Speaker cable length

The only thing is don't 'coil' the cable as this will add inductance & depending on radius of & coil numbers it can be detrimental to HF performance.    The trick is to 'fold' the cable as per picture

Naim's advice is a minimum of 3.5m lengths so I would not go shorter than this.

Sorry AL9315  I misread your post - note to self (#@%+€*&#!!!)          I wouldn't cut them,  5m is an ideal length (better than 3.5m),  loose the unwanted length by folding them per the picture.  Or as NigelB   .....  if you must cut,  then 3.5m is the minimum   

Thanks both for quick replies.

I will take your advice, but they certainly are difficult cables to manipulate, cable space is tight, but no doubt I will manage somehow

Regards

Longer speaker cables for some reason sound better with Naim Amps in my experience too. No idea why, but 5m is the minimum I'd choose. With NAC A5 when I changed from 5m to 6m the bass was better and presentation improved. I tried 3m and it was too 'fast' and not in a good way - muddled. 7m was better again than 6m - that is what I use with SL Cable ... and I don't want to know if longer is better with that cable!

DB.

al9315 posted:

Thanks both for quick replies.

I will take your advice, but they certainly are difficult cables to manipulate, cable space is tight, but no doubt I will manage somehow

Regards

The NACA5 is surely one stiff cable. There are other alternatives that are more pliable if the NACA5 is proven to be too difficult to manage, though it is difficult to beat the value of the NACA5 sound for pound.

I would recommend a longer length as well though it is not so much toward sound quality but convenience. You would never know you might need longer cables with a new speaker or rack arrangement. My NACA5 is 3.5m in length and Chord Epic Twin is 4.0m, though at times I wished I had ordered 6.0m instead of 4.0m. I now prefer to place the equipment rack at the sides instead of the middle between the speakers .

Darke Bear posted:

when I changed from 5m to 6m the bass was better and presentation improved. I tried 3m and it was too 'fast'.... 7m was better again than 6m

Wow DB, your ursine ears are impressive

5 m sounds best to my ears. 

I'd be interested to know whether anyone's been able to resolve differences in 0.5-meter lengths of NACA5.

I'm using 8.5-m runs with plenty of slack and wonder if shaving off an extra half-meter or more might be an upgrade.

I've used 3.5m lengths of A5 very happily. I'd chop 'em down. If you do wish to fold them instead, a very tight Z fold is fine. Heat the bends with a hairdryer and then tie the folded section with string. I always used fillis, which gave much more inky brownness than other strings. 

joerand posted:

I'd be interested to know whether anyone's been able to resolve differences in 0.5-meter lengths of NACA5.

I'm using 8.5-m runs with plenty of slack and wonder if shaving off an extra half-meter or more might be an upgrade.

Some years ago I did listen to some different lengths of NACA5 in the Naim demo room. While I'm not sure I could accurately detect half metre differences, I could definitely hear the difference between larger differential lengths.  The 3.5m minimum length was my least favourite, sounding a bit edgy and breathless at times compared to twice the length.  I posted on this some years back so you may find my post with a search.  These days I'm very happy with 10m per channel.  

Thank you all for the comprehensive replies !

Richard Dane posted:

joerand posted:

I'd be interested to know whether anyone's been able to resolve differences in 0.5-meter lengths of NACA5.

I'm using 8.5-m runs with plenty of slack and wonder if shaving off an extra half-meter or more might be an upgrade.

Some years ago I did listen to some different lengths of NACA5 in the Naim demo room. While I'm not sure I could accurately detect half metre differences, I could definitely hear the difference between larger differential lengths.  The 3.5m minimum length was my least favourite, sounding a bit edgy and breathless at times compared to twice the length.  I posted on this some years back so you may find my post with a search.  These days I'm very happy with 10m per channel.  

do you think I will benefit replacing my 3m SL for 5m?

greekspec2 posted:

Richard Dane posted:

joerand posted:

I'd be interested to know whether anyone's been able to resolve differences in 0.5-meter lengths of NACA5.

I'm using 8.5-m runs with plenty of slack and wonder if shaving off an extra half-meter or more might be an upgrade.

Some years ago I did listen to some different lengths of NACA5 in the Naim demo room. While I'm not sure I could accurately detect half metre differences, I could definitely hear the difference between larger differential lengths.  The 3.5m minimum length was my least favourite, sounding a bit edgy and breathless at times compared to twice the length.  I posted on this some years back so you may find my post with a search.  These days I'm very happy with 10m per channel.  

do you think I will benefit replacing my 3m SL for 5m?

My experience was with NACA5.  I haven't spent much time with SL so best asked of someone who has undertaken tests of different lengths.

greekspec2 posted:

Richard Dane posted:

joerand posted:

I'd be interested to know whether anyone's been able to resolve differences in 0.5-meter lengths of NACA5.

I'm using 8.5-m runs with plenty of slack and wonder if shaving off an extra half-meter or more might be an upgrade.

Some years ago I did listen to some different lengths of NACA5 in the Naim demo room. While I'm not sure I could accurately detect half metre differences, I could definitely hear the difference between larger differential lengths.  The 3.5m minimum length was my least favourite, sounding a bit edgy and breathless at times compared to twice the length.  I posted on this some years back so you may find my post with a search.  These days I'm very happy with 10m per channel.  

do you think I will benefit replacing my 3m SL for 5m?

If you are considering that, perhaps you have too much money. You could give it to a local charity. 

Hungryhalibut posted:

greekspec2 posted:

Richard Dane posted:

joerand posted:

I'd be interested to know whether anyone's been able to resolve differences in 0.5-meter lengths of NACA5.

I'm using 8.5-m runs with plenty of slack and wonder if shaving off an extra half-meter or more might be an upgrade.

Some years ago I did listen to some different lengths of NACA5 in the Naim demo room. While I'm not sure I could accurately detect half metre differences, I could definitely hear the difference between larger differential lengths.  The 3.5m minimum length was my least favourite, sounding a bit edgy and breathless at times compared to twice the length.  I posted on this some years back so you may find my post with a search.  These days I'm very happy with 10m per channel.  

do you think I will benefit replacing my 3m SL for 5m?

If you are considering that, perhaps you have too much money. You could give it to a local charity. 

it's called the state govt welfare that my taxes pay and when that charity wakes up at 4:30am and drives 85 miles round trip in California traffic just to go to work than maybe