Interconnect choice

Granted posted:

...I wonder if I should consider any other interconnect......  

I say not. You've already done the hard bit with the NAC552.

Chris

Max_B posted:

I do not understand this sheepish, single-minded obedience to SL.

Do you think it is that unusual for a even a 'sort of" Naim product? It is a competent cable though and an upgrade on the HiLine 

Is the H-Line made in house by Naim?

KTMax posted:

Is the H-Line made in house by Naim?

Yes

Chris Dolan posted:

Max_B posted:

I do not understand this sheepish, single-minded obedience to SL.

Do you think it is that unusual for a even a 'sort of" Naim product? It is a competent cable though and an upgrade on the HiLine 

I don't. I have heard a demo of an almost full Naim/SL system (CDX2, SL interconnect, 282, SC, Naim DIN to XLR, NAP300, SL speaker cables, some speakers) and found the SL excellent, even – literally – out of the box. I only think that Vertere is a quasi 'home' alternative at a more 'reasonable' cost, and am a little amazed at the number of people ready to toss thousands for cables in a cost area where alternatives are not few. That the SL is more recommendable because it (almost) bears the house brand, it's understandable and I understand it. But in this specific case, and here only, my trust in Vertere range is great because price tags are more evenly distributed and, as I wrote, I heard with my ears how good the D–Fi basic interconnect, at £150, is. Just an example.

Best

Max

I don't know if I can mention this, but TomTomAudio has a page where he sells 'Naim compatible' (ouch..) Vertere cables, and there are at least a couple of Din to Din 180° ICs that look excellent within the 3-figures range. I mean, people spend fortunes on Nordost and could try Vertere. If there is at least one person here who thinks I have good ears and taste, please try one Vertere once.

M

(Sorry, I must have violated five or six Forum rules in a single time. Does it count for personal scoring, like at bowling?)

Is it a fact that the Naim SL cables are made by Vertere or just a rumor? There is certainly some resemblance in looks but that doesn't say much. 

Max_B posted:

I don't know if I can mention this, but TomTomAudio has a page where he sells 'Naim compatible' (ouch..) Vertere cables, and there are at least a couple of Din to Din 180° ICs that look excellent within the 3-figures range. I mean, people spend fortunes on Nordost and could try Vertere. If there is at least one person here who thinks I have good ears and taste, please try one Vertere once.

M

(Sorry, I must have violated five or six Forum rules in a single time. Does it count for personal scoring, like at bowling?)

Stick a link up for good measure

Klout10 posted:

KTMax posted:

Is the H-Line made in house by Naim?

Yes

You mean they fit plugs to cables? Or they manufacture the cables too?

KTMax posted:

Is it a fact that the Naim SL cables are made by Vertere or just a rumor? There is certainly some resemblance in looks but that doesn't say much. 

I can't say whether or not the rumours are correct, but when I enquired about speaker link jumpers recently, I was assured by Naim that the Vertere offering is not the same as Super Lumina. 

wenger2015 posted:

Have to disagree,  why buy a 552 and not utilise it to the full.

A high end cable is an absolute must. 

You don't necessarily need to buy new.

Hold on a minute so my 700 pound HiLine is not considered High End anymore OMG! I feel like a teenager whose been sold some fake hash.

Let's start again from a different perspective. Nordost, Chord, TelluriumQ and all sorts of cables have been discussed here. I give my contribution praising a cable I know well and have owned. It seems to be not totally unrelated to Naim. It has a more reasonable cost than SL. Do someone wish to try it? They're welcome. They don't? Life goes on. A good Saturday to all,

Max

(Richard usually moderates me when I cross the line. If he won't, each please draw conclusions). 

And where do Vertere get their cables from ?

I can hardly imagine Touraj makes them himself

Don't worry Bob, back in the real world it might be useful at this point to recall what cabling was being used during the NAC552's development and also during the first few years of its rapturous reception.  Here's a clue: the interconnects and SNAICs were the ones that usually came in the box with the kit.  The speaker cables were, what else, but NACA5.  The NAC552 sang back then, just as it sings now using just the same cabling.

Is it important? I can hardly see anyone at Naim actually building NAC A5. Anyway, why not ask them directly?

Max_B posted:

Is it important? I can hardly see anyone at Naim actually building NAC A5. Anyway, why not ask them directly?

Why do you think its so important I should ask for it ? And would you really believe for a positive reply ? 

I was just doing a follow up on the discussion whether Vertere cables are sourcing the Lumina for Naim

Sure products with high profit involved (cables) are surrounded with source secrets"

Maybe others in the know or care to ellaborate ?

Drewy posted:

You mean they fit plugs to cables? Or they manufacture the cables too?

I guess Naim doesn't manufacture the cable themselves. But it can be produced to their design/spec and assembled in house. That would make it a Naim product imo instead of Naim labelled. They don't manufacture the majority of the electrical parts in the boxes either. 

