ovators (S-400, 600, 800) production stopped

Cult classics in the making?

C.

The site also claims that the 552 with DR power supply began in 2012! Perhaps we need to treat their dates with caution...

Frank F posted:

Looks like there will be Focal for us Naimees.

FF

Focal Naim speakers in future then...

G

whsturm posted:

The site also claims that the 552 with DR power supply began in 2012! Perhaps we need to treat their dates with caution...

it is the official website of the german distributor...

There're still listed on the www products ............. https://www.naimaudio.com/loudspeakers

Mike-B posted:

There're still listed on the www products ............. https://www.naimaudio.com/loudspeakers

...It's still 2016 for 10 months of course.

Prices will tumble in dealerships if this is a leak of genuine info...

G

I was told recently that Naim were stopping speaker production. That fact that demonstrations at the Bristol show have been with Focals and that one of the S400 finishes is now unavailable would seem to bear that out. 

It might be wise to wait for a comment from HQ in Salisbury before taking this too seriously.

If true, then I suppose that the Active cross-vers are also numbered in their days of production.

ATB from George

from a pure business sense, it makes sense.

Also allows Naim to focus on their electronics.

It does make sense - I heard once that speakers take up about 20% of the factory, yet contribute 3% to profits. That said, it would be very sad - I'm listening to my SL2s now, and they are truly wonderful: feats of engineering that few other companies would have produced. 

I attended  the Bristol Hi Fi show on Friday whilst making enquires during the demo in the Naim room about upgrading my system I was reliably informed that if I wanted S400s they only had a few pairs left no more being produced but they will be keeping sufficient spares in stock

I did also ask if all Naim dealers would be Focal stockists but it appears to be the dealers choice whether to stock the Focal range.

I directly asked the question to naim representative at the Bristol show, the Ovator range will be going out of production, it's all about focal now...

Who knows if this will induce my dealer to make me a huge discount on his gorgeous pair of Rosewood S-400s (I always buy twice every Naim I love). That said, if true I too think it's sad news: Naim loudspeakers have always been a major reason of my love for the brand.

Get in there, Massimo! They'd look lovely in your room. 

Very sad news, 

damn ! if my wallet was not emptied for the recent 552 purchase, i' d rush to buy a new S400 or 600 for my 

2nd or eventually 3rd system. Like alternative i' d by everything but Focal.

Regards

Roberto

I am glad I got  my 400s just over 3 years ago and not a minute of regret. Another great product joins that illustrious line of Naim history of innovations. Long live the Ovators!

It makes business sense not having two company brands competing in the same product sector.  However it does raise the question about Ovator technology being adopted for use in the Focal range.    

Frank F posted:

Looks like there will be Focal for us Naimees.

FF

Nothing wrong with Focal!

Naim is dropping the Ovators to focus on resuscitating the Aro.

Or not.

It may have been the room but listening to the Sopras at Bristol yesterday I found them a bit edgy with some glare which I do not get with the Ovator s600s. The Ovators are very natural sounding.

Hungryhalibut posted:

It does make sense - I heard once that speakers take up about 20% of the factory, yet contribute 3% to profits. That said, it would be very sad - I'm listening to my SL2s now, and they are truly wonderful: feats of engineering that few other companies would have produced. 

Ditto. A sad day. First Naim speakers i heard were Credos long before i ended up with a Naim system. Went on to own Allaes & now SL2s along with n-Sats, n-Sub & Axcent for AV duties. Feel very lucky to own a range of speakers that are no longer in production. 

wenger2015 posted:

I directly asked the question to naim representative at the Bristol show, the Ovator range will be going out of production, it's all about focal now...

When the merger was announced, Active Fans like myself, was concerned about the future of Naim Active Systems.

Articles was popping up like dandelions:

""Currently I think that only Linn and Naim promote active technology in the domestic hifi market, although it is common in pa/concert rigs. It will be interesting to watch developments as to whether the Focal/Naim merger leads to more or less active systems?

This very specialised expertise means that in practice few people will ever own an active system, even thought the rewards are great.""

""It's a good buy for Focal. Focal has mostly loudspeaker experience but they also have powered speakers and automotive amplifiers. Naim is skilled at making compact, clean amplifiers and digital gear, so they can help further develop the amplifiers used in the Focal lines. Focal also produces powered subwoofers of course and all need amp modules, so having a top quality source is a good thing. They also push the envelope with regard to state of the art loudspeaker innovations and we might find an active x-over or powered woofer, etc in use in their home loudspeakers as well as pro monitors. Further, it gives Focal a strong presence in the UK...""

Is the Glass half empty, or half  full!  

Time will Tell !

I for one would sure like to see Active Sopra’s or Scala’s V2!

Allante93!

As others have suggested, this would seem to make some sense from a business perceptive - why compete in the same market? And as a Focal fan I wouldn't be disappointed personally.  That said, the S800 isn't very old and I guess Naim would have invested substantially in R&D before launching it so I suspect they might not have recovered their costs on that model.  No doubt they will continue to support the Ovator model range with spares etc.

While it makes sense business-wise it is quite disappointing news to this of us who liked  Naim speakers.  Also   tough to see where active goes now.  It would seem to be in Focal's ballpark to develop active speakers or just forget about it altogether.   A few of us on the forum seem to indicate that Focal is the default.  There is a wide spectrum of speakers to consider if one is replacing Naim speakers in their system.  

George Fredrik Fiske posted:

It might be wise to wait for a comment from HQ in Salisbury before taking this too seriously.

If true, then I suppose that the Active cross-vers are also numbered in their days of production.

ATB from George

 Interesting point George but with Kudos starting to produce some of their models in active configuration Naim might need to think seriously about this could develop.