Naim clone coming your way soon

Sounsfaber posted:

You would think flea bay could be held liable for this mischief .

"Flea bay" would not exist if they were "held liable" for what sellers do. If you are so exercised about it, submit it.

What ISP do you use at home? If they were held liable for all of the copyright infringement due to torrenting that their customers do, you would not have an isp.

It is hard to compete with people who steal.

Funny they have the word "clone" in the title, so they think that this is OK this way!!!

Hang on, this looks exactly like my 250

Nothing new. Clones have been coming out of China for at least as long as I've been an adult consumer. Hand tools and woodworking tools & machinery where I most often encounter them. My guess is that the Naim clone will perform like a GBP 285 amp. You'll get exactly what you paid for.

Without DIN sockets I wouldn't call it a clone but rather a quote. No one intending to buy Naim would fall for this offer. It somehow shows the the appreciation for the brand though.

There is a Bentley Continental GTC Convertible clone on ebay for $40K. I wonder if it comes with a Naim clone audio system.

It would be interesting to hear naim's position on this one. For example, the circuits of many classic naim gear are available on the web IIRC - is this legal? Maybe naim IS happy with such being public domain? I guess the more complex streamer/DAC circuits aren't public any more, thus we won't see a NDX clone anytime soon.

BTW: The circuit board of that 200 clone on eBay looks exactly like naim's 200 (nonDR) except for the PowerOutlet to the preamp. It should sound quite good, maybe not 100% naim but perhaps 90%. Ok, the transformer is different ... and might not hum as much?

S.

I'd imagine that copying a circuit board begins with scanning an original. No doubt complexities arise from there. FWIW - I noticed in the pics on ebay that the circuit board has a "NAP200" label stamped on it without a "clone" disclaimer. But clones are all about getting the DNA sequencing correct.

copying is done with everyone now from cd /dvds to using common circuits designed by others.  most power amps have design element designed decades ago and valve amp markets are full of clones.  todays turntable is the same

I don't really know what the fuss is about... What does it sound like? I would be very much suprised if it sounded anything like the nearest Naim amp it is modelled on.. There is far more to a Naim product's performance than just its circuit diagram... or even its PCB layout.

i was was brought up to regard plagiarism as the best form of flattery. I could buy a fake/clone Rolex made some where in China as well.. but I don't think I'll bother...

Simon

It's not a clone, it's not even close,  it just looks like a Naim box with a quick glance at a distance.  

So far, the only thing that violates any rule is the OP's inclusion of a direct link in the post. I wonder how Naim has tolerated this.

The link is gone - please no commercial or sale links on hifi corner. As to the "clone", I've seen much better than this. Will it sound anything like aNaim amp? Well, if I gave you a list of ingredients to a Heston blumenthal dish then told you to go get them from the local supermarket and make the dish yourself, how would it compare of you think?

I doubt these clones make a dent of even 0.01% to Naim's revenue. It's clearly aimed at wannabe posers.

A counterfeit on the other hand, selling for a believable price, would be a different story.

As others have noted, these Naim copies have been around for donkey's years but surely no one would be so daft as to imagine they will sound as good as the originals. I've built an amp using chinese "NAP140" boards and, after changing a few components,  it sounded OK. But not a patch on my trusty old NAP150. The copy components are very variable in quality, but although things like transformers can look the part, most of them are terrible! 

Richard Dane posted:

 Well, if I gave you a list of ingredients to a Heston blumenthal dish then told you to go get them from the local supermarket and make the dish yourself, how would it compare of you think?

Point well taken. The difference here is that someone has already bought the ingredients, made the entrée, and placed it on their menu. Just that it's caviar being offered at McDonald's .

The Chinese manufacturer of the Audiolab 8200S ran out of their supply of just one type of capacitor and substituted another of the same value and dielectric type.  Hundreds of amps were sent back because they sounded awful.  That was the effect of changing just one capacitor in the signal path in an amp that's targeted at a lower quality point than Naim.  Unless the clone uses exactly the same components as Naim do, then it won't sound anything like the Naim amp.

This type of component selection is just one of the reasons Naim spend so much time, effort and money on product development, and this work is what we really pay for when we buy their equipment.

Would you dare buy one of these clone amps plug it in then leave on 24/7 

The solution is simple. Use a dealer. They exist for a number of reasons and don't exclusively sell brand new boxes. 

"There is hardly anything in the world that someone cannot make a little worse and sell a little (lot) cheaper, and the people who consider price alone are that person's lawful prey."

Nice quote, to whom is it attributed?

John Ruskin. 

( Google told me, I'm not as erudite as Adam)

SJB

Statement clone next perhaps?  That project would give them something to think about.

Nothing wrong with a clone, unless it infringes copyright (that for Naim to identify and pursue if so). This one at least makes no claim to being a Naim, and says exactly what it is. Up to any buyer to assess whether sound quality is what they want (regardless of whether Naim-like in character), and given that it is likely not possible to audition first it would be a simple agamble on taking the punt.

Quite unlike the Rolex fakes readily available in China - they are exactly that, fakes, which make out they're the real thing, and are illegal <I believe that is technically true in China as well as here, thougn little evidence of efforts to stop).