Don't fold your Super Lumina speaker leads!

My inner nerd says: fold it up and replace as before. Listen again.

I don't like adding to my own post so soon, but half an hour after tweaking the leads, the difference is astonishing. Anyway, I'd be interested to hear feedback from anyone who's done the same. Probably, others are more sensible and haven't folded them in the first place....

Jan-Erik Nordoen posted:

My inner nerd says: fold it up and replace as before. Listen again.

If putting a plaster on my cut stops it bleeding, why would I take it off and let the bleeding resume? I'm convinced of the difference, and would be interested to hear if others with the same wires have found the same. 

Well if it's a bleeding difference, fair enough. I'll give it a try here.

Hungryhalibut posted:

My Naim boxes sit next to the right hand speaker, so when I bought my new wires I folded the one for the right hand speaker a couple of times so that it was hidden behind the rack. Suspecting that it's not really a 'good idea' I've now stretched it out along the wall, so that it's no longer folded. Is there a difference - bloody hell yes! The sound is now more open and everything is clearer. It's as if a slight confusion has been removed. It's crazy what under a minute's tweaking has achieved, but I'm not complaining. What was really very good is now even better. 

this is actually explicitly mentiond in the small Super Lumina pamphlet that came with my SL snaxo cable...  so you have just confirmed that this is no tweak, but the way its supposed to be... i recall dong the same thing, to good effect -- and in an active system -- the impact was quite significant...

enjoy...

ken

Hm, I wonder if this works with shirts?

I wonder if the effect was as spectacular as removing an unplugged component from the Fraim?

Ummm...will give it a go tomorrow. I have only 3m lengths and my rack of Fraim is in the middle of my speakers so unfolding is not (such) a problem.

Jan-Erik Nordoen posted:

Well if it's a bleeding difference, fair enough. I'll give it a try here.

For my own future reference, I'm starting a notebook of things to do when I finally get my Super Lumina cables.

Entry 1: do not fold.

Hmmm. Seems easy enough.

I quite believe it Nigel. Another SL speaker cable tip folks - when inserting the 4mm plugs at the amp and loudspeaker ends; ease back a mm so that the body of the plug is not in contact with the body of the socket. This little bit of mechanical decoupling offered up clearly audible sonic benefit in my system.

John.

Can you guys really afford lengths of SL cable that's so long it needs folding?

If i bought some i'd need to stretch it to fit!  

Debs

J.N. posted:

I quite believe it Nigel. Another SL speaker cable tip folks - when inserting the 4mm plugs at the amp and loudspeaker ends; ease back a mm so that the body of the plug is not in contact with the body of the socket. This little bit of mechanical decoupling offered up clearly audible sonic benefit in my system.

John,

I trust you're also a guy that also does not lock the rings on your DIN's?

Anyhow, on with my SL checklist ....

Entry 1: do not fold.

Entry 2: decouple plugs 1 mm back from the socket ends.

naim_nymph posted:

Can you guys really afford lengths of SL cable that's so long it needs folding?

Trust me Debs, you really don't want to hear what some guys are willing to brag about on the "so long it needs folding" topic .

naim_nymph posted:

Can you guys really afford lengths of SL cable that's so long it needs folding?

If i bought some i'd need to stretch it to fit!  

Debs

It was only folded because the rack is just to the right of the right hand speaker. The leads are only 3m long, and the one to the left hand speaker is not folded. The weird thing is that listening last night I noticed that music from the right of the soundstage seemed a bit muddled, whereas on the left it all seemed clearer. Once the right hand lead was unfolded, the right improved to be like the left. 

This may sound ridiculous to some, and before trying it I was highly doubtful as to whether it would/could have an impact, but much to my surprise it did. The sound was already excellent, so you expect little from these tweaks, but in this case the improvement was very clear. 

I'll tweak the plugs soon - thanks for the tip, John. 

When is a fold not a fold?

Any pictures of before and after?

Richard

There is now just one loose loop, whereas previously there were about five tighter folds to conceal the cable behind the rack. No pictures I'm afraid as I made the adjustment on the spur of the moment. 

FangfossFlyer posted:

When is a fold not a fold?

Any pictures of before and after?

Richard

I was wondering the same thing.

Hungryhalibut posted:

There is now just one loose loop, whereas previously there were about five tighter folds to conceal the cable behind the rack. No pictures I'm afraid as I made the adjustment on the spur of the moment. 

You tease you ! 

So is the old concertina folding no longer appropriate?

Ah yes the multi folds in the actually IMPOSSIBLE to fold NACA5?

Any way SL folding or not isn't a problem I'm ever likely to be faced with, at 2 X 10 metres.

Hungryhalibut posted:

Jan-Erik Nordoen posted:

My inner nerd says: fold it up and replace as before. Listen again.

If putting a plaster on my cut stops it bleeding, why would I take it off and let the bleeding resume? 

Gosh you must have a lot of plasters on you if you don't take them off.

Actually it is not an appropriate analogy and surely you would want to try to discount confirmation bias?

FangfossFlyer posted:

So is the old concertina folding no longer appropriate?

Richard - are you really contemplating folding one of your 9 metre lengths of SL  that Santa is no doubt about to leave you?  

I say do this fold/unfold test roughly 80 times or so, maybe then there won't be a difference at all, just silence....

I am just intrigued and slightly amused as it may be that with NACA5 the 'wisdom' is that concertina is the way to go but with SL it may not be?

Funny old game this Hi-Fi.

As for me, I am still running with NACA5 and I don't think it will be in Santa's sack.

Richard

I had assumed that with NACA5 the concertina / crackerjack was preferable to coiling it if for practical purposes it could not be used fully extended