The state of the UK Hi-Fi Industry...and what might be done

[Wonfor14]

Maybe the way to get What Hi-fi's attention is to challenge them to a bake-off? Whatever amplifier gets their biggest recommendation at £4k to £10k vs the best NVA pre-power and phono amp.

[Wonfor14]

I do not have much faith in any what hifi staff giving their true thoughts about a bake off. There are so many vested interests intertwined like a pit of snakes in the hifi business it is impossible to rely on anything said and written. The forums suffer from this too. Trust no-one . I laugh when I see written "I look forward to reading your thoughts on blah blah).

Klarna might be a game changer - one can only hope. Getting the kit in prospective purchaser's homes is the ultimate. We all know not to trust what something sounds like in a dealer's listening room.

The forums are a dead end. There is a brick wall that can't be breached partly due to RD and partly due to certain "influencers" not liking the fact that there is no filter in a place where a text book or Phil down the pub says there should be.

Bake offs may be getting going again now that people are willing to start living with covid. There needs to be NVA gear at as many of these as possible however I suspect these bake offs will be populated by the usual forum suspects.

The market that needs cracking is the younger folk, those who are not sad enough to frequent boring hifi forums or give a shit about flat graphs but can see the value in reproduction equipment which is giving more music and emotion than a phone and a Bluetooth speaker. There is not much point trying to mine the one foot in the grave traditional hifi enthusiast IMO unless used as a stepping stone to a bigger and more rewarding market.

NVA sounds wonderful to many of us. It's minimalism is one of its advantages but some may not see it that way. The average living room in this country is small, especially so for the younger end of the market who struggle to get on the housing ladder. They don't require huge speakers with behemoth amplifiers which can also be used for welding. Small is good enough.

In my own case I use amps with what some would call puny power supplies- 100VA , 25-0-25V EI transformers. Coupled with a 6.5" mid bass in speakers of approx 86dB I want for no more in my small room at relatively low volume. I've tried the big 350VA toroids, 12" bass drivers and I prefer what I have now and not by a small margin.

My point was nva can keep things realistically small which is cheaper and the people who matter the most (music enthusiasts not spec and bling loving willy wavers) will have all they ever need. Anything more is just overkill and may actually lead to people discounting it. Modern living requires small, cute, easy to use (but still good performing) not speakers the size of fridges and amplifiers that can heat your house even on idle.

All IMO of course. People like us are very much a minority and also a dying breed.

[karatestu]

I once had the idea of building a nva amp into the case of another make and not telling anyone.

Then take it to as many bake offs as possible whilst passing it off as whatever badge was on the front. I thought this would be an interesting and amusing thing to do as it would bypass everyone's preconceptions and bias about nva. They may however have preconceptions about what ever brand name was plastered on the front.

I am sure many would be fooled. It could be periodically rebuilt into other different cases and used to really test the "exoert's" ears It would also show how much misinformation there is on the forums and how severely biased members are.

[antonio66]

Maybe the What Hi-fi staff should be given an invitation to the NVA production and admin facilities.

During which they'd be received in a hospitable fashion and given small gifts to go home with. And told about the NVA ethos. What NVA have been trying to do for the last 20 years and continue to do. The heritage of NVA. The DNA of NVA.

The less is more approach. The care about power supplies and why they are important. The lack of transformers in the signal path of the phono amps, and why they are suitable for such a wide range of cartridges without modification.
Why stepped attenuators work so well as pre-amps when mated to NVA power amps.
The attention to detail extending to acrylic cases for no eddy currents and low capacitance cables. Etc etc etc.

Spin them a story. One with siege mentality thrown in.

During their visit they'd also be given a demo of the top of the range NVA equipment.

[antonio66]

I once had the idea of building a nva amp into the case of another make and not telling anyone.

Then take it to as many bake offs as possible whilst passing it off as whatever badge was on the front. I thought this would be an interesting and amusing thing to do as it would bypass everyone's preconceptions and bias about nva. They may however have preconceptions about what ever brand name was plastered on the front.

I am sure many would be fooled. It could be periodically rebuilt into other different cases and used to really test the "exoert's" ears It would also show how much misinformation there is on the forums and how severely biased members are.

Just a plain case and tell them that is your own design.

[antonio66]

There are some cool, creative ideas in the posts above - I didn't get a chance to reply, over the weekend, as our electricity has been off for most of the time.

Don't underestimate the hostility towards companies like NVA from industry players like What Hi-Fi. Advertising is what keeps those publications alive. Those advertisers do not want us to expose the way the industry works. Magazines will take our advertising money, but there is a limit to what we can say, there.

I think we will most frequently need to circumnavigate the traditional hi-fi industry. Social media is the obvious place to start - and Facebook is by far the most popular platform with our 'most likely' customer demographic.

One idea I've been thinking about is to create a campaign through the NVA Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/hfsaudio

Along the lines of... The Campaign for UK Hi-Fi at fair prices. Not very catchy, I know, but you get the gist. Suggestions welcome. This would be a place for people who are similarly concerned about the 'bling case, moderate internals' game and the general 'luxurification' of specialist hi-fi, and we can also use this forum.

PS. If you're not already following our Facebook page, then now is the time!!

[Latteman]

At sometime we all have the friend who is either searching for an upgrade or just plain advice on hifi / music- recently I introduced a friend to Nva amps and he is now an Nva owner. For a friend wanting advice on a new system I would previously recommend the original starter kit; P20, A20 & Cubettes.
The word of mouth and demo is powerful
Unfortunately my experience is that Nva is still frowned upon as the hater’s have done a good job- my new Nva owner friend is someone who had heard the hate rants- wether he believed or not it was enough to avert his gaze to other brands. Now, I believe he will tell one other about Nva who will tell another etc etc

Nva changes lives - fact

[Wonfor14]

One of the problems I have found you can not trust the bugger to tell the truth, advert pay wages.
So guys like NVA and me get side line and the truth can not compensate for money I found.
Lies rule it seems, so I do not want anything to do with such snakes having had one as bastard business partner.
A lying git of a man a bloody bully to boot. I do hope there is a hell for these scum bags.

Sorry got on high house again.

Richard I suspect had lots of crap from these NOT TRUTH TELLERS and NVA is good kit and good value. But if you ain't got money or you are a bit wacky then you are out bruv.

[antonio66]

Well you can get off that house and back on your horse Colin

Nothing wrong with having a rant once in a while, gets it out of your system, but pleased to see you have had some good feedback on your latest stuff.

[quickie2]

Colin, if I ever had to change from nva (perish the thought) you would be my first port of call. Keep knockin' em out