Braided speaker cable and exposure/naim power amps - ok to use?

[daws0n]

I am swapping my kit about and require some new cable for my Exposure power amp... NAC A5 is too stiff/awkward, and my Exposure cable is now way too long! I only require 2m per side, and digging around in the attic I've found these:

Acquired years ago with a quad 405-2 amp... They seem well made and from what I remember they were hand made by an engineer friend of the seller.

http://www.pzplay.com/daws/diy1.jpg

http://www.pzplay.com/daws/diy2.jpg

They look like they can do the job no problem, but I know that Exposure/naim amps lack a zobel network and are fussy with speaker cable properties. Looking at similar designs online, it seems this braided wiring like this typically offers low capacitance and inductance so I presume it's safe to use... What do you reckon guys?

Thanks

[Reffc]

I am swapping my kit about and require some new cable for my Exposure power amp... NAC A5 is too stiff/awkward, and my Exposure cable is now way too long! I only require 2m per side, and digging around in the attic I've found these:

Acquired years ago with a quad 405-2 amp... They seem well made and from what I remember they were hand made by an engineer friend of the seller.

http://www.pzplay.com/daws/diy1.jpg

http://www.pzplay.com/daws/diy2.jpg

They look like they can do the job no problem, but I know that Exposure/naim amps lack a zobel network and are fussy with speaker cable properties. Looking at similar designs online, it seems this braided wiring like this typically offers low capacitance and inductance so I presume it's safe to use... What do you reckon guys?

Thanks


High Dawson

That's not correct...you cannot generally have low capacitance and low inductance, it's either one or the other. In this case, braided cables have HIGH capacitance and personally, I would not use them for Naim or Exposure amps as some of these (depending on the model) require a certain amount of inductance damping. Chuck a high capacitance cable on the end and it could result in instability for the amp's output stage. Best to check with your amp manufacturer before making that decision to be on the safe side, but personally, I would be using a medium inductance/low capacitance cable for your application. Suitable cables may include DNM, Naim NACA and indeed even Talk 3 or any "shotgun" style cable (ie side by side cores instead of twisted or braided cores). Some people I know use ordinary twisted pairs with their naim amps, but I understand that some of their newer designs may not be as demanding of higher inductance cabling.

[daws0n]

Thanks for the comments. I figured braided cable = high capacitance (e.g Kimber) but this site inspired me to dig these out :

http://diyaudioprojects.com/Power/DIY-Braided-Speaker-Cables/

Very similar in construction to these DIY cables, and allegedly low levels capacitance and inductance...?? However, the consensus here and other forums leads me to believe this is some of a red herring... Generally speaking, braid cables will increase capacitance as you say.

I plugged them in and they sound decent to be fair, but I'd rather not take the risk.

[Jimification]

I think this depends what Exp model you have. I believe the newer models (I have one of the new Exp integrateds - 2010) aren't fussy but the older, Farlowe era ones are...