Atom - DELAYED AGAIN?!?!

Please have a look here:

https://forums.naimaudio.com/to...91#70553749391481491

What I would do is translate the release date into Naim time. When they say end of May translate that to end of July and you will avoid the inevitable disappointment.

Thank you KLOUT10, but its all BS really. Naim need to get a grip. This is big(ish) money being spent here, loyal customers too. I appreciate the "got to get it right sentiment" but come one Naim. Play with a straight bat with your comms!

It is getting a bit ridiculous really. I ordered my Atom the first week pre-orders were announced back in December.

Was even thinking of upgrading my order to a Star instead, but now I won't bother. It would be an even longer wait.

I've been lucky that my dealer was able to get me a SuperUniti loaner while I wait for the Atom. Otherwise I'd probably have looked at other hi-fi options.

I've just received my Audio T newsletter in which the headline states "Naim have confirmed that the Atom will be shipping in June".

They don't specify which June or mention the Star and Nova though.

I'd post a link but it's commercial and so against Forum rules.

Thank's Pev. It astonishes me why Naim can't communicate this. The next question is; how is the inventory being allocated, how many units are available. If they P-off 100 end users that's a blended average of over £250K of potentially lost sales! I bet their Sales Director is doing his or her nut, never mind the share holders.

Good opportunity to snap up the unitI range at good prices.

who wants a volume knob on top anyway? 

I just read on a Dutch hifi site that the Uniti Star and Nova will be in the shops around September ...

Klout10 posted:

I just read on a Dutch hifi site that the Uniti Star and Nova will be in the shops around September ...

Would be presumptuous with the shambles so far to assume this will happen. Could easily be changed.

Giving it until mid June for the Atom then if it is still a no show going to get a refund and have a rethink, probably see what is available in the world beyond Naim.

Klout10 posted:

I just read on a Dutch hifi site that the Uniti Star and Nova will be in the shops around September ...

Thanks to Google translate, so have I, thanks.

It says Naim announced this at the Munich High End Show - it would be reasonable to expect they could also announce it here! GRRRRR!!!

Is there a world beyond Naim? 

Klout10 posted:

Is there a world beyond Naim? 

Got to the stage where I feel like I am in a faltering relationship, constantly revisiting the same failings.

I moan about something,  Naim say they will do better keep me updated, they do this for a week and then don't bother. 

The constant failed promises, the dates that are never met. Absurdly I find this is all taking away from my musical enjoyment. So yes maybe I will take the plunge.

Moan, moan, moan, moan, moan. In the scheme of things, a few delays on something that's totally unnecessary isn't the end of the world. Just go with the flow. Everything comes to s/he who waits. 

Unless you've already paid for one and feel that the maker's taking your brand loyalty for granted.... (which is exactly the situation I'm in)

I,m sure the holding company Vervent that own Naim and Focal have noticed that this has been a dreadful launch, in business you are normally held accountable once the dust has settled.

My assessment is that Naim are still relatively inexperienced in developing, testing and launching streaming technology (that includes software). Getting the final result right has clearly taken them longer than planned. That I believe is forgivable and they will have learnt a lot and will be less likely to get the timeframes wrong next time. What is less easy to forgive is the poor communication over the delays. Again hopefully lessons learned.

It is very tempting for those impatiently waiting for their new toy to give up and buy something else. But to me that is like cutting your nose off to spite your face as I doubt there is anything as good out there. 

ssmith posted:

Klout10 posted:

Is there a world beyond Naim? 

Got to the stage where I feel like I am in a faltering relationship, constantly revisiting the same failings.

I moan about something,  Naim say they will do better keep me updated, they do this for a week and then don't bother. 

The constant failed promises, the dates that are never met. Absurdly I find this is all taking away from my musical enjoyment. So yes maybe I will take the plunge.

SS just more time for you to enjoy music through your UQ2. Time will come for you to enjoy the Atom. If you like the brand don't leave space for bad sentiments.  Who knows if the new stuff is going to fullfil your expectations.  The reality is today you have a great kit to enjoy music.

