Sometimes painful when I listen to my Naim...

Tough story, Hawk. Dont' know what to say.

i don't often comment on these kind of things but your post touched me hawk so here goes:
as i see it, success in life can be measured, if that's the right word, in many ways. i think that financial success is great but much more important are things like the people we inspire and the lives that are, in some way, better for having been touched by us. On these grounds it sounds like your friend has no doubt been the cause of much happiness in many peoples lives. perhaps bear this in mind and enjoy the gift he has introduced you to - he may have lost his money but at least let the more important things remain to his credit.

quote:

Originally posted by JAB:
he may have lost his money but at least let the more important things remain to his credit.

I'm sure that as he returns to the homeless shelter tonight, he will take great comfort from this thought.

there's no need to be a twat here mate. ofc its horrible to be in that situation - have you ever been there or near to it? do you know what it feels like to have years and years of hard work crushed through circumstances beyond your control? i'm not making light of it, simply trying to offer the OP another perspective. pitying the chap ain't gonna make a difference at all.

My wife has finally started calling me bitter after I point out yet another Maserati, Ferrari or Lambo in the neighbourhood ...

Something ain't right, the rich are getting really rich and the poor are losing their homes.

Thanks for the comments. There are great memories. I'd ride my racing bike over to the store, and hang out. Met some great customers. He never listened to music, beyond demos in the store. He got his pilot's license at 18, would fly to cities in the U.S. to hear the top rock acts of the time. He owned every 45 ever made. Nobody could tune an LP12 like him. His integrity was amazing. A guy would come in wanting an expensive pair of speakers, and would end up getting a new Grado on his table. He was ruthless about hierarchy - everything started with the source. He had some good years, but generally he poured everything he had into the business. He carried Naim from day one. He once told me, if he couldn't carry Naim, he would get out of the stereo business. He was a great mentor, always gave sage advice. Over the last few years, he changed and it strained our relationship. He just didn't seem to look after his business anymore. He had major financial issues, but never talked about it. Didn't socialize much. Like I say, pretty sad ending.

Could be that he has mental health issues?

Sad story Hawk.

What was the name of his store?

quote:

Originally posted by JAB:
there's no need to be a twat here mate. ofc its horrible to be in that situation - have you ever been there or near to it? do you know what it feels like to have years and years of hard work crushed through circumstances beyond your control? i'm not making light of it, simply trying to offer the OP another perspective. pitying the chap ain't gonna make a difference at all.

Your post was incredibly patronising twaddle - "he may be homeless, but as he made people happy its all OK". Utter rubbish. The bloke has lost everything, he'll be devastated.

I thought my sarcasm was obvious.

I'm keeping my friend and his store anonymous. It's funny, he was always interested in concepts related to the idea that you create who you are. I see an analyst to help me with concerns in my life. My friend would bug me about my desire for analysis. The last few times we talked, he said my OCD was a joke, that it was only in my head, that it wasn't real. I asked him honestly if he might be the author of his own problems, to whatever degree? He swore at me. I'm trying not to be critical of him. But for him to say my OCD is a joke, that I could just turn it off, and yet in his case the implication seemed to be that external forces were the cause of his demise, was, well, a bit much. He didn't end up homeless overnight. He made many decisions and choices along the way. Yet many others flourished while his business suffered. There is one constant - Naim Audio is consistently good and reliable. How can someone have an exclusive territory to sell Naim, and not make a go of it? The toughest thing, in the end, was a lack of honesty from him. I gave him money up front for Naim speakers, he played me for 4-5 months, gave me every excuse for their non arrival. He never asked me for help, but spent my money instead. I ended up paying twice for the speakers. I would have helped him, had he asked. He never gave me the chance.

quote:

Originally posted by The Hawk:
he said my OCD was a joke, that it was only in my head,

Perversely, he may just be right on that.

Something I heard on the radio today that they had tracked OCD (and various other conditions) to some defect on the cells in the brain that are part of the immune system. They then went on to cure it in mice by doing a bone marrow transplant.
Not really practical for human treatment given the fatality rate associated with the procedure but may open the door to other treatments in the future.

Regards,

Willy.

Hawk, don't be hard on yourself about your friend, you paid twice for those speakers, so in effect you did help him. Cheers JAB for two good posts.

Regards, Chris

Willy, that's a good point, and that's exactly what I told him. It all comes down to electricity and chemicals in the brain. How neurotransmitters get the message across.
Christopher, i agree that helped him, but I would have like to help him in the long run. Give him a free place to stay in my home in Ontario. It seemed he felt that stereo, and Naim, were his life, and I don't think that was healthy. Once upon a time, I had a great friend who was obsessed with Harley's. His life revolved around his motorcycle. I tried to point out that he was a neat person above and beyond his motorcycle, but he didn't see that. I haven't listened to my Naim in weeks. Sometimes it's just great to stream from my macbook pro to my Apple Stereo, while I peruse this forum. I was just in my backyard, sitting under my walnut trees (24 of them,towering 4 stories overhead), sipping a beer, breathing the fresh air, and watching my Yorkies wander thru the yard. Life can be great, and it's all about balance.

Ontario Linn & Naim dealers are few and far between ...

Sounds to me as if you did not abuse your dealer's services, and as already said, you paid twice for your speakers.

For many years I dealt with one Linn/Naim dealer and he became a friend. About 20 years ago he got into financial difficulty and "downsized", restarting business in the same town under another name.

I continued to deal with him because I liked his personal service, and made several (some would say many) thousand pounds worth of purchases over the years. He gave up the Linn side of things for various reasons, but continued to service my LP12. About the time that I decided to go for the Naim nsystem for my AV setup he seemed to get into problems again, and I loaned him a few thousand pounds, interest-free for a year (friend to friend). He did suggest that I join his business as a partner, but I declined following discussions with SWMBO, as I am retired due to ill-health and didn't really wish to get involved with a new career

Problems seemed to develop with obtaining an nsystem from Naim for demo, and it transpired that he had "parted company" with Naim. He suggested I go elsewhere for the n-System, and recommended my current dealer (Castle Sound and Vision, Nottingham). Soon after I got my nsystem from them, he disappeared from my life. No idea where he has gone and I have had to write off the debt.

Castle Sound have done very well out of me since then, to the extent of more than £10000 of gear. Alas, they do not deal with Dynavector, so I may have to go elsewhere for that now that my Te Kaitura is reaching the end of its life.

So, it may well be that your dealer was the architect of his own misfortune. I believe that my former dealer was an enthusiast, but a poor businessman. You can only help other people so far, and if they refuse help or abuse your help/friendship, then that becomes their problem.

crikey Mike, you are certainly living up to your profile occupation here! I have no desire to get into a spat with you here so i'll try once more to rephrase what i meant - perhaps i failed to communicate it well and i certainly had no intention of being patronising. i guess all i was trying to say was that from the OP's perspective he was finding that this unfortunate experience was ruining his enjoyment of music. what i tried to do was to offer another perspective that, while in no way minimises the sadness of what has happened to his friend, might help the OP to separate the enjoyment he should rightfully find in his music from what has happened to the person who introduced him to naim.

and, fwiw, yes i've been in the position i referred to in my second post. i do not intend to get into that any further here but perhaps the experience allows me an alternative view on this and that is all i was trying to share.