There will always be something better - Chord Music

Good post,  Jonas

What length are your speaker cables?

You need to upgrade the rest of your system spec in your profile now : )

Debs

Hi, 5 metres. Worse then 3, better then 10 price wise ��

The ChordMusic also works its wonders in my full Rega Reference system.

I also went from Sarum Tuned Aray to Sarum Super Aray before the Music and I found the improvement staggering. This was with just a RCA interconnect.

I totally agree with Jonas description of 'being there' .  As he says there is no thinking about the bass , or treble , or soundstage , etc.  There is just a sense of being part of a live musical experience , not only in all the usual sound quality  ways but primarily in the emotional connection way.  A lot of my music are live recordings , some of which I was lucky enough to be present at , and its just like being back in the concert hall.

I'm still waiting to try the Music speaker cable , but i must say i never liked the Sarum speaker cable , so time will tell  if that  has the same qualities as the Music interconnect.

Jonas , could you comment on the Sarum v Music speaker cables ?

Jonas, as envious as I am of you, I think a key factor in enjoyment is expectations. Let me give an analogy before I write more.  The series 'Breaking Bad' was outstanding for me, because no one told me anything about it and I wasn't striving to match the expectations of what others said.  I watched it with a clean slate.

Now, many dream of lottery wins and sketch in their head what system they'd put together - a full active Statement with everything to go with it pushing music through speakers costing 6 figures upwards, in a suitable room, maybe overlooking a lake.

But that could be from the humble affordability of a 202, 200 set up. If someone has plenty of money, their PERCEPTION will change.

A confounding variable regularly ignored.

PS Mind you what I sketch as an example does sound hmmm heavenly!!

You're probably right.

Don't want to turn this into a "money-thread". For some of the Naim users out there with top system I believe Chord Music could be the next step If they ever want to take it. My guess is that Chord Music is the best cable in the world right now for a Naim system. I have been wrong before though...

//Jonas

Jonas Olofsson posted:

You're probably right.

Don't want to turn this into a "money-thread". For some of the Naim users out there with top system I believe Chord Music could be the next step If they ever want to take it. My guess is that Chord Music is the best cable in the world right now for a Naim system. I have been wrong before though...

//Jonas

Yes, a confounding variable,  regularly ignored.

 But that's what we do,  spend thousands of dollars for subtle differences that can't be detected by the Norm. But, remember weren't the Norm

Just think, there's someone out there in hi fi land contemplating on:

""Siltech utilizes both silver and gold metallurgy in the construction of their Signature series of audio cables. Their twenty years of research in the field have allowed them to claim the lowest measured distortion of any brand of audio cable. They do so by reducing the microscopic cracks (crystalline boundaries) in the silver and filling the remaining ones with gold. The Emperor Crown, part of the Signature series, has the distinction of being the most expensive audio cable on the market.""

@ 33K, this guy wouldn't even consider Naim!

Just some Thoughts.

 Allante93!

Jonas Olofsson posted:

My guess is that Chord Music is the best cable in the world,  out of the ones I've tried, right now for a Naim system.

There is no such thing as the best in the world unless you tried everything which is impossible.

I've no doubt that you have heard what you've heard but out of curiosity, what other cables have you tried in your system?

Jonas Olofsson posted:

i won't bore you all with my findings with cables, doing a big "shot out" 4 years ago, ending up with Chord Sarum. Have tried Super Lumina after that, a side step but not an upgrade to these ears. Tuned Aray become Super Aray, an evolution but not more then that. 

With my 500-Titans-Melco-Sonority system, upgrades now are serious expensive. Of course it's fantastic as it is, but what if you want more performance?

Two 500 instead of one? S1 instead of 552? Full Statement instead of 552-500? Well, cheap it won't be but one alternative could be Chord Music. Having now lived with "full loom" (IC, Xlr-Din, Speaker Cable) I have to say the change from what I thought was "the best" (Chord Sarum) to new best, Chord Music, is bigger then I would have thought.

"Being there" would be my best way of describing what it does, nothing else really comes to my mind. Treble or bass, I couldn't care less when the artist enters the room. For me, it was a 252 (Hifi) to a 552 (music) experience again. I don't want to use to big words but I was quite shocked when I installed it. It just was so very, very good right from the beginning.

