Stuart Mason
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<body bgcolor="#339999"><p><u><b><font face="Arial">The Nature of Flat Earth</font></b></u></p><p><font face="Arial">This FAQ is not intended to be the definitive interpretation of 'Flat Earth', rather, it is simply a collection of forum member's thoughts and links to potentially useful articles on the web to help people interpret this concept for themselves. As this is a very new section in PFM, I'd be most grateful for any thoughts on this subject to be added to this thread [<a href="http://pinkfishmedia.net/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=365">Definition required please</a>], or alternatively send me a PM outlining your thoughts or other information for inclusion here. </font></p><hr><p><font face="Arial">So, what is Flat Earth? Contrary to what some would have you believe, Flat Earth is not restricted to either Naim or Linn. This isn't a concept defined by brand. Rather, it is a reflection of how people listen to music from their systems - more a value judgement of what's important in music reproduction. That is, dispense with the aspects of reproduction that you can not be sure of (eg. soundstage, imaging & reproduction of the recording environment) and instead concentrate on the construction of the music. Is the bass in time with the percussion? Does the piece hang together as a whole? This, of course, is not to decry the 'rounder' aspects of reproduction. Aspects such as soundstage etc. can enhance the experience. The Flat Earth approach simply gives primacy to the tune (ref. Linn Tune Dem below). </font></p><p><font face="Arial">Pace, Rhythm and Timing (PRaT) would appear to be at the heart of the Flat Earth approach. As with Flat Earth, there is no hard and fast definition of PRaT. One way to think about this is a system's ability to convey the construction or rhythmic content of the music. A lack of PRaT has been likened (by Tony L) to '...time smear across the frequency range with the top end arriving out of sync with the bottom'. </font></p><hr><p><font face="Arial"><b>Useful Links</b>: </font></p><p><font face="Arial"><a href="http://pinkfishmedia.co.uk/">Pink Fish Media - Manifesto</a> - by Tony Lonorgan</font></p><p><font face="Arial"><a href="http://www.stereophile.com/showarchives.cgi?23">Pace Rhythm and Dynamics</a> - by Martin Colloms, Stereophile, November 1992</font></p><p><a href="http://zerogain.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&postid=1235#post1235"><font face="Arial">Marantz - Flat?</font></a><font face="Arial"> - Zerogain - Flat earth is a description of how you listen, not what equipment you prefer. </font></p><p><font face="Arial"><a href="http://www.linn.co.uk/buy_linn/how_to_judge_a_system.cfm">Tune Dem</a> - How to judge and choose your system, Linn.co.uk</font></p><p><font face="Arial"><a href="http://pub110.ezboard.com/fpinkfishmediafrm1.showMessage?topicID=1376.topic">Flat Earth</a> - Flat Earth Audio Systems, PFM forum v1</font></p><p> </p></body>