amp 99 per cent of contributors does this site will never ever ( like ever) buy one so this product is of no interest.

Next one the Muso I think the majority of us would not regard as a true piece of hifi okay for a second room maybe but the main system - forget it.

so two new products neither of any interest to the hifi enthusiast.

compare that with exakt which does look exciting and ground breaking where is the naim reply.

The comparison to photography with a leica is an extremely apt comparison.Whether naim is dying or notas a company ,is also to question whether hi-fi,as a business is dying .It has certainly evolved -music and hence hi-fi were once almost communal,now despite almost unlimited access through streaming,music has become a more solitary event for most people.multiple boxes and a dedicated room to" examine" the sound,rather than just enjoying the actual music has become more of a luxury .Naim is certainly not dead but the evolution to better sound is not nearly as clearly defined as it once was

Leica is a brand shared by 4 independent companies of which 'Camera AG' is one, privately owned since 2012.

Not quite the same as Naim then.

G

DAC-V1 and NAP100 were released in 2013. Maybe not of interest to thus at the higher end of the hi-fi food chain but for some a game changer, for me anyway. If you haven't got a TT who needs an analogue pre-amp?

Dave

Agreed - despite the disruptive capabilities of the Hugo - the Dac v1 is fantastic..

A better comparison would be with Linn - who like Naim have always done things their own way.

Tog

No new products? ROTFL. How many new products have Naim launched in the last five years? Go on, count ‘em. Tot up what they were selling 10 years ago and compare that with today’s range. Naim are not in the business of making fish fingers. Nor equipment that is extinct after two years. It is also easy or maybe convenient to forget that a lot of the range was replaced about two years back when DR was launched. And it was retro fit - or isn't that "new" enough? If two releases in 2014 is too slow, you’ve got the wrong company. Maybe someone like Sanusi or Pioneer would suit better?

Totally agree with Harry's post.. some have argued that Naim had been creating too many products. With Naim it's quality and not quantity.. And refreshing to buy something without planned obsolescence built in.

When I first joined the Forum, it was the boom years, and Hifi corner was stuffed with upgrade posts. When you have the money, upgrading can be great fun. And even if you don't, helping other people to spend their money is fun too. With the recession, there seem to be far fewer of these posts, and with Hifi there are only so many things one can discuss. This may well account for the lower traffic.

Another huge change is the introduction of all in one systems. While some may think these are the death of Naim - blanded-out music centres for the hoi polloi - I think they are great. But once you have bought your Uniti, the only real options are speakers and what you stand it on - fewer opportunities for discussion again.

Some may say that the meanderings in the Streaming Forum are geeky and dull (indeed, some are) the ability to ask for help is just great. When I got in a pickle with setting my new streaming system up, Simon and Bart, amongst others, were so, so helpful. And I hope that I've been able to help others on occasion.

Those who invest in the Forum will get the reward when they need it. While this aspect may be dull to some, I find it incredibly valuable, and long may it continue.

What a boring thread.

What you need is a damn good thrashing!  

G

Everything dies eventually (currently listening to Pink Floyd) I am 43 so I have probably more years behind me then in front, even the universe will die out and according to Brian Cox we have around ten thousand trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion years when the Universe will be nothing more than a sea of photons.

As for Naim as long as they reinvent the middle range which I guess a new range is coming out soon they will have decades in front of them. It’s a testament that my CB Hi-Cap which is probably 25 years old is still running how many other brands can state that!

I am so pleased I have purchased the new (I) series boxes, this will keep me going for at least another ten years.

I have not let my old system go, I have it stored and it will not be going anywhere.

The Nait5si has probably been the best product I have ever purchased - I have to cock my hat to Naim for this master piece - It's that GOOD! 

These responses are so funny and is an example of the dull discussions that are currently on the forum- deteriorating into the semantics of new products and when they were launched etc etc

@ Harry , what does ROFTL mean, by the way? 

Jude