Snaic 4 > XLR leads 300 DR

Zipperheadbanjo posted:

Last night while I was doing some basic upkeep on my new 300 DR / 252 combo (power down, unplug leads, replug leads... just your basic hifi lunacy) it occurred to me that the Snaic 4 > XLR cables running from the power supply to the amp are relatively flimsy when compared to even the basic Naim Snaic 5 cables, DIN interconnects and especially when compared to a hiline.

I then checked a current Naim price list that I have kicking around and discovered that these leads are also relatively inexpensive... about 1/3 the cost of a standard SNAIC 5, and there don't seem to be any alternatives in the Naim universe for this specific cable, with the exception of a Superlumina cable which is of course... silly money.

So I'm confused. Is the quality of the interconnects between power supply and amp less important than other interconnects? Is one sacrificing something having hiline interconnects further up the chain connecting sources to pre-amp.. only to have the benefits of the higher quality interconnects negated with lesser cables once you get to the power supply / amp? This logic...the "only as good as the weakest link in the chain" seems rational.

Are there other Snaic 4>XLR cables that I should be looking into?

All that said... they system sounds damn good "as is" so none of this is a huge deal... just an observation. And I must say that things sounded even better after an hour shut down and unplugging / replugging of leads... so perhaps there is something to the hifi lunacy so many of us engage in.

 

I think you are confusing the situation.

Firstly the only cables linking the 300 head amp to the 300psu are the two Burndy cables.

The cables I believe you are referring to are the XLR (300 head amp) to the 252 pre-amp  DIN 4 pin cables , which are not SNAIC and only carry the L & R signal.

Here there are alternatives to Naim S. Lumina at significantly less  cost (performance excepted maybe). Check Chord and Witch Hat.  

 p.s. when referring to the 252 pre-amop i meant the S.Cap psu feeding it.

Yup... those are the cables I am referring to. When I referred to the "power supply" I was referring to the 252 power supply... not the 300 psu. 

Thanks for the suggestion regarding alternatives. I'm curious though if there is a rationale why Naim doesn't provide a heftier option... something between the standard cable and a Superlumina.

Zipperheadbanjo posted:

Yup... those are the cables I am referring to. When I referred to the "power supply" I was referring to the 252 power supply... not the 300 psu. 

Thanks for the suggestion regarding alternatives. I'm curious though if there is a rationale why Naim doesn't provide a heftier option... something between the standard cable and a Superlumina.

Heftier doesn't necessarily mean better. Up to the S.Lumina Naim have stated that they haven't found anything better than the standard cable (and that includes Hi-Line trials).

However some forum members have found the companies I spoke of to give good results.

Indeed I am waiting delivery of the Witch Hat XLR-DIN4 cables.  They offer a 30 day money back guarantee so no concerns here.

But the pair of SL Din-XLRs are sooooooo good, Graham, you really ought to give them a home demo. If they don't press your buttons just send the demo pair back

Mike  

MDS posted:

But the pair of SL Din-XLRs are sooooooo good, Graham, you really ought to give them a home demo. If they don't press your buttons just send the demo pair back

Mike  

If I can get hold of a demo pair I'll willingly give them a go.

What's availability for home demo like?

p.s. The stock XLR-DIN4's are a bit short for optimum position in my system. What's the length of the S. Lumina.

1.2m preferred.

sheffieldgraham posted:

Indeed I am waiting delivery of the Witch Hat XLR-DIN4 cables.  They offer a 30 day money back guarantee so no concerns here.

Hi,

I'd be interested your opinion of the Witch Hat XLR -DIN cables once they've settled into your system.

I've done the Super Lumina thing as regards a Highline replacement, together with the speaker cables, but do consider the price of the XLR's to be somewhat off-putting for the final piece of the jigsaw.

Also, the standard XLR cables with my 300 DR seem to be under a slight tension, particularly the right channel in my two stack system, so are the Witch Hat ones the same length as the supplied originals?

Regards,

Dave.

I'm probably spoilt with my dealer who seems able to whisk around to my place all sorts of kit and cables very quickly, and leaving them with me for a thorough home demo.

On your question about length, I must confess to presuming the XLR were a standard length. I didn't measure mine before they were installed but they run from my SuperCap at the top of my brawn rack to the 300 which is on the second to bottom shelf of my brain rack so I'd guess as them being a least metre long, but it's only a guess.  

