New to Naim (and Forum) and got gear coming... need some help.

Posted by: jsbach1685 on 27 March 2017

Hi all and greetings from Pennsylvania!

I'm a newbie to Naim gear and need some guidance. I got my first piece (CD3.5) about 2 months ago and I love the sound. So much so, that I now have a Nait 5i (non italic) on the way. My previous integrated was a Creek 5350SE and before that a 4330SE. I loved both Creek's (especially the 4330SE) but I had to try a Naim integrated to see how it would sound--as well as mate with my 3.5. The 5i came along and it was priced with my budget, so I decided to go for it. My speakers are Vandersteen 2c's and my space is a second bedroom which is approx 12ft x 14ft (+/- 1ft).

My questions are regarding Naim synergy and cabling. With the Creek 4330SE, I was using DH Labs Q-10 speaker cable and an Air Matrix 5 pin DIN to RCA cable. Both are silver-coated copper cables. When I moved to the 5350SE , the sound was more resolved and fuller in the mids, so I had to go back to my Mogami speaker cables (copper) and Chord Cobra 1's (light green color) to even out the sound.

In both set-ups, I used DIN to RCA cables for the 3.5. With the Nait 5i on the way, what is the best connection method for sound quality? Continue DIN to RCA? Or, will a DIN to DIN cable sound best? If DIN to RCA is best, do I use the Chord Cobra 1 or DH Labs Air Matrix? If DIN to DIN is the best method, do I need a genuine Naim cable, or will the one's from Flashback Sales be equivalent in performance?

As for speaker cables, I've read a number of posts (here, as well as Audiogon) regarding the NACA5's being the one's to use based on the inductance/capacitance/resistance specs. I did find a used pair (12ft) that were priced within my budget, so I bought them to give them a try. However, does the 5i REQUIRE the NACA5 cable to work properly? I know about the Linn K20 having very similar specs, but I've also read they don't sound as good?

Thanks,

JSB

Posted on: 31 March 2017 by Drewy

Why dont you just get hold of the new boxes and use them as they are with the standard cables as Naim intended? You can audition aftermarket cables after your ears have got used to your new purchases and get a real idea if there are worthwhile improvements

Oh and are white paper figures really important?

Posted on: 31 March 2017 by Huge

To the best of my memory, the tech specs for the Nait 5i are notionally the same as for the Nait 5i...

In the case of the distortion: A low enough value for the measurement to be effectively irrelevant.
In the case of the signal to noise ratio: A large enough value for the measurement to be mostly irrelevant

Posted on: 31 March 2017 by Adam Zielinski

Drewy posted:
Oh and are white paper figures really important?

If one has no interest in the inner workings of a SHARC or DR, I would hazard a guess one could pass on them.

Posted on: 31 March 2017 by Drewy

Adam Zielinski posted:
Drewy posted:
Oh and are white paper figures really important?
If one has no interest in the inner workings of a SHARC or DR, I would hazard a guess one could pass on them.

Yes but what use is the information to us as end users? Do we buy on white paper info or what our ears tell us? Had a mate at school who rambled on about the lack of total harmonic distortion on his midi sized technics system, had to tell him to shut it in the end.

Posted on: 31 March 2017 by Adam Zielinski

I use Naim because I like how it sounds. But I also read the white papers afterwards...

Posted on: 31 March 2017 by Drewy

I don't. It means absolutely nothing to me