Naim used a Naim selected and matched pair of Scanspeak D2008/851100 Tweeters in the SBLs. These were the ones without Ferrofluid.
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Note Iāve edited (see forum rules).
By all means you are free to go ahead and offer your own design of replacement of the Scanspeak tweets. Iām not sure how viable such a project would be though, and obviously forum rules would preclude any further discussion or offering of same here.
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Thanks for the info on which tweeters were used. I was thinking more of a reference redesign for the SL2 crossover which, for fidelity to the original, would probably be limited to just changing the values of the resistors in the L-pad so the levels are back to the original. That could then be done by people like Wilmslow or probably any Naim dealer. The D2008/851100s are the more efficient version so even that may not be necessary - or might be close enough thatās itās a toss up between whether to make a change or maintain originality. Iāve never had a pair of the new tweeters here so I canāt give a more definitive answer than that. I have, however, been meaning to measure those D2010s, and send Naim the measurements as another record since they are the reference tweeters, ever since Roy gave them to me. There are some small advantages to the measurement system I use but the calibration of my mic wonāt be quite as bang on as the B&K mics you have there. I wasnāt thinking of redesigning those tweeters just yet :), though the throat profiles of all of them could do with some work in the light of developments in waveguides since.
I can see why you thought I meant the tweeters themselves but for some reason I canāt edit the post to get rid of the ambiguity. I was really just thinking of something you could put in the hands of the dealers so they could do reliable repairs and not have to be concerned with the supply having come to an end.
Thereās no speaker department at Naim anymore - not for quite a number of years now, and of course Roy has retired completely now. Due to the very limited space at the factory the speaker space and equipment had to make way for expansion of the electronics build areas. What was the speaker department has for a number of years been where the Statement pre and power amps is built and tested. No possibility for any further speaker R&D work (which is what any Naim sanctioned change would require) on the old Naim speakers.
Iāve no idea - it does sound a bit unlikely but it would certainly go some way to making sense of a few things if it were true.
Linn still make some great products but they just donāt seem to be such a major player as they once were. Maybe some of that is due to Mr. T no longer being at the helm (itās Mr. T junior now I believe). That sort of personal drive, conviction, business acumen, charisma and flamboyance is possessed by only a few individuals in whatever field.
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And sometimes they convince and carry people with them without becessarily being rightā¦
Accuracy is a three edged sword.
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D2008/851100 89dB
D2008/851200 88dB
D2010/851100 89dB
D2010/851300 88dB
Very little difference in sensitivity between any, and that which is there is due to the ferrorfluid, not to the size of the faceplate.
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The nature of the beast. Such individuals have shaped our world.
Thanks AI 
Including shaping some peopleās thinking on hifiā¦!
Probably more so with both Linn and Naim than any other brands, at least back in the 70ās and 80ās. The thinking (and results) was so different to anything else around that becoming a customer was for many people to place their trust and belief essentially utterly into the hands of two men with a great vsion of what music at home was all about.
It had more than a little in common with a cult or religion, requiring devotion to the cause and a rejection of all other ways. Many came under the spell, including myself.
Whatever oneās opinion of the equipment or sound one canāt deny that this was quite an achievent - to inspire that kind of trust and devotion from people, especially given the asking prices. I donāt believe itās a phenomenon thatās happened before or since in the world of hi-fi.
Possibly difficult for younger audiophiles who werenāt around at the time to comprehend. Iām glad I lived through that time anyway. It was exciting and lots of fun.
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My secular approach made me immune, so I was never hooked on any of it. That said, in the late 1970s/early 80s I was somewhat convinced about the [probable but slight] superiority of the LP12 over, say, the Thorens TD150, and probable superiority over the direct drive turntables of the day, and I did like what I read about the design of Naimās amps in the fledgeling days, albeit not having heard. But that absolutely did not extend to accepting source first, nor accepting of the desirability of a highly coloured speaker like the Kan. (Nor the rubbish later pedalled by Messrs Hughes and Belt, that some seemed hooked by.)
I never thought Linn/Naim was the best. My heart had been captured by a friendās active valve based system., into Tannoy DCs.
But, I did think that it was a great approach for the entry fee. So, when I got my first job I went and bought an LP12, Ittock, Karma.
A few months later it was joined by a 42.5/110.
This replaced my STD305S, Rega arm and cartridge. Hafler pre and Sony power.
Still got the Sony power amp in the loft!
A friend of mine has just had one of his 135ās eat a tweeter on his active DBLās. The problem is we didnāt realise that it was a 135 that had gone rogue, so replaced the tweeter and turned the amp on. The was a momentary click followed by a horrible frazzling sound. Fortunately, heās built up a small stock of the last remaining pairs of the original Scanspeak tweeter, so all is not lost. The amp will be going back to Naim for repair.
He has a typical āmonsterā hifi system from the 90ās, which is still difficult to beat todayā¦
The poorly DBL undergoing tweeter replacement. Notice the three Mana supports down beloā¦
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All this of course was part of the bible according to Linn/Naim. If you were a disciple then you were required to accept it. To challenge it was heresy. I seriously saw one person virtually ushered out of the door at my then dealers for insisting that he wanted to purchase some large speakers that did āproper bassā rather than upgrade to an LP12 from his Rega 3. The staff ( there were only two of them) laughed afterwards saying that āwe donāt want those kinds of customers thank youā. This kind of attitude was apparently not uncommon amongst so-called flat earth dealers.
Promoting and selling the LP12 was a very serious business that nothing could be allowed to get in the way of. Dealers, as well as customers, were obliged to remain on-message and tow the line if they wanted to remain part of the flock. One dealer whom I also dealt with fell out with Linn because couldnāt sell any Kans as no customers that heard them liked them. On that basis they refused to stock them so were apparently āstruck offā by Linn who refused to deal with them.
It was around the mid 80ās IIRC that the bubble burst and suddenly there was life beyond Linn/Naim for many people. I personally think this had much to do with the introduction of CD. Most reviewers who had Linn/Naim systems hated it. Those who had other systems seemed to like it. I recall one reviewer at the time who used Audiolab amplification with Celestion SL6ās who loved CD and became an early adopter of the medium.
The fact was that early CD players sounded pretty horrible in a Linn/Naim system. So many reviewers started to swap out their Naim amps for things like Krell or even the Pioneer A400, which was hailed as a 32/Snaps/250 beater. Mr. Hughes initially I believe used Krell amps with his active Briks, later swapping to DNM with a pair of low cost A&R Cambridge small bookshelf speakers which he judged to be a superior combination.
The whole Peter Belt thing was something else again. Extremely bizarre and based as I understand it at least partly around maverick scientist Rupert Sheldrakeās so-called morphic resonance theory. Enough said.
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And not great not in a Linn/Naim system in the early days! I heard several through the first seven or eight years or so and wasnāt convinced at all, at least anything remotely affordable - those that didnāt have harsh treble had no bass (though people using bassless speakers wouldnāt have known!). But by late 80s things had improved.
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Looking at the new Scanspeak D2010/852100 tweeter for the the SL2.
Personally I think it will fit without any modifications to the metal arm with the terminals positioned top and bottom, with plenty of clearance.
New tweeter
SL2 arm
All that would be required is longer red and black terminal cables, what do you guys think?
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Wowā¦ this system must be extraordinary 
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Yes, it is. And right up your street! Heās a lucky chap and has lots of very expensive toys (mainly with a prancing horses on the front!) but he often tells me that of all toys heās bought this has given him the most pleasure and satisfaction. You should hear the surround sound system, which is also completely Naim based. When you go to the movies at his place you really go to the movies!
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