Naim Audio
| Naim Audio | |
|---|---|
| legal form | |
| founding | 4th June 1973 |
| Seat | Salisbury |
| sales | £ 18 million |
Naim Audio ['neɪm] is a hi-fi manufacturer founded in 1973 and based in Salisbury, UK . The company designs and manufactures a wide range of hi-fi products such as amplifiers and digital music systems.
history
Naim was founded in 1969 under the name Naim Audio Visual by Julian Vereker, who at the time rented a self-constructed lighting control system to film production companies. Out of dissatisfaction with the sound of the professional recording equipment available, he developed his own power amplifier . The official registration under the name Naim Audio took place in 1973. Contrary to the prevailing view at the time and formulated by audio pioneer Edgar Villchur that the sound of a hi-fi system only depends on the speakers and amplifiers are only a means to an end to turn the speakers into To set movement, Vereker set out to put his ideas into practice.
The first product Naim brought to market was the NAP 200 power amplifier . The NAC 12 preamplifier followed shortly afterwards. The NAP 250 two-channel power amplifier, introduced in 1975, is perhaps Naim's best-known analog product because its basic circuit layout was also used in all of the following Power amplifiers used until the NAP 500 was introduced as the new flagship in 2000. The first integrated amplifier from Naim was called NAIT and found a large following.
In 1983, Guy Lamotte was hired as chief developer. He developed the VHF tuners NA T01 and NAT101 and was in charge of the development of the Hi-Cap power supply, the further developments of the increasingly popular NAC 42 and NAC 32 preamplifiers, as well as the NAXO active crossover , which are marked with "-5" . Privately, he worked on a prototype for an electrostatic loudspeaker model, which was also reported in the media. It was officially taken over by Naim in 1987 after the partnership between Linn and Naim ended. The design of many classic Naim products is attributed to Roy George, who attended the University of Southampton and was employed by Naim in 1985 as Technical Director. For much of the 1980s, Naim argued that the compact disc was the clearly inferior medium to the record . In fact, transfer losses often occurred in the early phase of the CD compared to the vinyl LP and Naim continued to design its products under this premise. However, Naim was able to expand its know-how in the field of digital technology to such an extent that the company launched its first CD player (model CDS) in 1991. The construction of the CDS was unusual for a two-component player in that the D / A converter was housed in the same housing as the drive and audio circuits, while the power supply was in a separate housing.
In 2008, Naim presented the HDX music server, heralding a new chapter in the company's history. The first network player followed in 2009, an all-in-one device called NaimUniti with UPnP streaming function and web radio. The network-based products from Naim opened up new operating options, which was reflected in the development of a dedicated operating app for smartphones and tablets. From 2010, Naim expanded its portfolio of network-based products significantly.
On August 19, 2011, a merger between Naim and Focal-JMLab was publicly announced. The two existing companies are run jointly under the name Focal & Co and employ a total of 325 people at two locations in Saint Etienne, France and Salisbury, Great Britain. The new company's pro forma sales are £ 48 million annually. According to official company information, both brands will continue to coexist and operate independently of each other. There should be no changes in management or in customer orientation and experience. The focus of the merger is to be on brand development through increased collaboration in research and development projects. The capital owners of Focal & Co continue to be the previous owners of the respective companies (including Jacques Mahul and the management staff of Focal and Naim). The merger was implemented by exchanging company shares for shares in the holding company. No information was given on the ownership structure or the ratings.
Products
The company produces music systems, music streaming devices, network players, music servers, amplifiers, CD players, digital-to-analog converters, power supplies, speakers and accessories.
Until 1989, Naim devices were recognized at first glance by their heavy black aluminum housings with polished ends (called “chrome bumpers”). Black cases with olive-colored front panels followed. In 2002 Naim introduced black cases with black fronts. Like other hi-fi manufacturers (e.g. Arcam or Cyrus), Naim states that better and more consistent performance is achieved if the devices are switched on for a longer period of time. There is no known evidence in the form of blind tests or measurements that prove an influence of the switch-on time on the sound.
Partnerships
For much of the 1970s and 1980s, Naim worked very closely with Linn Products , so the two companies were often mentioned in the same breath. For many hi-fi enthusiasts at the time, the perfect system consisted of a Linn Sondek LP12 turntable, a Naim amplifier and Linn speakers.
The two companies had almost identical sales and marketing strategies and their products were in many cases offered in the same stores or dealers. As is often the case with newly founded companies, company founder Vereker was very involved in marketing and advertising, for example his picture was used for advertising purposes. The marketing strategy was to enable customers to make a direct comparison with competing products, although only one pair of loudspeakers was allowed in the demonstration room at a time, in order to prevent the sound from being influenced by the resonance of unused loudspeaker membranes. Therefore, a conscious decision was made to turn away from the large electronics retail chains and to smaller independent retailers.
With the advent of the digital age during the 1980s, the two companies increasingly went their separate ways. Partly because of technology convergence, but also because the number of Naim dealers was significantly smaller than that of Linn dealers. This fact caused problems for the latter, because Linn loudspeakers were specially designed so that they only achieved optimal sound in conjunction with Naim amplifiers. Both companies expanded their product ranges and thus increasingly penetrated the traditional specialty of the other company. In 1985 Linn launched the LK1 / LK2 amplifier combination, signaling the definitive end of the partnership. Naim started developing speakers and Linn expanded their line of electronic components. In 1987 Naim announced that chief developer Guy Lamotte had been working on a prototype for an electrostatic loudspeaker design and announced a corresponding product launch. However, this never happened because the project had to be discontinued due to escalating costs. In 1995 Naim launched the Armageddon power supply for the Linn LP12 turntable.
In 2008 a partnership was established with Bentley in the “Naim for Bentley” project, in the course of which Naim music systems were offered as extras for Bentley vehicles. The customer response exceeded the expectations of both companies.
In 2010 Naim had 140 employees and exported to more than 40 countries, accounting for about half of its annual turnover of 15 million pounds. About a third of sales came from the sale of CD players. In 2011, 60 percent of sales were generated through exports.
possession
At the time of his death, Julian Vereker owned half of Naim's share capital. The rest was owned by employees like Paul Stephenson, who owned 16 percent. Vereker bequeathed his stake to a trust company of which Stephenson is the agent.
Naim label
With the aim of making compact discs available that are technically and musically of high quality to satisfy analog / vinyl fans, Naim has ventured into the music business. This was to be Vereker's personal project. The first published CD of the new label Naim Edge was Electric Glide by Gary Boyle , one of the favorite demo records in the company.
reception
The FAZ speaks of Naim as a cult brand. According to Stereo magazine , the brand enjoys “almost cultic veneration”.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c A famous Naim for 40 years . whathifi.com
- ↑ Genes from the HiFi upload
- ↑ Lost in Music (PDF) In: Stereo , 11/2006, p. 72 ff.