SuperUniti Speaker Cable...

On most of the Naim amps (both past and current) it is essential to adhere to Naim's recommended speaker cable requirements.  The correct inductance and capacitance are essential for stable operation. 

True the modern Naim amps such as the Nait 5XS, SuperUniti (I think), and Uniti are more tolerant of alternative cables, but still best results will come from sticking to Naim's recommendation.

Hi Klout10, I knew that Naim used to be a bit fussy about speaker cable, but I had assumed (wrongly) that it was a thing of the past.  In my defence, I will say that the Chord cable was supplied by a Naim dealer...  but for whatever reason, in my particular set up, it didn't work very well.  Although, to be honest, at least the Chord was better than some even more expensive stuff that I had before, that sounded even worse!

Thanks ChrisSU, I have tried both cables since the firmware upgrade and the new, cheaper stuff definitely sounds better - more musical, better bass, more midrange presence and generally much nicer to listen to.  

Lesson learned I guess!

Would you mind finding out what cable it is please?

I would also like to try to get more kick and details from my setup.

Thanks

Oh, yes, I am interested in the cable, too. Especially if it is not that expensive, so I could give it a try.

Me too. I am currently using Chord Carnival Silverscreen and thought it was not that bad.

We have loved NACA5 at my house on two systems.  On a recent UQ2 system, the dealer recommended Crimson Electronics Speaker Cables because they are cheaper, more flexible w less bulkiness, more open sounding, and the traditional NACA5 amp banana plug won't work w the Qute.  What a great recommendation!  The Crimson Electronics cable is all that and more.

You might also try a Powerline, which has found its way into the Qute system to very good effect.

The same exact thing happened to me, and I was very hesitant to post this here. Generally have not been happy with my system either, and I also took my 202/200 to dealer for a test where they said it is fine. But somehow it never sounded quite right in my home. 

The solution for me was in the re-soldering of the amplifier end of NACA 5.

It seems over the years, the copper strands in the Naim supplied amplifier plugs had been cut off due to stress of the cable angle, pulling the cables out of the NAP 200. Don't know why exactly

The moment I had the cable re-terminated, the performance (after few days of run in) picked up and now everything sounds as it should.

I never, like you, thought or imagined that such small details could affect the performance, but they do.

Chord Rumour is ok with Naim and Odyysey is good not sure about anything below that.

Seems to be getting a bit too specific over ordinary speaker cable folks

- its only a f-f- cable !!! 

But to be specific -----  

Chord Carnival Silverscreen is (was) at the low end of the Chord range

Its simple basic 1.45mm diameter OFC,  but with a foil screen

Chords other cables discussed here .......

Rumour - 1.29mm diameter (1.31mm/2) silver plated OFC

Odyssey - 2.05mm diameter (3.31mm/2) silver plated OFC

QED 79 - 2.5mm/2 OFC

NACA5 - 4mm/2 OFC

To gauge the amps these cable sizes will carry if they were mains power rated

1mm/2 - 10amps

4mm/2 - 32amps

Chord Rumour (Install) is used as internal wire in Kudos speakers

Good on Sound Gallery & Ronnie for not flogging fancy (expensive) cable 

While we're on the topic of speaker cable, does anyone know why Naim recommends at least 3m in length?  This is something I chose to ignore, mine are about 2m, maybe even slightly less, as the equipment sits between the speakers; I know that's not recommended either, but that's how it has to be for now.  I have no issue with the sound quality, but just wondered why it was, and even if there is any risk of damage to anything?  

Oh, amp is SN2 for the record and the speaker cable is QED Kudos (yes, pretty vintage).

https://forums.naimaudio.com/to...-for-naim-amplifiers

Thanks for the link, Graeme, I even went to the FAQ before posting, but clearly missed it, what a wally.

However, it says "Naim amplifiers do not have extra inductance networks in the output, Naim prefer to use the speaker cable to provide the correct inductance and capacitance."  

I thought that was a key difference between more traditional Naim amplifiers and the SN2 for example, and therefore OK to use different types of cable where the properties may differ from Naim's cables, and therefore in my interpretation length didn't matter either.  Not so?

This is an issue that really does require an answer from the designers at Salisbury. Only they can give chapter and verse on this.

Perhaps Richard Dane will alert the correct department at Naim HQ, who can give a definitive answer on this thread.

ATB from George

100% George,   given that Naim have intro'd the new SL cables, its time they made this issue into fact rather than the rumours we all seem to assume to be fact. 

As I understand, no Naim amp has a series inductor on the output.

Whilst the modern integrated amps are reputed to be more forgiving of cables,  I don't believe it wise to drift that far away & into the very high capacitance woven/plaited types.

Dear Mike,

Thanks for the seconding of the motion. I think it is an important point, which Naim should address with a formal public statement. Probably better to appear on the main web page as well as here.

Best wishes from George

Agreed, this is probably a question to be answered by Naim, or perhaps a dealer.  The cable I'm using is nothing radical, definitely all copper, just the relatively short length to worry about, I think.  Everything sounds perfectly happy together, but better to be safe.

Thanks Mike-B - this is really helpful and makes a lot of sense.  Certainly explains why the 79 strand cable (2.5mm/2 OFC) sounds better than the Chord Carnival Silverscreen (1.45mm diameter OFC).  My system sounds good now and I'm happy...  but the question remains...  If the 79 strand sounds so good at 2.5mm - does that mean the 4mm NACA5 will sound even better?

For certain it makes soldering easier 

I use NACA5, but it's only the best of the 4 I've tried (QED 79, Linn K20, NACA5, Gale ?)

Well, the manual is clear, so I'm not really sure what "issue" there is here;

I'm not entirely convinced that one really can make that inference. All the quote says is that 'some' amps are designed only to work with Naim cables, whereas 'others' can use any decent cable. How is one to know whether one's amp is one of the 'some' or one of the 'others'. Reading the quote objectively, it's actually really unhelpful. 

From my experience the advice is dubious at best. I've heard 500 systems sounding fantastic through Chord Signature, and my own 250DR sounds very fine with Tellurium leads. If one took Naim's advice literally, and drew the inference that the 500 and the 250DR are some of the 'some' rather than some of the 'others' then one might expect the amps to have melted or exploded by now. Strangely, however, they work perfectly. 

HH, I think that the problem here is that really all Naim's amps are designed to work at their best with at least 3.5m per channel of Naim speaker cable.  Some (i.e. non-Classic) are a bit more tolerant of other cables, and some you need to be very careful (Classic NAPs) and here Naim cannot recommend anything other than at least 3.5m per channel of Naim speaker cable for safety sake.  

I think Naim's trouble here is that they are trying to be helpful and accommodate those end users and dealers who want to use or all something other than Naim cable.  There's probably a commercial realisation that many Uniti, or Nait owners may want to use something that's more affordable like 79 Strand or similar.  And so long as you don't go mad, it's probably going to be just fine and nothing will go wrong.  The Sales and Marketing dept. probably fear that such rigidity (insisting on Naim speaker cable) at the entry level end of their market may well "scare the horses", hence the wording that some amps can use other cable, but of course there's the safety back-stop that any alternative should be as advised by the retailer or distributor.  

However, I reckon that if you wanted a Naim R&D engineer's candid point of view, they'd doubtless recommend Naim speaker cable whatever Naim amp you have.

just to clarify (and not challenge) If the electrical properties of alternative cable are the same in terms of inductance and capacitance, is there still a safety risk to a Naim amp?