Naim TV
Posted by: Matthew T on 30 July 2001
Check out loot.
Those buggers at Loot sometimes edit your messages though, and make it look as though you are an illerate berk who has just got some hookey gear to sell.
Or perhaps I am the illerate one?
David
To my surprise, the phone was not only answered but answered by Paul himself! (Actually, I wasn't able to ascertain which Paul it was - I couldn't quite hear what he said, and I felt it would be rude to ask him a third time).
Anyway, after making me promise never to tell another soul, Paul admitted that in the late 80s, frightened by Linn's progress in making products that sounded like Technics on steroids, a top secret "black project" was initiated at Naim. The specific goal of Project Flat Box was to develop a speaker that would sound more like Technics than anything Linn's engineers could even dream of. To this end, several prototypes in various shapes, sizes and configurations were made and field tested in mass market hi-fi shops throughout the country. To maintain secrecy, each was disguised as a speaker from a different manufacturer.
The experiments proved unsuccessful, and all the speakers were collected and destroyed. All, that is, except for a batch of "Pioneer" branded speakers (which were accidentally sold by trainee sales staff at a national chain) and another batch of speakers that were consigned to Harrods. For some reason, Paul was a little cagy about the brand name used to disguise the latter batch.
Paul was going to tell me more about it but he said something indistinct - which sounded like, "I can hear someone coming - I'm going to have to make a run for it." Obviously, he can't have said that but I wasn't able to ask him what he had really said because the next moment he abruptly slammed down the phone...
--Jeremy
If Naim make a duff speaker they can always stick a Linn badge on it!
Actually, I rather like the new Linn Ninkas, but why won't they let you remove the grilles?
It's always a nice day for it, have a good one 
Steve