Naim Audio: Exceptional Audio and Classic Good Looks

Naim Audio is an entry in our Great British Brands 2024 book. 

Naim Audio: Great British Brand 2024

‘We celebrated our 50th anniversary in 2023 with big plans for the future and new products on the way. Naim Audio will never lose sight of its founding vision: to deliver a pure experience of music that is as close as possible to its original live source, and to create a profound, emotional connection between consumers and their favourite artists and tracks.

However, we are also shifting towards a more modern mindset: we can learn from the likes of Apple and Google, which excel at marketing, customer interaction and – importantly – at brand creation. We are a manufacturer, but in today’s world we also need to be a brand, and technology can help with this.

Technology enhances what humans can conceive – it is not it or us, but it with us. Its potential is infinite, but without the ingenuity and creativity of the human brain, it is impaired. Creating sound, and the instinctive emotional reaction we have to it, is an innate human quality. Technology can literally amplify and improve what we hear, and is central to developing and making excellent products. However, a superb listening experience starts and ends with people.

Our future success will certainly involve AI and whatever other new technologies come to the market, but I do not believe tech will ever have the creative capacity of a human. Here’s a recent illustration of what I mean. When we were developing our Bathys wireless active noise-cancelling headphones, many of the key technologies involved were patented by other companies. We appeared to be stuck, but then our team, who are masters of audio, developed a new innovation, and gave us our headphones, which have already become multi award-winners. Nothing can replace human ingenuity. It is this that will best employ technology to develop Naim Audio’s next class-leading products.’

Cédrick Boutonet, CEO

Five Proudest Moments

1. Beginning our collaboration with Bentley in 2008. For 16 years, our exceptional in-car audio system has been the premium choice for Bentley customers.

2. Working with Focal, which makes high fidelity audio systems, since 2011. Together, we’re making class-leading music players, amplifiers, headphones and loudspeakers.

3. Launching our striking Statement amplifier in 2014. It was so far ahead of its time that it’s still our flagship amplifier ten years on.

4. Bringing our phenomenally successful Mu-so 2nd Generation wireless music system to market in 2019.

5. Marking our 50th anniversary in 2023 with new products, global celebrations and a commitment to take Naim into its next half century with even more award-winning products.

What I’ve Learnt

• Have focused strategies and clear road maps with the determination and back-up to implement them.
• Pick the best team for the job with the right commitment and skills to ensure the optimum outcome for each project.
• Success is the result of collaborative work. Again, this goes back to building the best team – people who share your vision.

NAIM AUDIO

Southampton Road, Salisbury, Wiltshire SP1 2LN

+44 (0) 1722 443405

naimaudio.com

@naimaudio