What does Flat Earth mean in audio circles?

I think of Flat Earthers as folks who deny the existence of differences if they can't be measured. Hearing differences is just an illusion which can be proved by doing double blind tests. So they say!

Newbee, maybe you need to change your name ;-) You are sounding like an old hand now.

Drubin, I believe there are many kinds of Flat Earthers. There are those who think that only a few of the measurable characteristics matter (take a look at a speaker comparison in Consumer Reports for example). Typically, these are novices with little training.

That term is also applied to folks who believe that a careful consideration of a battery of different measurements will tell the sonic story. These are much more sophisticated individuals who tend to believe that we have the ability to objectively measure almost everything that matters. Curved Earthers? I don't know. We probably need to come up with a different term though.

Either of these types also tend to believe that blind tests, usually fairly short duration tests, can also help determine which component or system is "better".

Another characteristic is that flat earthers think that most people are subject to psychological flaws (can't argue there!) which include falling victim to audiophile preconceived notions (you can argue here, but why bother since everything is so subjective at this point?). These notions include things like "power cords make a difference" or "more expensive equipment is better" or "equipment from certain manufacturers is better".

We need more terms, but flat earther gets to it: Only believe the obvious.

So I'm mistaken about the Linn and Naim connection?

Some folks who make very good audio equipment may still be flat earthers -- although very sophisticated ones. I've read of a highly regarded speaker manufacturer who doesn't believe speaker cables make a difference (can't remember which one). I'm not familiar enough with the owners of Linn or Naim to answer that specific question though.