NACA5 Longer Length & Chord Ohmic

Phew managed late last night to properly route the A5 through the Focal stands and end up with one large u bend and one small.

I must admit the Focal cable integration really does look very cool and has a HIGH WAF, plus cable dressing and avoiding mains and other cables is much easier.

Well done with the new cable addition

Really interesting to know if it's the cable or the plugs that have brought about the change ..my money is on the cable as the biggest influencing factor..but not sure on that

I think the Ohmic plugs are helping, but the sheer improvement in authority leads me to think the longer A5 is to thank.

Obsydian posted:

... the sheer improvement in authority leads me to think the longer A5 is to thank.

That was my experience too. In hindsight, trying the recommended minimum length of 3.5m NAC A5 speaker cable was not a good idea at all on my system and wasted money.

I went 6M but to be honest read a thread with Richard and others saying 7M was a good sweet spot, but in my setup 6M was a good balance of longer but not too much cable u turns to hide excess.

That said I do feel the Chord plugs are helping.

Can't wait until the NACA5 is fully run in.

Difficult to A:B dem speaker plugs but any findings out there on the Chord Ohmics?

Richard

If your not using Naim speakers then why not try something else at the speaker end.

I tried an AQ silver on copper/beryllium for me a good slight improvement.

The Ohmics i feel do offer an improvement but at also went new and longer A5 at the Same Time.

They where I think £6 each.

Thanks, I may well try the Ohmics on my A5s.

Richard

Obsydian posted:

So have gone from a well run in 4 meter length of A5 to 6M new style with text in the middle,

Whilst they were being soldered I opted for the Chord Ohmic plugs at the speaker end, Naim plugs of course at the amp end.

Overall a very different presentation, much more authoritative and more low level detail, a bit rough but assume many 100hrs of run in is required.

 

 

???? Obsydian,....Richard Dane wrote earlier,that when they tested NACA5 lengths at Naim so they heard no difference between 7 and 10 m.

I have not heard that Naim changed something in the Naca5 cable,..this maybe Richard can confirm.?
So this you hear maybe due to several things,... even those you describe.
To make a totally fair comparison,I had done this....

◾ New solder on your old Naca5.
Soldering are getting worse with age,this affects the soundquality.
So I had let the same person solder both your new and old Naca5,...then with the same solder pewter, (important,..it is heard difference of solder pewter).

Even then cut the old Naca5 a few centimeters on both sides,...it oxidizes always when the cable is older.

◾ After this above, "burn-in" them again as long.
New soldering also needs to be "burn-in",how strange it sounds????.

After this you have only two parameters that can affect,....the difference of 2m as well as the Chords bananas in the speaker end.
It is always good to know what makes a difference,..you do not know that now.

New soldering usually makes a fairly big difference,so it may actually be so that Naim's bananas would have been better than Chord's in the speaker end..... you don't know that now.!!

/Peder ????

+1 for the difference quality plugs and solder can make.

When I bought my s/h NACA5, it arrived with some very iffy-looking plugs and soldering, but it worked nicely so I let it be. When a young daughter's enthusiasm resulted in one of the plugs becoming disconnected, I decided to cut everything off and start again with 'posh' solder and Kimber plugs. The difference was astonishing - I know that it's a total Hi-Fi upgrade cliche, but the bass response dropped so much deeper I was hearing 'new' sub-bass on tracks I'd known for decades. Quite extraordinary.

Mark

Peder posted:

Obsydian posted:

So have gone from a well run in 4 meter length of A5 to 6M new style with text in the middle,

Whilst they were being soldered I opted for the Chord Ohmic plugs at the speaker end, Naim plugs of course at the amp end.

Overall a very different presentation, much more authoritative and more low level detail, a bit rough but assume many 100hrs of run in is required.

 

 

???? Obsydian,....Richard Dane wrote earlier,that when they tested NACA5 lengths at Naim so they heard no difference between 7 and 10 m.

I have not heard that Naim changed something in the Naca5 cable,..this maybe Richard can confirm.?
So this you hear maybe due to several things,... even those you describe.
To make a totally fair comparison,I had done this....

◾ New solder on your old Naca5.
Soldering are getting worse with age,this affects the soundquality.
So I had let the same person solder both your new and old Naca5,...then with the same solder pewter, (important,..it is heard difference of solder pewter).

Even then cut the old Naca5 a few centimeters on both sides,...it oxidizes always when the cable is older.

◾ After this above, "burn-in" them again as long.
New soldering also needs to be "burn-in",how strange it sounds????.

After this you have only two parameters that can affect,....the difference of 2m as well as the Chords bananas in the speaker end.
It is always good to know what makes a difference,..you do not know that now.

New soldering usually makes a fairly big difference,so it may actually be so that Naim's bananas would have been better than Chord's in the speaker end..... you don't know that now.!!

/Peder ????

Peder - agreed, plus i wasn't suggesting the NACA5 had changed, just it was fresh, the newer style with direction and logo in the middle.

For me like i said a few changes in one and the two more you added, but i choose the Chord (personal preference) over Naim plugs with heat shrink at the speaker end.