There and back again – NACA5 to SuperLumina and back to NACA5

I recently had  a similar experience, albeit with my bevy of budget hifi cables, each around $89 or so. I ended up swapping and swapping again between the V1, 110, and HDPLEX powering the microRendu. Ended up with the AVOptions tibia Plusses on the V1 and 110. The Ice Age is now powering the HDPLEX, and the other one, supposedly the better of them all, just killed the music upstairs wherever I put it. Lost the fun. Back to the original (albeit better). 

Ironically, I happen to like the one that didn't cut it on my Unitiqute in the office. It smooths everything out a bit, not so in your face, but also not the same amount of bounce as with stock, but very nice detail, etc. Exactly what I need for the office.

I also just switched back to NAC A5 just a month ago and prefer them to the other much more expensive BIS Audio cables I had for some time. Although not in the same price range as the SL, the Vivats were more detailed but the NAC A5 gives me the impression that there is more synergy in the recordings and present the mids in a manner that is more pleasant and better suited to my tastes and current kit. I guess I could have saved a few words and just said, that the NAC A5 seems to bring more swing in a manner of speaking. 

No quarter posted:

Hi Adam,my system is N 272/250 dr/xps dr (soon to be added) and i have (2) 7m runs of nac a5 which have the "F" connections added,all on Fraimlite,with 2 powerlines and the stock din to xlr cable,running to Taksim reference 3a's.I am very happy with what i am hearing so far with the Nac a5,i always thought i would end up with the sl full loom,as i have an addictive personality when it comes to audio,but after hearing this,you have me re- thinking Super-lumina, It will be hard for me to get a home demo because my local dealer just closed,what is the best place to start?the interconnect?has anyone tried it,and returned to stock cable?If i went with the speaker cables(Super-lumina) i would only need 3.5 meters,i just grabbed the 7m Naca5 because i got a deal,but it is too long...what to do.

 

ı am 272/300 user and switch to SL speaker cable and very happy about the decision, the sound is larger than life, good separation of the instruments and 3D, also depending on what music you are into.... if it is classical, jazz and good recorded rock, SL is the king, if it is 80/90s pop/rock recorded badly NAC5 is better.... it hides the crappy master better. 

if you are using 272 speaker cables are place to start because interconnect will be just for CD player etc, with speaker cables you will improve all sources 272/CD/Analog if you have any. 

Also XLR/DIN is a waaaaayyyy too expensive addition for going full loom so i will try some witchhat cables first ( they are on their way ) or any other alternatives which won't be same price as my streamer....  

CD2X is my second source that i will also try with a new whitchhat interconnect and then i will see.... i don't feel like to invest for a SL cable because i listen more more form my NAS and Tidal. 

DIN-XLR for NAP 250 is the 'cheapest' of the SL cables for a 272-250 set.

Thanks for the reply Emre,what I meant to say was din to xlr (not interconnect),you know the cable that is supplied with the 250 dr,which is in the chain for all sources.As to your question of the type of music I listen to,it used to be mostly rock and blues,but in the last few years I mainly listen to jazz and classical,also good recorded rock as you describe.If it is a bad recording,I just turn it off right away.I am really quite surprised at how good internet radio sounds,I mostly listen to Naim radio 320k,Tidal sounds really good too,I have the high fit version.I still have a Hugo too,that I may try to re-introduce at some point,but honestly,I find the dac in the N272 to be really good.I was thinking of getting a micro rendu at some point,using it as a source to the Hugo, into the analog in on the 272,see if it betters the streamer of the 272.

Thank God this is not yet another Hugo thread then ..... 

No Quarter, I love my Hugo, when it works anyway, but adding one to a 272 seems a bit pointless. Why not have just got a 282 or 252 if you were going to go down that route?

Adam Zielinski posted:

DIN-XLR for NAP 250 is the 'cheapest' of the SL cables for a 272-250 set.

Id still need 6 of them... sigh

jon honeyball posted:

Adam Zielinski posted:

DIN-XLR for NAP 250 is the 'cheapest' of the SL cables for a 272-250 set.

Id still need 6 of them... sigh

Of course - with 6 x active. 

I did change the stock shoelace to Chord Anthem Tuned Aray. Some improvement in the lower frequencies presentation. But more of a subtle one rather than blindingly obvious type. 

No quarter posted:

It seems as though my best option would be to go for the Superlumina din to xlr,since I am using the stock cable right now,I don't see the point of adding a Witchhat(no offence) only to replace it later.Then live with the Nac a5 while my Xps dr breaks in...then consider the speaker cables.My closed dealer can still order things for me,but I am committed to buy it since he no longer has an actual store.

The usual approach is speaker cables first, which is what I did. When I added the din to XLR the sound was a bit odd for a few days but over the course of several weeks everything settled down. I firmly believe that there is a synergy between the cables in the context of a 272/250. 

dayjay posted:

 

No Quarter, I love my Hugo, when it works anyway, but adding one to a 272 seems a bit pointless. Why not have just got a 282 or 252 if you were going to go down that route?

