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Thread: Naim speaker cables??

  1. #21
    Join Date: Apr 2011

    Location: Surrey

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    I'm Mike.

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    No guarantee but heard only good things about Witch Hat
    TAD CD / DAC / Pre, Technics 1210, MCRU PSU, Mike New Bearing & Platter, Stillpoints LP1 weight, Speedy Steve Ebony armboard, Fidelity Research FR64FX arm, Ortofon SPU. Aurorasound VIDA Phono Pre Amp, TAD Power Amp, TAD E1 speakers. Coherent RTZ 3 Grounding box, Coherent grounding cables, Creaktiv racks. Coherent Mains Cables. SR Blue Fuse. Interconnects : Coherent and Yannis 223.5 Connect Litz. Coherent speaker cable. Audio Magic Transcendence Conditioner. Coherent mains socket. Mains Filters : , PS Audio Harvesters, Russ Andrews Purifiers, Tacima, Vertex. Black Ravioli and RDC supports. Electric Beach S1NX platforms for TAD CD and Technics. Ferrite chokes everywhere except the above. Ears, brain

    Mike

  2. #22
    Join Date: Feb 2013

    Location: Suffolk

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    I'm guy.

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    I have used 4 and 5 in the past - not a big difference in my view, bigger change using the Naim "combined" banana plugs (I think that the design pushed the pins to make a more secure connection in the socket). Given up worrying about speaker cables now though
    Just don't use any twisted pairs - as others have said low capacitance is the key for a few amplifier brands.
    LP12, Ittok (black), DV10X5, NVA Phono 2 (twin supply), NVAP50, Art Audio Quintet 15w power amp, NVA LS5 cable, Rega Ela mk1's.
    Sony CDP XB930.

  3. #23
    Join Date: Aug 2012

    Location: Sunny Portsmouth

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    I'm TheMostHonestPersonYouWillMeet.

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    Karl I used TQ Ultra Black before I got the Naim kit and to be honest the NACA5 is a very nice sounding cable when used with a Naim amp/setup

    I would consider the NACA5 a bit of a bargain when compared to the TQ UB I used, I sold the TQ UB and replaced it with NACA5 as that cable suited the Naim setup better
    Bev


    Mark Levinson N°390s CD Through:Atlas Elektra XLR's To: Mark Levinson N°383 To: Magneplanar .7's

  4. #24
    Join Date: Mar 2017

    Location: Melbourne

    Posts: 445
    I'm Karl.

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    Ok thanks.. i think the general consensus is to use the naca. Il just have to wait for an affordable set to pop up. If not i will give the witch hat cables a try
    CTC Classic 301 , SPH bearing and Hanze Hifi HAT CPS-2 all analogue power supply / Tenuto Mk2 mat / custom Panzerholz and Kewasinga articulating plinth / Track audio isolation feet / Reed tonearm / Audio Technica ART 9 / 2 box BigBottle mk3 phonostage with Clarity cap CMR and NOS Telefunkens valves / Croft 25R preamp with upgraded 12BH7A line stage and NOS 1956 RCA valves / Croft 7R monoblocks with NOS 56 RCA valves/ Dynaudio Contour 30i speakers / Spotfire interconnects and speaker cables / Merlin Scorpion mains block / Rhodium mains cables / Marantz CD DAC /

  5. #25
    Join Date: Apr 2008

    Location: Warrington

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    I'm Neil.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Bigbird View Post
    Ok thanks.. i think the general consensus is to use the naca. Il just have to wait for an affordable set to pop up. If not i will give the witch hat cables a try
    ...or go for something that is very affordable & optimised for your setup: https://www.markgrantcables.co.uk/uk...fc-terminated/

    I don't think NACA5 or Witch Hat would offer any real differences, aside from being suited to the electrical characteristics of amps that require low capacitance cables.
    Mana Acoustics Racks / Bright Star IsoNodes Decoupling >> Allo DigiOne Player >> Pedja Rogic's Audial Model S DAC + Pioneer PL-71 turntable / Vista Audio phono-1 mk II / Denon PCL-5 headshell / Reson Reca >> LFD DLS >> LFD PA2M (SE) >> Royd RR3s.

  6. #26
    Join Date: Mar 2017

    Location: Melbourne

    Posts: 445
    I'm Karl.

