Naim's new power lead - addressing the controversy

[Mike Reed]

thanks, Marco, but EACH of my pieces is hard-wired to a separate 10mm cable. I really couldn't regress to plugs and hydras, regardless of the efficacy of the new Naim cable.

I could go on about the merits of dedicated mains and all that that entails, but there are others who are even more evangelistic about this upgrade approach.

[Marco]

LOL, Mike. My recommendation wasn't aimed at you. I know you're one of 'Roy's boys'

There's nothing wrong with that, btw. I know Roy very well and respect the work he does (with unbounded enthusiasm!) I've adopted many of his ideas into my mains set-up, with a few 'adjustments' here and there.

I've asked him to come and join the forum, but I know he's pretty busy.

Marco.

[Mike Reed]

MARCO,

Small world, and an interesting category I've been filed under. I've known RKR well over 20 years now, but had full dedicated mains then, and long before Roy began carrying the torch. Mind you, it was a bit crude in comparison with nowadays (no MCBOs, e.g.).

Would like to see RKR appear on this forum, too. 'Too busy' is a stock excuse of the active retired! I shall e-mail him withboth an exhortation and news of my recent Meridian G08 acquisition (very good, but this fastidious jury is still out......)

[Marco]

Hi Mike,

Nice one. I didn't realise that you guys went way back. If you can get Roy over that would be great. I'm sure this forum would be an ideal vehicle for him to report on his experiments with the mains

Marco.

[Chris Frost]

Well, I've skimmed through this thread to get the jist.

I'm curious. Is the problem with the perceived value?

Should something for £400 be bigger, shinier, rounder, transparent, blue, curly, have holes it it or something equally bizarre? If it's a question of physical size then how do we reconcile cartridges at several hundreds of pounds for something a little larger than a sugar cube when my Granny used to buy a needle for the radiogramme for a fiver?

Say you were a Naim 555 owner sat in the dem room and the electronics were hidden behind a curtain so just the speakers were on show. The dem guy says "Our next upgrade is £400" and you liked it enough to buy; would you feel ripped off walking out with a mains cable? Does the fact that it is a mains cable suddenly alter what you heard? Is that how it works?

I can see how some people are having a problem with a mains cable at £400, but my only question is "Does it make the music better?".

[Mike Reed]

CHRIS,

If you think people are having problems entertaining a £400 Naim mains lead HERE, you ought to try to wade through the over-long, rambling, incoherent and occasionally vindictive thread on this subject over on Pink Fish.

Apart from the obvious interest in a new Naim creation (for a Naim user, that is), I cannot fathom the polarised opinions this has created. Neither do I consider £400 to be a lot of money compared to other manufacturers, or, in fact, ANYTHING in mid/upper echelon audio.

As it appears that the 'secret ingredient' is in the decoupling, esp. at the 13amp. plug end, it wouldn't interest me from a purely practical viewpoint (see my posting). However, Naim haven't often brought out something new which didn't at least have a trick up its sleeve.

[Chris Frost]

Hi Mike,
Yeah, mentioning cables, tables or blocks is like a red rag to a bull for some. Science proves bees can't fly, the sun goes round the earth, etc, etc.

In some systems they might work; in some they might not. I prefer to keep an open mind.

Naim haven't often brought out something new which didn't at least have a trick up its sleeve.

I read about the fancy stuff they did in developing this lead. It's funny how easy some people find it to dismiss the hard work of others. It kind of reminds me of a story...

A man pushes his car on to a rural garage forecourt and has a chat with the mechanic. 5 minutes later the mechanic reappears carrying a big hammer, pops the bonnet and gives the engine one almighty whack. The car springs to life.
"That'll be £200" says the mechanic.
"What!" screams the man, "£200 for hitting it with a hammer?! I could have done that."
"Nope, it were £10 to hit it...," the mechanic calmly replies "...and £190 for knowing where."

[Steve Toy]

I find the notion of someone having an issue with a major lift in a system's resolution costing £400 HERE to be slightly confusing given the very subjective ethos HERE.

Scepticism is certainly reasonable when a particular cable may cost thousands, but not when it 'only' costs £400 and compares very well in terms of magnitude of improvement in resolution with the going-active option in terms of amplification, that does actually cost thousands - an extra NAP 300 and an active X-over box.

In a non-Naim system, the Music Works ensemble of Reflex block and Recoil leads, each of which cost half that of the new Naim leads, delivers a similar lift in resolution. The Recoil leads have a slightly different method of tackling (mechanical) microphony that takes the form of a damping patch in place of the decoupled plug.

Trust your ears - they are the ultimate arbiter for VFM.

[Lowrider]

it 'only' costs £400

All is relative, obviously it is a lot of money for a cable, but if you have kit in the same range, then it may be justifiable...

[Marco]

Hi Chris,

Well, I've skimmed through this thread to get the jist.

I'm curious. Is the problem with the perceived value?

Yes, for many it seems to be a major issue, yet those same people will not think twice about spending thousands on a new box which quite often won't have as big an impact on sound quality, certainly in the fundamental way cables do at the mains end of a hi-fi system.

People need to start digesting the fact that what you're listening to through your speakers is modulated mains (this is a fact) so anything that can be done to 'clean up' or 'improve' the quality of the mains signal (and it is a 'signal') at source fundamentally affects the performance of the system and in turn how it communicates music to the listener. Optimising the mains set-up of a hi-fi or home cinema system pays huge dividends and should be seen as a priority and something enthusiasts should attend to first before anything else if the system is to perform at its best.

The fact that I mention home cinema is interesting because you're here, Chris, as our resident AV specialist. Normally the problem people have in indentifying cable improvements with audio only systems is 'proving' the results heard. However, I have seen (and I'm sure in your job you have too) the effect better quality cables have on a home cinema (AV) system in terms of improved picture quality - more natural colours, less saturation, etc, as well as of course superior sound quality, so perhaps this is the best way to test the efficacy of 'audiophile' cables because you can see the effects as well as hear them.

A simple test would be to hook up an AV system with 'bog standard' mains cables supplied with the equipment and play a section of a movie with the system set-up that way, observing the picture quality by judging the relevant parameters, some of which I outlined above, and then replay the same with high quality 'audiophile' mains leads. If the picture is sharper, the colours more natural, etc, and this is clearly visible in front of you, then surely the only conclusion that can be reached is that the better mains leads clearly make a difference.

If you accept that then surely the effect realised of doing so in an audio only system will be improved sound quality? Or does the benefit somehow just magically affect the picture quality in an AV system but do nothing to the sound quality of an audio system? The fact is what's happening when high quality 'audiophile' mains leads are used is that 'noise' on the mains supply is reduced as well as the effect of RFI and EMI, both well known and recognised forms of mains interference, which can easily be measured with the right apparatus. The Audio Prism 'Noise Sniffer', available from Russ Andrews Accessories, is one such device.

So to conclude, it's high time some of the cable sceptics (and cynics) started using their EYES as well as their ears! Or maybe in the minds of cynical objectivists our eyes are being 'deceived', too?

Marco.