Does Naim still love us or is she sleeping around?

I tend to be pretty brand-loyal.  Driven BMW's for 21 years now.  My Naim stuff sounds wonderful and does all I ask it to do.  I'm not looking at other wome. .. . er brands.

Surely it is Forum members who are doing the philandering? There are a huge range of methods of music replay let alone brands. Is it so surprising?

It is called competition, and it must be healthy for Naim, and indirectly for music fans.

One of the characteristics of this Forum is that Naim allows people to talk freely about other manufacturers etc. I doubt those discussion are ignored totally by the Naim team. I suspect this Forum provides them with important  intelligence.

Bruce

If my car came back from a service with the Logic7 sound system replaced with the standard sound system, or my automatic bixenon lights replaced with manual halogen lights, or my heated, ventilated, massage comfort seats replaced by sport seats or standard seats, I would complain. And I wouldn’t take “no”, “maybe” or a shrug for an answer. This is what has happened to nStream so my response is hardly unpredictable.

The app also does not work properly. It can run rough and misfire. Same argument. Please fix it.

I consider myself a loyal brand follower,  BMW, Sony, Naim, MK, Canon, etc...  But like all the girls,  the secret of that perfect look is in make-up, BMW's are better with remapped engines & my Naim's are just a tiny bit better with PSU's not made in Salisbury.  

I like Naim amplification and speakers. I like Naim as a company because over many years they've always given me superb service and I like their friendly, knowledgeable staff and dealers and I trust them. I don't love them; they're a business and will act in the best interests of the company, as they must, and that means they need to take hard-headed decisions about what products will sell in the current marketplace and realistically how much support they can continue to provide to the ever-shrinking numbers of us hi-fi bods with obsolete kit.

If, as appears has occurred, they produce something that doesn't work well they'll either have to change it pronto or they'll lose customers. Looking at their business it seems to be doing rather well and even if it stops manufacturing its traditional range of separates (surely not too far in the future) then so beit.

I get the feeling some folk would be happier if Naim slunk back into a cottage industry as it used to be. Then when inevitably they went down the tubes we'd all post on what a wonderful company they were.

From Jamaica? Relax mon!

Personally I think all Naimophiles and audiophiles in general should not support streaming in any form (in fact boycott it!) Once personal music ownership is priced out the market...

Brand loyalty is powerful for some.  With cars, since I've able to afford them, I've been loyal to Mercedes, even though they've gone through a patch of dodgy build and now seem determined to phase out in the UK market the bonnet mounted start (Grrrrr!).

I think Naim seems to attract similar loyalty even when some kit seems problematic.  It's customer support surely plays a significant part in that, as does the longevity of its kit. It seems to me that the problems are largely in the fast-moving world of streaming where new services, versions of software and firmware seem to be constant.  Big companies like Microsoft and Apple have the market-muscle to dump those problems on the users/buyers, confident that it won't affect their sales.  Thankfully that doesn't seem to be the ethos of Naim which seems  to listen to their customers (witness the debates tolerated on this forum) and the support it tries to offer. This must be a quite a challenge for Naim in the streaming world.  Longevity of hardware isn't the norm in the computing world where kit either breaks after a few years and/or becomes obsolete because it can't support the latest and higher demanding software.  

And speaking of longevity, I wonder how many Hugos will still be in use in ten plus years as compared to say nDACs? 

I've owned Naim systems for over 20 years and no plans to change. The customer service has been excellent and I have just had an example. I have mislaid the receipt for a service on my Supercap from 2007. I emailed them this afternoon and had a reply from Steven Hopkins and a copy of the work sheet within two hours. 'Nuff said in my view.

It is likely both will be obsolete by then, but at least the Hugo sounds better at less than half the cost of the nDAC ATM. 

I think obsolesce is another question, Steve.  I agree that both are likely to be surpassed by new developments but my contention is that the nDAC is much more likely to be still working in 2015.  The Hugo's batteries and PSU having expired many years earlier.  Still, given your reference is a top-spec LP12 etc I would defer to your view on sound quality here. 

+1

Bet you that your new 926's outlast your Hugo though, dayjay? 

I will be surprised if they don't to be honest, they are good fun

I have been pleased with my Naim systems throughout the past 18 years since "discovering" them, save for one not so happy experience with the n-Vi.  Their products do what I want them to do, and I don''t feel any great urge to wander, but that is not so much from blind loyalty as opposed to satisfaction with the product.  As Tony points out above, they are a company, and nothing more.  (Albeit a real good company.)

Were I to have a disappointing experience or dissatisfaction with their products, I would have to look elsewhere.  But at present, I can play my music and it sounds excellent, and I derive great enjoyment from that, so "if it ain't broke, don't fix it."

Is Naim 'dumping' the task of setting up and maintaining a UPnP on the customer instead of developing the software on the streamer itself? It would be easier for the customer to point a Naim streamer at a file share on a computer or NAS and have the streamer manage the database and indexing.

On a recent trip back to the UK I visited John Lewis with a family member who was interested in a high end wireless speaker. I suggested they try a Mu-so. The salesman stated 'You can connect it to your iTunes library just like a Sonos speaker only it sounds a lot better.' He was surprised when I let him know it wasn't possible.

I understand the point you are making and while I think it applies to Naim's traditional products I don't think it applies to streamers where I feel they could and should do more especially now they are entering the sub GBP 1000 market.

Can you please explain why connecting to you I tunes library is not possible ? Is the Muso not Air play enabled?

GregW - what wasn't possible?

When any company that has a forum chooses not to reply to customers' negative feedback, some would see that as complacency, arrogance, bad manners, or disinterest.

Customer loyalty is finite and there is realistic competition.

Yep, Airplay works just fine with the Mu-so.

Thought so !

I meant a network connection to the library stored on the computer as for example Sonos and Bluesound do. While the AirPlay interface is helpful; I  use it for podcasts, the audio quality via UPnP is significantly better. Airplay is great, it would be good if more Naim products had it, but it's a shame to not be able to get the best out of the Mu-so without a UPnP server.

I use my Mu-so in a second home where I don't have a server or NAS setup. Having to set up a UPnP on the laptop I take with me is not ideal.

If you want a reply Naim has a rather well-thought-of Customer Services and can be reached by telephone, letter, etc.

If you just want to moan (or sing praises or something else) you have the forum.

What's your beef here anyway?

Given that the forum is well monitored, I would have thought that naim would take the opportunity to respond publicly rather than seem to be ignoring the customers they say thay value so much.

Anyway, what has any of this to do with you?