As Paul Benson is now dead and can't reply and I was one of the small full-time Hi-Fi Answers team (Paul/Tony/me) who produced and 'promoted' the Linn/NAD/Minimax system I think I need to put the record straight.
The whole thing sprang from an article called 'Low Finance High Fidelity' I wrote for Answers reviewing the Sansui SR-222/NAD 3030/Celef Domestic II Supers - I'd tried updating this system when the 3030 was replaced by the 3020 to include a Linn/Rega arm front end and initially used ITT 8070 speakers and later Audiomasters. About this time the Editor of Greetings magazine - we shared an office with her - wanted the best quality hi-fi for a very fixed and limited budget. With this in mind I put together a Linn/Rega/Grado FTE front end with an NAD and the cheapest quality speakers we knew - the original Videotone Minimax speakers. The system was real, I used it, I installed it for Terry, editor Benson heard it and we agreed it was important enough to include in his system reviews (more influenced by Russ Andrews and Richard Hey of Nytech than any Glaswegian bogeyman) in the April 1979 issue where the Linn was recommended in 9 out of 10 systems ranging in price from £336.75 to £4303.23 (the odd system out was the cheapest - having a Rega Planar).
There was no 'rider issued' months later about Codas and no 'Editors' requiring headlines. It would be good if people got their fact straight.
DGP