I remember Guy Lamotte writing Naim's new Electrostratic/Ribbon hybrid speaker in HiFi Review circa 1986 and Chris Frankland going into total rave mode about their sound.

So what happened to them? They just seemed to disappear while in the productionization stage.

For that matter, what happened to Guy and Chris, they disappeared too.

Can anyone shed some light?

I believe that the very high voltages required to obtain the performance that Naim wanted resulted in a number of occasions where a huge spark leapt from one speaker to another.

I think it was decided that they were dangerous, and the compromises involved in making them safe would have degraded performance significantly.

For this reason they were shelved - must have been an interesting sound - light unit

Andy.

Andrew L. Weekes
alweekes@audiophile.com

As for Chris Frankland I don't know what he's doing now, but Hi-Fi Review folded very soon after his new magazine Motorcycle Review.

Both were excellent magazines in my view, and I find the alternatives currently on the shelves to be so poor I rarely buy them.

Andy.

Andrew L. Weekes
alweekes@audiophile.com

Obviously a spectacular demo - the sparks must add an interesting edge to a Yello 12" single..

I guess the insulator materials weren't up to the job.

I wonder where the prototypes are?

Hi,

They are probably in a kebab shop zapping flies.

pete

Or executing people in Texas

Maybe that's what happened to Guy and Chris?

Andrew L. Weekes
alweekes@audiophile.com

Well Chris was probably sentenced for cruelty to a perfectly decent six-pack Isobarik system by playing all those Alphonse Mouson records and Larry Carlton LPs through it. Maybe he was execuated in George Benson-acution style a la 'The Day Today's' Elvis-acution.

go to

http://www.audiocircuit.com/9105IMAI-MA.htm

select 'N' ..... Naim / Electrostatic speakers

Blimey, you would need some Mana under that, just to make it look nicer....

mikeh

Rohit.

Thanks for the link. Looking at that picture, I thought it was too bad the thing never came to life, since it would have allowed people obsessed with "matching" all their decor to get into Mana racks.

On it's own, however, it looks like something from Nazi torture chamber:

Vuk.

Hmmm, they do look suspiciouly like Quad '57s without the grilles.

This is a shot of the '57 from behind, all nekid

Joe

[This message was edited by Joe Petrik on TUESDAY 09 January 2001 at 20:04.]

In answer to your question...as it happens, the pair of FL1's is in New Zealand. I had a guy ring me prior to Christmas wanting to sell them. I said yes, and haven't heard from him since! Still time I suppose. He bought them off Guy when he was flatting with him in London in 1980 something. Now going through a messy devorce, he is forced to sell. They may make it back to the Naim museum yet. Fingers crossed.

Chris.

IIRC, there was an article in HiFi World (UK) about the FL1, published within the last 12 months. I didn't eventually buy the issue, but now wish I had!

From what I remember, the FL1 was Guy Lamotte's next project after the ARO, and what finally killed it was that the manufacturing tolerances required for some of the bits were beyond what even British Aerospace could achieve consistently. That and the fact that at some point any design project comes to the end of its budget…

Of course, that was then and this is now. I note an ominous lack of comment from Naim in this thread! Grounds for optimistic speculation?

Best;

Mark

(an imperfect
forum environment is
better than none)

i remember the talk about the electostatics. a friend heard them at the factory (i think) aparantly they sounded great. another problem i think was going to be the price, like DBLs are cheap. their layout is similar to the quads because quad got so much right with their stats- but also too much wrong. much like an aro and an aromatic i hear you all say? i am glad that naim try these ideas, it helps them to come up with interesting solutions. who else woulddevelop transistors like the nap500 ones? or their seperate box loudspeaker technology.
what is on our wish list now?
ashle