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    Oh wow that is affordable at 64 quid for two lengths terminated. Thanks. Have you used these yourself?
    CTC Classic 301 , SPH bearing and Hanze Hifi HAT CPS-2 all analogue power supply / Tenuto Mk2 mat / custom Panzerholz and Kewasinga articulating plinth / Track audio isolation feet / Reed tonearm / Audio Technica ART 9 / 2 box BigBottle mk3 phonostage with Clarity cap CMR and NOS Telefunkens valves / Croft 25R preamp with upgraded 12BH7A line stage and NOS 1956 RCA valves / Croft 7R monoblocks with NOS 56 RCA valves/ Dynaudio Contour 30i speakers / Spotfire interconnects and speaker cables / Merlin Scorpion mains block / Rhodium mains cables / Marantz CD DAC /

  7. #27
    Join Date: Apr 2008

    Location: Warrington

    Posts: 3,451
    I'm Neil.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Bigbird View Post
    Oh wow that is affordable at 64 quid for two lengths terminated. Thanks. Have you used these yourself?
    Yes, with a very early Exposure IV power amp.
    Mana Acoustics Racks / Bright Star IsoNodes Decoupling >> Allo DigiOne Player >> Pedja Rogic's Audial Model S DAC + Pioneer PL-71 turntable / Vista Audio phono-1 mk II / Denon PCL-5 headshell / Reson Reca >> LFD DLS >> LFD PA2M (SE) >> Royd RR3s.

  8. #28
    Join Date: Mar 2017

    Location: Melbourne

    Posts: 445
    I'm Karl.

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    Great, Sorry I remember now that you mentioned it earlier in the thread, Ive just read a few more favourable reviews on other forums so this will definitely get bumped up the pecking order
    CTC Classic 301 , SPH bearing and Hanze Hifi HAT CPS-2 all analogue power supply / Tenuto Mk2 mat / custom Panzerholz and Kewasinga articulating plinth / Track audio isolation feet / Reed tonearm / Audio Technica ART 9 / 2 box BigBottle mk3 phonostage with Clarity cap CMR and NOS Telefunkens valves / Croft 25R preamp with upgraded 12BH7A line stage and NOS 1956 RCA valves / Croft 7R monoblocks with NOS 56 RCA valves/ Dynaudio Contour 30i speakers / Spotfire interconnects and speaker cables / Merlin Scorpion mains block / Rhodium mains cables / Marantz CD DAC /

  9. #29
    Join Date: Mar 2017

    Location: Norfolk

    Posts: 109
    I'm David.

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    I've used NACA5 for years with my Naim setup. Its a great cable soundwise and if you have Naim amplification there probably isn't too much around that's better (for the money). These cables come up all the time on Forums and fleabay so just bide your time and get a used set. You'll be delighted by the sound and frustrated by the lack of flexibility

  10. #30
    Join Date: May 2008

    Location: A Strangely Isolated Place in Suffolk with Far Away Trains Passing By...

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    I'm David.

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    Naim A5 is fizzy up top if that's what you really want!

    Old Naims in untouched condition will either have failed by now, or they'd have been properly serviced, re-capped as they seem to need and re-aligned 'cos this ancient circuit as used in older models drifted all over the shop over it's service life. Old refurbished CB era Naims have largely lost the PA-amp harshness they had when new and I very much doubt you'd lose any stability if you use non Naim speaker cables in a serviced surviving old amp. Linn K20 is bland and lifeless (I don't know why, but I used it for years at home and in many dem rooms and it came as an ear opener when I realised how awful it actually was), A4 used to go off badly, especially the black version, but the one thing about the A5 was that the insulation didn't react with the copper over time. Price is ludicrous-high now, like all Naim's post 1985, but it helps bolster the director's pension pots and makes the company appear more valuable/profitable...

    You could quite easily use 2.5mm instrument cable as we did in the early days. Back in the olden days, we used 'RS' 50 and 56 strand cable on a red and black drum, loosely twisting it together and this is what we ALL used before A4 came along (an external light-string cable I was told, but I can't back this assertion up). I now use a 2.5mm installation cable (seven strands per conductor known here as 'LS2') in eight metre runs and it beats most dealer bought wires up to silly money I think and is totally benign in terms of amp compatibility. I run each conductor alongside the other one with no twisting...

    Be VERY careful of old *cheap* Naim power amps. The circuit of CB and Olive models drifts all over the place over time and a cheap one will need silly amounts spent on re-capping and setting up. For some reason, Naim thrashed their original fitment power amp electrolytic caps for various reasons (low cost was one) and they don't seem to live as long as in other amps, so after twenty or thirty years, they'll be shagged and the offsets will be way out too - this IS audible! I remember recommending the 180 as a sweet (by Naim standards) amp with greater 'peak' headroom than a 250, which overheats if stressed, but I was told that after fifteen years of use (as it was then), the sound had deteriorated severely and the thing needed servicing and setting up. Selling the stuff new, I only noticed this with tri-amp 250's and six-pack 135's the drifting, where one or two of a set would start to run hotter than others (with 135's it was unbearable as the fans were noisy when running).
    Last edited by DSJR; 22-04-2018 at 15:59.
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