Its pricey and it's a cable, but the result speaks for itself. Highly recommended when you are in a position to take the step for the best. It could be the best cable for an Naim system to date. 

//Jonas

 I'm going to have to agree with you, Jonas. I particularly agree in terms of the irrelevance of the assessment of treble or bass - totally meaningless at this level. Tried SL and imo it was just a sidestep. Better than whatever went before it in the Naim range but unable to bring you closer to the music.

I've been running ChordMusic i/cs and DIN/XLRs for a good few months now and, expensive as it may be, it transforms music replay into a much more real experience than has previously been possible. Naim has never sounded so wonderful, the two belong together.

Folkman posted:

The ChordMusic also works its wonders in my full Rega Reference system.

I also went from Sarum Tuned Aray to Sarum Super Aray before the Music and I found the improvement staggering. This was with just a RCA interconnect.

I totally agree with Jonas description of 'being there' .  As he says there is no thinking about the bass , or treble , or soundstage , etc.  There is just a sense of being part of a live musical experience , not only in all the usual sound quality  ways but primarily in the emotional connection way.  A lot of my music are live recordings , some of which I was lucky enough to be present at , and its just like being back in the concert hall.

I'm still waiting to try the Music speaker cable , but i must say i never liked the Sarum speaker cable , so time will tell  if that  has the same qualities as the Music interconnect.

Jonas , could you comment on the Sarum v Music speaker cables ?

 

We agree on ChordMusic but it surprises me that you didn't/don't "get" Sarum speaker cable. For me, and several other Naim user mates (552/500, 552/300 users) it was an utter transformation. 

@ Folkman, I have a similar experience with Sarum speaker cable. It took me some time to "get it". It have, to my ears, a slightly different voicing then IC and XLR-din. I did though try to go back to Naca5 maybe a year later, an experience lasting maybe 5 minutes...

Music Speaker cable on the other side is 1:1 voiced as IC or XLR-Din. It just gives you more of the same effect. I actually started to sweat first time it was in place, couldn't really believed the absolute closeness to the artist. A memory for life.

//Jonas

@ Kuma, on a philosophical side I do believe there is a best for every person, no matter what the subject is. 

But as I wrote "there is always something better". There could of course be something better out there, let me listen to it and I will change my opinion. But until I heard that, I do believe that Chord Music is the champion for now. 

I have tried, in my own system, the usual suspects for extended period and many models: Naim, Vertere, Chord. Over the years a lot of other more or less esoteric cables in other systems.

//Jonas

@allante, I guess that's the whole point here: it's such a massive performance step up (being there) that the Norm would take a step back and look bewildered.

Chord Music is a new kind of beast. 

//Jonas

Jonas Olofsson posted:

@allante, I guess that's the whole point here: it's such a massive performance step up (being there) that the Norm would take a step back and look bewildered.

Chord Music is a new kind of beast. 

//Jonas

Just learned something new!  

@ Jonas, wow! 

But yes, Upgrading and getting a noticeable difference. In all my life time going active was the biggest gain. One word would be Effortlessly! 

The system just played effortlessly, and when the music called for thundering bass, drum kicks, etc.. it was there.

But that was with Linn:  LP 12/ Genki > Dirak PS > Karin > Linn XO with Bingo Card > Briks 

But everyone has an end game. I thought that was my end game, XO went out, Karin went out, and now it's Naims turn.

Some may decide to trash there 552 & 555PS and call it a day with an S1 pre. Others may decide to quit on the Naims Integrated SN 2, and enter the world of separates, 282/SCDR/250DR, and call it a day!  

And for those who have already reached there end game, they can experiment with Cables, I still like the Full Loom, beit Naim or Chord! 

Especially in your case! 

Funny how some manufactures can work together, Linn and Kudos, Your Speakers are ready for active use, where the crossover can be by passed.

Kudos and Chord, Chords internal wiring within your 808s.  

Now if only Focal/Naim could only work together, In the same manner Linn has reached out to Kudos, JBL, B&W, PMC, and Kef ! 

For that matter could they work together with an Active Speaker manufactured by Focal for use with Naim Electronics ! 

Just some Thoughts! 

Allante93! 

