My new 250 just went KABOOM!
Posted by: Todd A on 19 December 2003
My new-style NAP 250 that I've been enjoying since May just went KABOOM! More specifically, I was sitting there, listening to Ivo Pogorelich play Chopin's B-minor scherzo at a moderately loud volume, then, then, I heard a really, really loud clank and smelled something burning. I thought it was the Joseph, but when I hurriedly plugged my MA in and - nope, 'twas the 250. All is unplugged and ready to be taken back to the stereo shop tomorrow.
Needless to say, I'm very displeased at spending over $4000 on an amp to have it blow up during a solo piano piece played at a volume lower than I usually listen at. If my speaker is damaged, I'll be really pissed, and I will never buy Naim again. I certainly hope that the folks in Chicago can fix this quickly so I won't have to listen to too many of my Christmas operas through my Nait.
"The universe is change, life is opinion." Marcus Aurelius, Meditations
Needless to say, I'm very displeased at spending over $4000 on an amp to have it blow up during a solo piano piece played at a volume lower than I usually listen at. If my speaker is damaged, I'll be really pissed, and I will never buy Naim again. I certainly hope that the folks in Chicago can fix this quickly so I won't have to listen to too many of my Christmas operas through my Nait.
"The universe is change, life is opinion." Marcus Aurelius, Meditations
A real minefield here: 
Would it be just as insulting if you described an attractive female hifi demonstrator as "drop dead gorgeous"? Though it would certainly irritate at least a proportion of your readers.
I have a slight human-behavioural problem here. With whether a person can, or cannot use their appearance to 'sell' themselves or a product. Why should one draw the line at accepting intelligence in any individual? Yet dismiss those given the gift of sexual attraction instead? Both are genetically pre-ordained before birth. Why should one particular human quality be subordinate to another? Carried to its logical conslusion one might assume that the brightest (and thus most successful) amongst us get the most attractive partners. So the human race gets a prettier and more intelligent blond(e). Would this affect their taste in hifi?
But back to the plot: With a rather tentative figure of 4% of the population being gay. The presence of an 'effeminate male' demonstrator is at least catering to a not-insignificant fraction of the hifi buying public. However innocent the demonstrator himself might be in all of this. And assuming he did not actually put huge numbers of homophobics off the product.
So why aren't all high-end, hifi sales persons knowledgable, attractive women? (If only men are supposed to buy hifi to fit the usual stereotype). Presumably intelligent, attractive women can make more money doing something much more interesting or useful?
Interesting parallel here with the TNT piece on "Sex & HIFI" (Editor's corner '01). I rarely see hifi magazines these days. But I doubt things have changed much. Whether one believes in using sex to sell absolutely everything is no longer left to the consumer these days. Unless he, or she, chooses to boycott that particular product on principle. But would anybody else notice?
Nime
Everyone has the right to be wrong.
Would it be just as insulting if you described an attractive female hifi demonstrator as "drop dead gorgeous"? Though it would certainly irritate at least a proportion of your readers.
I have a slight human-behavioural problem here. With whether a person can, or cannot use their appearance to 'sell' themselves or a product. Why should one draw the line at accepting intelligence in any individual? Yet dismiss those given the gift of sexual attraction instead? Both are genetically pre-ordained before birth. Why should one particular human quality be subordinate to another? Carried to its logical conslusion one might assume that the brightest (and thus most successful) amongst us get the most attractive partners. So the human race gets a prettier and more intelligent blond(e). Would this affect their taste in hifi?
But back to the plot: With a rather tentative figure of 4% of the population being gay. The presence of an 'effeminate male' demonstrator is at least catering to a not-insignificant fraction of the hifi buying public. However innocent the demonstrator himself might be in all of this. And assuming he did not actually put huge numbers of homophobics off the product.
So why aren't all high-end, hifi sales persons knowledgable, attractive women? (If only men are supposed to buy hifi to fit the usual stereotype). Presumably intelligent, attractive women can make more money doing something much more interesting or useful?
Interesting parallel here with the TNT piece on "Sex & HIFI" (Editor's corner '01). I rarely see hifi magazines these days. But I doubt things have changed much. Whether one believes in using sex to sell absolutely everything is no longer left to the consumer these days. Unless he, or she, chooses to boycott that particular product on principle. But would anybody else notice?
Nime
Everyone has the right to be wrong.
Would that be the NAP 150 is slightly effeminate? Whereas the NAP 500 is butch?
Alternatively, is "listening to Ivo Pogorelich play Chopin's B-minor scherzo at a moderately loud volume", is this mildly "jocund"? Whereas, shaking the house down at 100+ decibels, is this "loud" or just garish and vulgar?
Be PC or not, does it really matter, as long a people have a sense of humour, decency, and integrity? The real issue is "was the 250 fixed FOC and returned to its owner ASAP".
Keep to the point...
Alternatively, is "listening to Ivo Pogorelich play Chopin's B-minor scherzo at a moderately loud volume", is this mildly "jocund"? Whereas, shaking the house down at 100+ decibels, is this "loud" or just garish and vulgar?
Be PC or not, does it really matter, as long a people have a sense of humour, decency, and integrity? The real issue is "was the 250 fixed FOC and returned to its owner ASAP".
Keep to the point...