I have the feeling this new series is going to be something special.

My reading of the situation (with absolutely no insider knowledge) is that it is most likely the "announcement style" launches with cute video promos are a consequence of Naim's new ownership structure. And someone who doesn't know audio all that well made the call to release the promos on a certain date based of the date (get it in in 2016) rather than the readiness of the product.

I don't really suppose someone from Naim can come here and "apologise" that their boss is an ass.

Hang on in there, those of you with an early order will be smiling as we are all clamouring to get on the new Uniti series gravy train when its excellence is revealed.

.sjb

for new customers the range is fine ,for others with naim systems they only require line output and not pay for the power amp section so their wait will be longer

nigelb posted:

My assessment is that Naim are still relatively inexperienced in developing, testing and launching streaming technology (that includes software). Getting the final result right has clearly taken them longer than planned. That I believe is forgivable and they will have learnt a lot and will be less likely to get the timeframes wrong next time. What is less easy to forgive is the poor communication over the delays. Again hopefully lessons learned.

It is very tempting for those impatiently waiting for their new toy to give up and buy something else. But to me that is like cutting your nose off to spite your face as I doubt there is anything as good out there. 

But Nigel why do you assume it's streaming related? It could equally be licence related .......... I agree the product development and release strategy for the more consumer centric products needs to be addressed.. and does come across as somewhat haphazard. I understand all product development and timing decisions are made by Naim in the U.K. with no external direction.

Yes it must be frustrating. However look at the issues the first Core owners has experienced and I think you will be more understanding of the delay. The strange thing is why Naim announced the new range before they had the certifications from 3. parties finalized. That should be a simple issue to communicate from the development department.

Claus

Claus-Thoegersen posted:

Yes it must be frustrating. However look at the issues the first Core owners has experienced and I think you will be more understanding of the delay. The strange thing is why Naim announced the new range before they had the certifications from 3. parties finalized. That should be a simple issue to communicate from the development department.

Claus

Fair point. My only concern is they still have chrome cast certification pending. Hopefully this doesn't cause further delays. Hopefully it all goes to plan and works well for Naim. 

I think that the frustrated among us appreciate the views and elements of information. The point is that it's possibly anecdotal. What are the FACTS? It's Jan, its Apr it's May, now June, it's licensing, it's software, it's compliance, it's....  In my situation there are other dependancies having these boxes.

MangoMonkey posted:

Good opportunity to snap up the unitI range at good prices.

who wants a volume knob on top anyway? 

Good point, the volume knob on the top signals a clear divide between the new Uniti line and the classical range of Naim products. By contrast, the Uniti 2, UnitiQute 2 and SuperUniti could happily live on the same shelves as other Naim separates. I thought this was a clever choice but perhaps a different design can help making Naim's range of products a little bit more understandable.

Simon-in-Suffolk posted:

nigelb posted:

My assessment is that Naim are still relatively inexperienced in developing, testing and launching streaming technology (that includes software). Getting the final result right has clearly taken them longer than planned. That I believe is forgivable and they will have learnt a lot and will be less likely to get the timeframes wrong next time. What is less easy to forgive is the poor communication over the delays. Again hopefully lessons learned.

It is very tempting for those impatiently waiting for their new toy to give up and buy something else. But to me that is like cutting your nose off to spite your face as I doubt there is anything as good out there. 

But Nigel why do you assume it's streaming related? It could equally be licence related .......... I agree the product development and release strategy for the more consumer centric products needs to be addressed.. and does come across as somewhat haphazard. I understand all product development and timing decisions are made by Naim in the U.K. with no external direction.

I am sure it is not one single issue causing the delay and it appears Chromecast certification is still pending. There was also talk of extended (re)testing and tweaking which points to software (and possibly hardware) development. I agree we should't be too judgemental without knowing the facts as someone else pointed out. We all want the best SQ possible so, to some extent, waiting for the product to be right is surely tolerable.

This is a learning process for Naim which is understandable. But they have been in the consumer electronics game long enough now to know how and when (frequency) to communicate to their existing and potential customers. Surely they can get that bit right by now.