Technical query on speaker cable

Joseph !

Here are Naca5 specs:

1.3 - 1.5microHenries per metre (Loop)
MAX 20picoFarads per metre
About 25milliOhms per meter (loop)

Any other cable will be a problem for Naim amp and yes, it will work, but question is how.
I believe that biggest difference between Naim and "other" cables are capacitance and inductance and Naca5 is also a part of Naim amplifier.
Maybe you can have some thing more "attractive" with other cable I would say, but your system will be highly unbalanced and compromised. Some time ago I was also believer in non Naim cable with Naim amp, but I was VEEERY wrong.
Do a home dem, it will help you a lot.

Good luck,

Ozren

- The difference between Theory and Practice is much greater in Practice than
it is in Theory. -

Sadly, A5 doesn't always work well with non-Naim speakers. This is a great shame as it's such excellent value for money. I tried it for several weeks between my Nait-3 and Monitor Audio R352s and the sound was dreadful. Tried all the setup tweaks with no noticeable improvement and ended up going back to the cable I used before. Pleased to say though the Nait shows no sign of distress.

I'd say if A5 works for you then use it, if not try something else but keep as close as possible to Naim's recommended spec as quoted by Ozren. In my experience it's almost impossible to find any commercially available cable which exactly matches Naim's nominal figures.

Unfortunately Naim have never seen fit to publish a list of 'approved' alternative cables, something which would IMO be an enormous benefit to the user base. I know from this forum though that many people use DNM Reson, Chord Rumour and Odyssey with good results.
David

Thanks, they look close on specs, but I'm not really technical and maybe .01 means a big gap ...

I am just wondering, as the feet on the right side of his NAP90 melted, and I mean melted ! That's where the transformer is. But it was only found out while repositioning it. So we don't know how long it has been melted. The QEDs are less than 3.5 meters.

In any case, it has been sent to the dealer for check-up. Nothing wrong with the sound, however, just super-hot to the touch when there is no airconditioning.

However, someone told me (I don't remember who) that when using non-Naim speakers, using other cables other than NACA5 is ok, and is even ok to use less than 3.5 meters. Can anyone confirm this ?

There is a lot of rubbish spoken about speaker cables and amps in general, yes I know all about certain types of cable but here we are talking bog standard physical manufacture. I have tried several makes over the years (even owned some of them) and what I feel is this. If an amp/speaker combi’ sounds happy then it is happy! And if you like what you hear then you are happy. Personally I have owned Naim amplification for many years and have used it with (chronological order) Qed 79 Linn single and bi wire, Naim of course, and now Chord Rumour which is absolutely superb! All this specification chat is a load of b*/”$*= cks and only for the sad ones. We are not talking using something not made for the purpose here but if it sounds ok in your system and all is happy then GO FOR IT!

You will have to watch out for high capacitance speaker cables (braided Kimber, braided DIY Cat5, Goertz...etc). Personally I have used Mogami 3082 and Klotz 224 cables without any problem.

Maybe Naim will be in a better position to explain the technical details on the stability of the amps when paired with high capacitance speaker cables.

Clearly Naim would like nothing better than we all run end-to-end Naim systems, but in a million years that's not going to happen! speaker choice is a very personal issue and one which strongly influences, if not determines, the choice of cable to connect them.

It has always been claimed by Salisbury that the NACA5 cable forms an integral part of the power-amp design and as such is the only cable 'safe' for use with their range of power-amps.

However a significant number of contributors to this forum do use cables other than A5 with Naim power-amps and I've not seen any of them report signs of distress or damage to their electronics through doing so.

It would be extremely helpful if Naim HQ would commit to testing some of the alternative cables on the market and to then publish some broader guidelines on 'safe' alternatives to A5 where that cable is found to be incompatible with particular speakers.

The subjective issue of how it sounds could then be rightly left to the user to decide. This approach would obviate the necessity for regular re-runs of threads like this and enable Naim users to make an educated choice rather than one based on haphazard analysis of reported third party experience.

I wonder if it will ever happen - how about it Paul?

David

IO had trouble with a NAIT2 running hot when used with some top of the line VANDENHULL. I don't quite rermember which model but the nait was hot even though the volume was only about 9 o'clock

Re [I had trouble with a NAIT2 running hot when used with some top of the line VANDENHULL. I don't quite remember which model but the nait was hot even though the volume was only about 9 o'clock[/I]. This is the type of cable I mentioned so beware and stick to 'normal' stranded cable like Linn/Naim/Qed etc (there are many brands) and you're equipment will come to no harm.

David Stewart said
'Unfortunately Naim have never seen fit to publish a list of 'approved' alternative cables'
This is untrue.
At one time in their manuals Naim used to recommend RS type 360-396. This is no longer available but going to the RS web site and searching will give a recommended alternative.

Just to add. I'm currently using NACA5 after trying out a couple of cables from other manufacturers. To me, the A5 sounds the most 'coherant' - it just sounds 'right'.

I'm sure there are wires out there other than A5 that would suit your sistem and your preference. If in doubt, just drop Naim an email. I'm sure they would sort it out for you.

That aside, the A5 works well in my 2nd 'tubed' system as well. That is pretty versatile!