Mike

dave marshall posted:

sheffieldgraham posted:

Indeed I am waiting delivery of the Witch Hat XLR-DIN4 cables.  They offer a 30 day money back guarantee so no concerns here.

Hi,

I'd be interested your opinion of the Witch Hat XLR -DIN cables once they've settled into your system.

I've done the Super Lumina thing as regards a Highline replacement, together with the speaker cables, but do consider the price of the XLR's to be somewhat off-putting for the final piece of the jigsaw.

Also, the standard XLR cables with my 300 DR seem to be under a slight tension, particularly the right channel in my two stack system, so are the Witch Hat ones the same length as the supplied originals?

Regards,

Dave.

Regarding the length of the Witch Hat cables; I asked the same question, with the same problem. Their standard length is 1.2m (longer than the Naim). This should be adequate for me, but Mark at W. Hat is happy to discuss any other options.

p.s. When I receive and evaluate them I'll report back.

Thanks Graham, I'll look forward to your report.

Dave.

I heartily recommend the Witch Hat Hatpin, which is considerably better than the Naim standard. I use one at the moment. That said I'm trying the SL version at the weekend and will see if it's any better than the Hatpin. 

I did the same considerations as Zipperheadbanjo but never had the courage of trying the Witchhat cables. Anybody tried the much more famous Chord cables ?

Hungryhalibut posted:

I heartily recommend the Witch Hat Hatpin, which is considerably better than the Naim standard. I use one at the moment. That said I'm trying the SL version at the weekend and will see if it's any better than the Hatpin. 

Look forward to hearing your comments on the SL vs the W.H. 

Maybe it'll be a question of value for money rather than outright performance, but hey who knows.

phosphocreatine posted:

I did the same considerations as Zipperheadbanjo but never had the courage of trying the Witchhat cables. Anybody tried the much more famous Chord cables ?

Tried the Chord STA with my then 250.2. At the time I didn't think it night and day over the stock Naim cable.

It was also rather unwieldy. Worse than NACA5.

Research on other sites is also pointing towards ARLunar 4Din>XLR.

Anyone with experience with their cables?

As an aside... I've read on the forum people commenting on running "full loom" SL cables. Would this mean all SNAICS, Interconnects etc being SL?

That would be a "full loom"...

Zipperheadbanjo posted:

As an aside... I've read on the forum people commenting on running "full loom" SL cables. Would this mean all SNAICS, Interconnects etc being SL?

Yes.  SL interconnects, SL DIN 4-4 (only on active systems between preamp and Snaxo Supercap), DIN-XLRs and speaker cables.

I have Sarum TA from CDS3 to 252 and Sarum TA DIN/XLR from Supercap to 300 and both for me are a definite  improvement over HiLine and standard Naim interconnects. More of everything so worth a try before buying.

Ken.

phosphocreatine posted:

I did the same considerations as Zipperheadbanjo but never had the courage of trying the Witchhat cables. Anybody tried the much more famous Chord cables ?

I tried the Chord Sarum Super Aray DIN/XLR between my 282 (SupercapDR) and NAP250DR (I use a Chord Sarum Tuned Aray interconnect by the way) and was very disappointed. However when I demoed this DIN/XLR I was still using NACA5 speaker cable and I strongly suspect the DIN/XLR needed much more running in. Both these factors I believe were causing the disappointment I felt.

Anyway at that time I also demoed the SL speaker cables and was blown away by these. As I could only afford either the SL speaker cables or the Chord DIN/XLR, I chose the SLs and did not further investigate the DIN/XLR.

So it would be wrong to write off the Chord DIN/XLR and as I now have SL speaker cables, I may investigate the DIN/XLRs in the future.

By the way I use the Witch Hat DIN/XLR and very good value it is too and is an improvement over the stock Naim DIN/XLR IMHO.

Interested in this too, as had also heard these were a weak link, and do seem flimsy. Running an active system makes this more expensive, hence interest in Witch Hat. I have good experience with AR cables, finding the latest Lunar giving the SL a run for it's money £ for £ as an interconnect. AR also do a money-back guarantee.

I have a Chord Signature TA between my Supercap and 250 and was pleased with the improvement over the standard interconnect.