Taking No QUarter's post in conjunction with his initial post on the thread he started, he traded in his Hugo and bought the 272 - it would seem that he now misses the sound of the Hugo, rated by most who have compared as better than Naim's DACs, and so adding it to the 272 is worthwhile. If that is the case then in due course changing the 272 for a preamp would seem a logical step - or, I would suggest, if analogue sources aren't also used, try the Hugo direct to the power amp: if he likes that then he could do away with the extra box and cost: easy and cost-free to try.

Hungryhalibut,were you still using the stock din to xlr when you added the speaker cables,or did you have the witch-hat first?My speakers are bi-wireable,so i had my dealer add an F connetion (to the Nac a5) and took the jumpers out.I don't think there is a superlumina jumper yet is there?

Dayjay

i agree,i mostly use my Hugo now at work with headphones(portable) running off my i-pad and using Tidal...sounds damn good! I also have another system in my basement for home-theater that i may add the hugo to...or sell it.

c

Innocent bystander,sorry i was clearer,i traded all the Naim gear (uniqute 2,high cap dr,supernait 2) but kept the Hugo.

I spoke with the owner of Voodoo Cables in the USA when I first started with Naim, having been impressed by their Black Diamond power cord. Bruce told me the best approach is to start with the "foundation" of the system, the electrical side. He suggested I first start by investing in power cords first, then interconnect and lastly speaker cable. Ideally starting with power cords for source, then preamp, then power amps and then interconnects and speakers. I followed his advice (he is an electrical engineer) and it seems to have worked, interestingly he also mentioned that the NACA5 appeared fine enough for bass drivers, although a better cable would suit the MF/HF. I have upgraded all so far except my NACA5 due to funds and so far it appears fine. For me, I think a DAC would create a greater improvement than the cable itself so it will be very interesting to see what happens there. Having horn speakers it is easy to hear bad recordings, so it will be a lesson. Does anyone have experience with a Hugo?

No quarter posted:

Hungryhalibut,were you still using the stock din to xlr when you added the speaker cables,or did you have the witch-hat first?My speakers are bi-wireable,so i had my dealer add an F connetion (to the Nac a5) and took the jumpers out.I don't think there is a superlumina jumper yet is there?

Dayjay

i agree,i mostly use my Hugo now at work with headphones(portable) running off my i-pad and using Tidal...sounds damn good! I also have another system in my basement for home-theater that i may add the hugo to...or sell it.

c

I was using the Witch Hat. I read on here a little while ago that there are now SL jumpers available, but they would be very expensive. It's probably better to get the crossovers modified so that you don't need jumpers at all. Hopefully this daft idea will fall from fashion: PMC for example have dropped them from the new 25 series. 

AussieSteve posted:

I spoke with the owner of Voodoo Cables in the USA when I first started with Naim, having been impressed by their Black Diamond power cord.

Must be fun trying to get a few of those to play nicely together behind your rack... Are they really much better than the stock Naim items ?

james n posted:

AussieSteve posted:

I spoke with the owner of Voodoo Cables in the USA when I first started with Naim, having been impressed by their Black Diamond power cord.

    

Must be fun trying to get a few of those to play nicely together behind your rack... Are they really much better than the stock Naim items ?

Absolute anaconda that. 

How about these anaconda's,  just been fed by the look of it. 

james n posted:

AussieSteve posted:

I spoke with the owner of Voodoo Cables in the USA when I first started with Naim, having been impressed by their Black Diamond power cord.

    

Must be fun trying to get a few of those to play nicely together behind your rack... Are they really much better than the stock Naim items ?

I use them for the power amps, they are superb I reckon. Certainly are thick for sure.

Mike-B posted:

How about these anaconda's,  just been fed by the look of it. 

Love those discrete systems that just blend into a room 

james n posted:

Mike-B posted:

How about these anaconda's,  just been fed by the look of it. 

Love those discrete systems that just blend into a room 

Like a drugs mule's intestine.

G

Hungryhalibut

My speakers have no crossovers in them,I guess I could put the supplied links back in,or find an alternative link...I also have my eye on the new Dynaudio Contour c 20,which would not need jumpers.I know I can not provide links on this forum,but I am using Taksim Reference 3 a's,if you care to look them up,or I could stick with the Nac a5...

GraemeH posted:

james n posted:

Mike-B posted:

How about these anaconda's,  just been fed by the look of it. 

Love those discrete systems that just blend into a room 

Like a drugs mule's intestine.

G

Those cables have to be the fugliest thing I have ever seen in a hifi room...maybe in any room.

Alba1320 posted:

Adam Zielinski posted:

Been playing around with speaker cables between my two Naim systems.

I was always impressed with SuperLumina speaker cables – one of the early adopters. The level of details they present is simply stunning.

Recently during some box swapping and moving I thought I would try my trusted NACA5 on a ‘better’ system (NDS /252 /250DR into Ovators S-400).  Suddenly fun returned.
Don’t know what to attribute it to.
But it surely cannot be due to this cheaper garden-hose lookalike thing…

Or….???

Welcome back to the fold, Adam - your 'transgression' will be overlooked on this occasion.

It's a good place to be in