Juist wondering, nothing of importance though.

I am just using the cables with came in the box (with NACA 5 as speaker cable), and everything sounds so lovely now, I am not changing anything. I don't have any money for expensive cables anyway.

On Thursday I received my WitchHat Din XLR IC (less than £200) for my 300DR acquired in late January as ex demo (1year old). Although I experienced many of the benefits of the upgrade from a 250DR, I have to say the piano remained dull to my ear both on vinyl and CD until now!

It wasn't even that it was Rega Aria to 282/SuperCap DR or CDX2.2/nDAC/XPSDR to 282 via loan SL because identical vinyl and CD replays of Istvan Kertesz's Dvorak Symphony No. 8 sounded superb and much the same. 

So do the Naim stock Din to XLR's take a long time to sound good (I must be up to 400 hours in 8 weeks) or is it just that WitchHat are much better even after 30 hours (24/7 at low volume when not listening)?

analogmusic posted:

I am just using the cables with came in the box (with NACA 5 as speaker cable), and everything sounds so lovely now, I am not changing anything. I don't have any money for expensive cables anyway.

 

It's not about having money for expensive cables. In reality, you don't need to change anything as the stock interconnects and NACA5 are as good as they can get. The costlier alternatives may sound a bit better or different, though it will not change the fact that what you have is good enough.

As you might have known, I used to have the Flashback interconnect for many years (sounded good in my system) but recently upgraded to Chord Signature TA due to all the hype. In other words, I have fallen to the temptation. Yes, the Chord cable sounds a bit better than the cheap cable. However, I am sure I will still enjoy the music if the cheap cable gets back in to the system. It's just that I have bought the costlier cable so it gets to stay in the system. I have occasionally swapped the cables and the differences between "good cables" are not major. The tiny differences with good cables may seem to have made all the HUGE difference as shown by most posts here on the forum.

When I mention "good cables" I am referring to those which fit well into Naim systems such as Naim's own Hiline or Super Lumina, Chord, TQ etc. although synergy will still play a part. Mediocre or poor cables will refer to those which don't fit into Naim systems such as Rega SC42 speaker cable (I have tried and it made the system sound dull).

In summary, what I am saying is the (stock) Naim cables that you have are good enough. Costlier good cables will just sound a LITTLE different or better. The differences are not earth shattering as some may have suggested. Of course, all my opinion.

Of course Naim make the cables themselves:

They take an obscure brand of micro thin Japanese rice noodles and infuse them with copper, silver and unobtanium ions before heating them in a fusion powered furnace.  Then they wrap them in a plastic made by taking Californian giant kelp and compressing it into a plastic by lowering it into Jupiter's atmosphere.

Huge posted:

Of course Naim make the cables themselves:

They take an obscure brand of micro thin Japanese rice noodles and infuse them with copper, silver and unobtanium ions before heating them in a fusion powered furnace.  Then they wrap them in a plastic made by taking Californian giant kelp and compressing it into a plastic by lowering it into Jupiter's atmosphere.

I don't think unobtanium from Pandora is available any longer. This may explain why the old lavenders supposedly sounded better 

Huge posted:

Of course Naim make the cables themselves:

They take an obscure brand of micro thin Japanese rice noodles and infuse them with copper, silver and unobtanium ions before heating them in a fusion powered furnace.  Then they wrap them in a plastic made by taking Californian giant kelp and compressing it into a plastic by lowering it into Jupiter's atmosphere.

Huge, I'm afraid you are sadly misinformed, since FrankF was able to give us the real lowdown a couple of years ago.

FRANK FMEMBER
09/07/1509:51

"I have just been given a sample of a newly developed Super Cable and it is truly beyond expectation. The wire forming the cable is formed from a billet of pure, electrolytic, oxygen free copper and is drawn at room temperature by two Shire Horses walking slowly apart. The process is very slow and this helps the wire structure but the horses therefore produce a great quantity of manure during the process. The gases from the manure rise from the ground and react with the wire surface to make significant changes to the structure, which improves Sound Quality by an order of magnitude.

The suppliers of this cable are now looking for a name under which the cable can be marketed. Forum members are asked to suggest suitable names and provide suitable contact details for companies wanting to exploit this discovery.

The Company who have developed this cable are now experimenting with wire drawn between two bullocks and maybe suitable names can also be suggested for this product."

I trust this clears up any confuddlement. 

Dave, that's an old skool way of doing it - things have moved on in this new H-Tech age.

But now as Adam points out they're no longer able to obtain the unobtainium, so the Shires'll have to come back out of retirement (or they'll have to take the time to train some new ones), so perhaps you're right after all!

I doubt I would have changed my hiline but for the fact it was so delicate - twice in snapped off so I found an alternative.