cables

Congratulations on your fine SF purchase!

In al Naim-manuals they talk about naca-5 as being THE only right cable for a naim system.
Most of the time (99%) they're right.

The also talk about a minimum length of 2x3,5 mtr.

I once tried 2x2,5 mtr cabletalk 3.1,but the amp
gave so much distortion and clipped even at very modest levels. A relly weird and spooky experience!

But,...I also have a piece of 2x2,5 mtr Transparent "wave" cable,which sounds fine to me!

It's not as fast and dynamic as naca-5,but it's a clean and transparent cable that's a little smoother. (also way better looking and far more flexibel!)

I'm not 100% sure if this will harm the amp,but it sounds fine,so I guess it must be ok..

So,..if you like another cable better then the
nac-a5,why not use it and enjoy!

Greetings,
Alco.

[This message was edited by Alco on SATURDAY 26 May 2001 at 18:34.]

I've presently got Cable Talk 4.1 - different not better (a bit better in my bright room) but resistance matched so not dangerous.

Does 'other' cable fry your amp (or more importantly-the warranty)? If so where can we get info about what is safe etc?

I have used Chord Rumour for ages, was sold it specifically into a Naim system and nobody has ever told me to kick it out when I've upgraded. If it knackers the amps I have yet to hear it.

If the warranty becomes null and void then my dealer should be very much in trouble, or at least he would be if he was still trading....

Bruce

Ali

The Amator 2s are very fine speakers with beautiful sonics (and rhythmic too) to match their lovely woodwork. They go well with the Naims.

I had the Amator 2s for about 6 months at the end of my system and didn't at all find anything wrong with the sonics when using the Naca5, except for some "wobbliness" in the bass due to the copious amounts poured into my small listening room, (9 ft x 11ft) which obviously affected the acoustics.

The Amator 2s need plenty of room to breathe properly : their auxilliary bass radiator goes down to about 30 odd hz.

- Make sure they are level at your ear, and that the dedicated stands (hope you're using the dedicated iron adjustable ones)do NOT rock - that will affect the bass to some extent.

- Don't over-tighten the bolt screws that secure the speakers to the stand plates - they should just be firm and have no rocking movement.

- Toe in the speakers so that their baffles face the listening position directly - quite severe, but that's how they sound their best.

Contrary to your experience, I had a rather round earth sound with tremendous dynamics, so don't quite understand why you're not having them. Your system is balanced and good enough. Could be your room acoustics which need treatment. You'd be amazed at how treating your room affects the sonics so dramatically.

The only other thing I can think of is whether your Naca 5s are really run in - they take a good 6 months of daily play at all volumes to really "loosen up" and kick some ass. They also tend to sound rather flat and uninvolving in that burn-in period, with very little bass. But once they blossom, heaven!

I wouldn't use any other cable than the Naca 5s with the Naim amps as pointed out by Steven Toy.
YOu sometimes get the tinkly bits better, but often at the expense of rhythm and musicality.

Good listening; the music's still groovin'.

Regards

Philip

naimniac for life

Jay

Get the cheque ready! You will also need a 52 once the Amators arrive...

Resistance in indeed futile...

Good listening; the music's still groovin'.

Regards

Philip

naimniac for life

Charles

Naim's electronics lover.

quote:

---

Try things like Hms ,and forget this stupid Naim's advertising trick!!!

---

why do you think naims position on speaker cables is an "advertising trick"?? afaik, the speaker cable is closely specified to match naim amps and avoid instability problems -- you may know different -- please tell us poor souls who use nothing else but naim cables.

i also find it very difficult to reconcile the fact that naim go into this trouble to get the electronics sounding right, and then, for some unknown reason, fail at the last hurdle -- i.e. to get the right speaker cable.

there are probably speaker cables out there that sound different with naim amps, and you have every right to try them out within the constraints of your guarantee. unless you know something i dont (not hard at all!!!), there is really no "advertising trick" from naim here. if you want advsertising tricks, look at all those cables that are oxygen/nitrogen and god knows what else free, have zero resistance, and transform even the cheapest amp, etc etc...

enjoy

ken

Charles

I have got a cd3.5/nac102/hicap/nap180 with hms cappriccio between cd and preamp, and Qed loudspeakers cables.

[This message was edited by Charlezz on SATURDAY 02 June 2001 at 23:16.]

no, i don't. unless they had said "will damage your amps". if this was an advertising trick, no one would fall for it, as you aptly demonstrate by using other cables.

i believe there is no problem with you using other cables provided they fall within the specifications considered by naim to be safe for your naim amp. the trouble with trying every "ultimate" cable is that, if you are not careful, you may try the one that sends your amp into instability and god knows what else, hence the warning about guarantee.

if you look inside your power amp (assuming naim) you will see all sorts of connecting cables. if naim have no experience with cables, perhaps you should consider replacing these with capriccios as well?? if not, why not??

of course, there are also considerations to do with effect on the music, but this is so personal that its difficult to form any particular conclusions.

to be honest with you, i am lazy. even if its reasonable to assume that there are probably "better" speaker cables out there -- i wouldnt know where to start to make up my own mind which to choose -- there are just too many "pure this" and "pure that" out there -- its a nightmare!!!

if you are happy with capriccio's, great. hopefully your naim amp is safe.

why do you think the black snaics are an advertising trick any more than the grey snaics??

enjoy

ken

enjoy

ken

no, the effects of sorting out the cable positioning is astonishingly large. Nor is this is only true of high end systems, my own relatively low end system was transformed after an afternoon last weekend spent dressing all my cables and separating them. Previously, they were all touching the all behind and each other. Now they have bubble wrap between them, as does the NACA5 where it touches the floor.

I found the difference to be really surprising, it removed a layer of harshness from the sound and made it sound much quicker and clearer. Definately worth spending a few hours on.

It seems to work in the same kind of way as unfastening the PXO from the back fo my IBLs and letting it hang down, with some scrunched up bubble wrap in between the cabinet and the crossover. This is also worh a try, although strangely seems to provide more benefit on Mki IBLs than MkIIs, even though they seems to have the crossovers attached in an identical fashion.

Ben

will give this a try one of these fine days. i have to wait till the wife is away else she will know i have really lost it now...

enjoy

ken

Ken, Ben was absolutely spot on as well: cable positioning really affects the sonics rather dramatically : given Peter's repute for fastidiousness with separating all his cables physically, I did the same with mine (after some trying times... and back-aches), the effects weren't subtle : the music flowed more. I also believe once you've got the cables sorted, not to touch them, because like the components, they need to "settle and bed down". Chris Koster from NANA pointed this out from his experience in one of his posts pertaining to the "stands issue" recently, and I found that to be especially true, even for my cables.

I am going to try bubble wrapping my 7m long Naca 5s as the next tweak - see how that goes.

Ben, as for the "loose" PXO, I did that with my old SBLs a number of years ago (but more out of aesthetics than sonics), but was conscious that it should have been screwed into the cabinets to keep them more secure and stable, with as little movement possible. I have my current PXO screwed in now into my current SBLs and it sounds wonderful. The bubble wrap layer idea between the PXO and the cabinet is an excellent one on first impressions, but I would be careful about whether keeping the PXO hanging loose is really better.

Anyone with any experience on bubble wrapping each individual mains cable? I have my 5 mains leads currently taped together at intervals along the length to keep it from becoming a sprawling affair; they're suspended on inverted styrofoam cups off the floor. I was wondering whether there would be any sort of "interference" from the individual mains leads to each other. Peter, you might like to comment on this one.

Good listening; the music's still groovin'.

Regards to all

Philip

naimniac for life