Mick
I just thought that thread showed a good example of the sniping you hold against most DIY'ers. I know you like Naim, but you do go to great lengths to defend the brand.
Most things can be improved upon including Naim products. They even do this themselves from time to time, tweaking the circuits etc. The big difference with Naim and Avondale (Les) is that Naim MUST limit the performance in the individual product range so that there is a clear upgrade path to provide future upgrade sales / growth. I understand Avondale has ample work and therefore does not need this product range and can maximise the performance of each product accordingly.
Naim want us to beleive there is a black art to the audio circuits, but alas as alot of people have found out by modifing their Naim product's, there is not. It just take's some soldering skill and a bit of electronic's knowledge to make HUGE saving's, whilst IMPROVING the sound quality. I know which path I am going down from now and before you start, I'm a present Naim user.
Regards
Stuart