Naim Audio builds out-of-this-world music systems. Wallpaper* has had a listen

An industrial estate in Salisbury, UK, is an unexpected place to find a purveyor of premium audio. It’s even more unexpected to see a small shed set up for the sole purpose of building, shaping and tuning the audio capabilities of Bentley’s current line-up. This is Naim Audio, a longstanding British hi-fi brand that combines hand-built, high-end components with a sideline in elegant standalone systems – including the Mu-so wireless speaker, now in its second generation – and responsibility for making Bentleys sound so good, inside and out.

Since 2011, Naim has been part of the French audio group Focal, a partnership that has given the cult manufacturer a much larger stage. It also builds on the ongoing collaboration with Bentley, one that began in 2005 thanks to a Naim system-owning Bentley executive reaching out to the manufacturer.

I recently visited Naim Audio’s facility, tucked away amongst big-box discount stores and car dealerships, to see the company’s wares being made and hear them being played, both in situ in the dedicated Naim listening room and in the relatively cramped confines (with four on board) of a Bentley Continental GT.

A team of around 150 people work for Naim in this facility, building each and every one of the premium components from scratch (all-in-one systems are subcontracted to another manufacturing facility). Although standalone components and all-in-one systems are very different animals, there's also the additional complexities of designing for a car interior. Bentley had previously worked with Sony, but the move to Naim was inspired in part by Aston Martin’s then collaboration with Linn, one of the earliest examples of a specialist hi-fi manufacturer working on in-car audio system. Bentley wanted to go one better.

Naim’s flagship home audio system is the Statement, a mighty and monolithic pre- and power amp that’s aimed at audiophiles who demand only the very, very best. Comprising the NAC S1 preamplifier and twin NAP S1 mono power amplifiers (speakers are extra), Statement reads as three vertical slabs, shaped to aid the conduction of air over the heat sink, with the power supply in the base of the unit and shielded electronics above.

The side-mounted heat sinks are milled from solid billets of aluminium, which is subsequently hand polished to achieve the wave-like forms that flank the unit. With a combined weight of over 260kg and a price that’ll easily exceed a quarter of a million pounds once you’ve invested in speakers, turntable, etc, this is a truly solid investment for serious music lovers. Buyers also get a specialist installation from Naim’s own team, as well as a set of custom flight cases for storage and movement of the unit.

This attention to detail can be traced back to the company’s origins. Naim Audio Visual was founded by the engineer Julian Vereker in 1969, building on his experience with recording and mixing live music. Vereker (1945-2000) was soon building his own bespoke amplifiers in a search for the perfect reproduction of a recording; he won a contract to supply the nascent Capital Radio in London with equipment.

Naim Audio came along in 1973, setting up in an ancient shop in the heart of medieval Salisbury. Around this time, Vereker found a like-minded audiophile in Ivor Tiefenbrun, whose company Linn was making acclaimed turntables. Both recommended each other to buyers and together, a Linn and a Naim proved an unbeatable combination.

Understandably, this level of technical perfection and expense is never going to result in a disposable product. Naim proudly services practically every model it has ever made, going all the way back to the early 1970s. ‘We do what we do because we love listening to music at home,’ is an oft-heard refrain on the factory floor.

Naim builds a number of its own components and tests sub-contracted supplies rigorously, rejecting all but the very best. Statement is soak tested – switched on and off – for a 24-hour period, as well as play for a week before being signed off.

In 1991, Naim moved into CD players with its CDS model, going so far as to release its own series of albums on the Naim Label to provide a sufficient quality benchmark.

High-end audio is often characterised by such extreme attention to detail, and during the installation process, Naim’s team will strive to get the best placement for your new equipment. Empty rooms cause problems, while elements like books, records, rugs, and curtains all help create a neutral acoustic canvas.

For long, narrow rooms, you’re better off ‘firing’ the speakers across the width of the room, aimed at a hard wall to reflect the sound. Don’t place your speakers too close to the wall or else it will confuse the depth of the soundstage. Modern digital processing allows speakers to correct these errors – such as the Naim-powered Diva Utopia from Focal – but generally the less error correction the better.

Each Statement system takes two people one month to build. Although it makes its components from the ground up, Naim is adamant that it’s not necessarily an innovator, but a perfector. ‘We make CD or streaming work better,’ they say, adding simply, ‘we add value’. Sometimes, that quest for perfection errs on the eccentric, like the machine the company has created to hang up audio cables and give them a good shake. Apparently, if you do this to a connector cable around 150 times, it sounds audibly better, yet no one quite knows why – as the company readily admits.

The difference between excellent and exceptional audio quality goes beyond the emotional appreciation of audio. Companies like Naim operate in a rarefied space where intangible percentages differ from one listener to another. The more knowledge you have – whether it’s about acoustics, electronics or the recording process – the more expensive it becomes to accommodate and corroborate every facet of your understanding. Ignorance isn’t necessarily bliss, but it is cheaper. Naim’s offering is clearly addictive. Those who immerse themselves in Naim’s audio world find a combination of quality, support and beautifully designed products that will accompany them throughout their lives.

There’s another type of Naim owner, someone who might not think of the small Salisbury company in quite the same way. These people are Bentley drivers. The current generation Bentley Continental GT Speed contains no fewer than 20 speaker drivers with 2,200W of power. Two of those drivers sit beneath the plush leather seats to add serious vibrations to your soundtrack.

A Bentley interior, whether it’s the Continental GT, Flying Spur or Bentayga, is a richly cossetting environment in which to listen to music, plus they all cost slightly less than a Naim Statement. Big spenders might want to look at the seriously impressive system in the £1.6m Bentley Batur or even the Pininfarina Battista, both of which incorporate bespoke Naim systems. Naim also supplies the systems you’ll find aboard Princess Yachts.

But what does it all sound like? Sitting back in the soft chairs of the listening room, Naim’s team put the Statement through its paces. Naim says that many customers end up obsessed with relistening to music they know well, discovering new facets and aspects of a recording that might have been lost to lesser equipment.

It’s harder to gauge how you feel when presented with a piece you’ve never heard before – what you hear first is production quality and musicianship, rather than emotion or memory. The texture and depth of the instruments is remarkable, however, and the sense of being in the room with the performance is unmatched. Nevertheless, I can’t help but feel that there’s a disconnect between the endless quest for audiophile perfection and the often messy, imperfect brilliance of a favourite piece of music. Can two such disparate things ever be reconciled?

A Naim Statement system costs from £234,997, more information at

NaimAudio.com, @NaimAudio