Jonas Olofsson posted:

@ Folkman, I have a similar experience with Sarum speaker cable. It took me some time to "get it". It have, to my ears, a slightly different voicing then IC and XLR-din. I did though try to go back to Naca5 maybe a year later, an experience lasting maybe 5 minutes...

Music Speaker cable on the other side is 1:1 voiced as IC or XLR-Din. It just gives you more of the same effect. I actually started to sweat first time it was in place, couldn't really believed the absolute closeness to the artist. A memory for life.

//Jonas

Thanks , that would make sense , as i recall i probably didn't give it long enough , due to the voicing changing my system in a way that was opposite to what i wanted.

From my experience of the Music interconnect and your description of the Music speaker cable that sounds great , so a home dem is on the cards as soon as my dealer has their dem stock.

Jonas Olofsson posted:

@ Kuma, on a philosophical side I do believe there is a best for every person, no matter what the subject is. 

But as I wrote "there is always something better". There could of course be something better out there, let me listen to it and I will change my opinion. But until I heard that, I do believe that Chord Music is the champion for now.

Jonas,

That's more realistic reply than your original claim:

"My guess is that Chord Music is the best cable in the world, right now for a Naim system."

I know how excited you were to discover how fantastic a piece of wire can transform a system.
I've been there a long time ago.

Enjoy your ride.

Not sure It's so much different. I still do believe it's the best cable for Naim. And tell me about it, I have been into this game for 30 years now...��

Jonas Olofsson posted:

Not sure It's so much different. I still do believe it's the best cable for Naim. And tell me about it, I have been into this game for 30 years now...��

Perhaps a stronger animal, not a new kind of beast!

"" I have tried, in my own system, the usual suspects for extended period and many models: Naim, Vertere, Chord. Over the years a lot of other more or less esoteric cables in other systems."'

Allante93!

kuma posted:

 

I've been there a long time ago.

Enjoy your ride.

Hopefully the mods will allow me just make one comment on the above..............?

Kuma, your comments sum up my experiences and thoughts nicely:

Excellent thread, it's all about the enjoyment of our music really. 

KR

Peter

Peter,

You are so right!

Richard

When the artist enters the room - hard to beat. 

Remember reading Malcolm Steward many moons ago when he wrote that the next step he wanted, no small bettering, but real steps, would be: how come you now are in my living room? Well, we are close now. 

//Jonas

Jonas Olofsson posted:

"Being there" would be my best way of describing what it does, nothing else really comes to my mind. Treble or bass, I couldn't care less when the artist enters the room. For me, it was a 252 (Hifi) to a 552 (music) experience again. I don't want to use to big words but I was quite shocked when I installed it. It just was so very, very good right from the beginning.

 

I have to sat that I agree with you there Jonas. Words really can't do the music justice so just sit back and enjoy. 

Oh no, not what I wanted to read this morning! For the last year or so, I haven't been listening to my stereo much for a variety of reasons.

But I'm currently listening a lot more after a few tweaks and upgraditis has set in. Soon I'll be doing some box upgrades but cables have been on the back of my mind as well. I was thinking to try the super sarum at some point but I'll probably just go straight to the music.

It's certainly nice to get the best out of our Naim systems. Thanks for starting this thread Jonas and everyone who posted their findings as well. I was already aware of PB's experience so this is just pushing me closer to trying the music cable.

I'm going to go hide the credit cards now...

Arun

@ Arun, to little and to late I'm afraid ����

I have listened to Music speaker cables, and I was not convinced. Too much bass and some material got to up front sounding for my taste. It is very detailed and background very quiet, that impressed me. I am not sure why it didn´t quite work, the Sarum speaker cable was more balanced but not as quiet or detailed but easier to listen to.

I do not say Music is not good, but it is expensive and you have to be careful matching it with you system, maybe you need the very best equipment to make it work?

Another thing is that maybe it needs even more hours than Sarum to burn in and gets more balanced?

Suspect there is something wrong here as the characteristics you describe simply aren't right. If you're even focussing on the amount of bass or level of detail, then I'd say there's a problem. It's not a lack of run in either as, in my experience, they sound "right" from first listen and then simply get better. They don't suffer from the interminable burn-in that was such a bloody irritating characteristic of Sarum (which I suspect is the main reason why some have not rated them).