Power Cable for Uniti Nova and Wilson Audio

I’d suggest that the power cable is the least of your issues. The Nova is hopelessly outclassed by the Sophias, which would be far more at home with an NDS, 552 and 500. I’d think again about the whole system. 

HungryHalibut has summed it up - the speakers look awesome but are in a completely different league to the Nova's amplification.  You would either need to spend considerably more on amplification or consider a speaker better suited to the Nova's prowess which is still excellent but not matched to the intended speakers.

Thank you.

From my research and Stereophile reviews, Sophias excel at lower powered amps, working sufficiently at 25 WPC. With Nova's 80W high-current WPC, they seems to blow the roof off, hair crawl at the back of the neck, with very controlled base. The only issue seems to be a dead upper-end. We do plan to listen only at moderate volumes. Would you consider this still a mismatch that can't be resolved by better cabling?

We only listen to streaming music, specifically Tidal with Roon. Preamps with separates and interconnects seem an overkill.

I have a Nova and it’s an excellent amp. You have done the right demo, done it at home and do not like all aspects. You need to work with the dealer to swap amp or speakers to get the sound right for your ears and room. The changes your dealer suggests are the system is cast in stone and work the infrastructure, this is unlikely to change the overall sound, if it’s that bad?

Crikey those are pretty expensive speakers for a Nova. 

Just for grins, search "mullet" on this forum..it may give you some perspective on what others are describing about the components that you have assembled. OTOH, you may find the sound awesome and perfect for your room- that's ok too. Unfortunately, a power cord or even a dedicated mains will probably not give you what you are searching for. Not a bad idea, just not enough to turn up your "subdued" presentation I'm afraid. Hungry Halibut is barking up the right tree here...

ATB,

Mark

Assuming they are easy to drive, it does not mean they would not benefit substantially from better amps.

There are many many variables aside the rated power output including things you can't control such as the listening room and synergy - some items work well together, some less well, some are unbeatable combinations.  If the 25W comment relates to a Stereophile review I found this was with a pair of 25W rated valve mono block amps costing similar money to the Wilsons.

https://www.stereophile.com/co...series-3-loudspeaker

Ultimately here you're going to spend significant money so I'd hold back if it didn't sound right until you can figure out what needs to change to meet your expectations and needs - can the dealer offer you a demo with a recommended power cable, and if so does it solve the problem.

I found my Nova to be a bit lifeless with NAC-A5 - I originally got some temporary non-Naim cable when I couldn't locate my old Naim cable pairs.  When I found the Naim cable I expected it to wipe the floor with the cheaper temporary cable but surprisingly the cheaper cable seemed to have far more detail and was much more suited to female vocals, being less 'in your face' and refined.  As time went by I swapped cables quite frequently but ultimately the A5 offered more on extended listening.  I guess I'm saying simple things like speaker cables can make a huge subjective difference or can tweak the sound to your liking, but for whatever reason I returned to the A5 cable.

Secondly while the Nova is excellent for what it is, I now use the pre-out to an older NAP 250 power amp as my old speakers which would cost a tenth of your Wilsons are simply controlled far better with this power amp.  So by extension the Wilsons may sound very good with the Nova but qualities you want may only come closer with better amplification.

If you find a good solution using the Wilsons and the Nova please let us know which changes worked for you.  Good luck.

I got the speakers used from a seller in another state...so it would be a pain replace them. (It was a pain to get them.) I may have more flexibility on replacing the Nova, though I love the simplicity and the promise of the product. There is nothing quite like it.

Just spoke Bryce at the Wilson Audio dealership in Bellevue, WA. What a helpful guy! The dealership is setting up Nova with Sabrina as a standard pairing, it seems. Sabrinas are the cheapest set from Wilson Audio, just as Sophia used to be. He's confident of the pairing with Sophia. Before the purchase, we did a different demo at the same location. The Sabrinas were drawing only 4.5 Watts from McIntosh 452s at peak. This Sunday, I'll get to hear Sabrina/Nova combination, and get his take the match improvement with Sophia.

Again, thank you for your feedback! You're very kind!

gtur posted:

Hello,

I am a newbie in more ways than one.

Just cashed in all my chips and got wife's permission for Uniti Nova (she wanted simplicity) and Wilson Audio Sophia 3 speakers. Did a demo at home, with spectacular bass. However the sound was very subdued, even with the NAC A5 speaker cables. The dealer recommended upgrading the power cable and having a dedicated AC line as next steps.

In that regard, would you have a recommendation between Naim Power Line (difficult to get *used* in the USA), PS Audio AC-12, Shunyata Research Alpha Digital, Analog or HC for the best option to open up the sound?

Many thanks!

wilson sophia needs at minimum nap 300 dr amp.....Is the dealer himself that recommended you the Wilson Sophia with uniti nova?    it is like driving a ferrari with fiat uno wheels.  sorry to be a bit rude.

Thank you, AC. Will keep the forum posted with what I learn. Worst-case: I'll beg my wife for additional budget next Christmas.

gtur posted:

Thank you.

From my research and Stereophile reviews, Sophias excel at lower powered amps, working sufficiently at 25 WPC. With Nova's 80W high-current WPC, they seems to blow the roof off, hair crawl at the back of the neck, with very controlled base. The only issue seems to be a dead upper-end. We do plan to listen only at moderate volumes. Would you consider this still a mismatch that can't be resolved by better cabling?

We only listen to streaming music, specifically Tidal with Roon. Preamps with separates and interconnects seem an overkill.

there are watt and watt....  Wilson sophia go often with VTL st 150, audio research reference 150, dartzeel, lamm ml 2.2.....

Actually FR, the Naim dealer said Sophia would not be his first choice after the in-house demo. His recommendation was to upgrade the power cable and get dedicated AC line to mitigate the lifelessness.

AC, that's the Stereophile article I was referring to!

The speakers are located on either side of a fireplace, on wood floors, on the corner of an oddly shaped giant L room, with huge glass windows just 2 feet from one of the speakers. Hardly the perfect location. I'll need to keep working on this.

gtur posted:

Actually FR, the Naim dealer said Sophia would not be his first choice after the in-house demo. His recommendation was to upgrade the power cable and get dedicated AC line to mitigate the lifelessness.

AC, that's the Stereophile article I was referring to!

The speakers are located on either side of a fireplace, on wood floors, on the corner of an oddly shaped giant L room, with huge glass windows just 2 feet from one of the speakers. Hardly the perfect location. I'll need to keep working on this.

the Focal Kanta are relatively easy to power and would be a perfect match for the Nova.  Or the vitus integrated with 25 w for the Wilson.  The Vitus, with its only 25 w, is much more powerful than the nova(80w).    The lamm ml 2.2, tube monoblocs, at 18 w, will better run the Sophia that the Nova. ( they cost more than 25k...)

Your dealer seems to be not honest:  power cables will change nothing, you will just give him more money....

Ha [@mention:1566878603992139]. Just read about the mullet.

Maybe the customs tax situation is skewing things. The used Sophias cost as much as the new Nova. Generally, I understand the distribution should be about 45% speakers, 10% cabling (if you don't need interconnects), and 45% on other components. I tried to get close to this ratio, but so far I've done less than 2% budget on cables. Wirecutter scoffs at cables, and recommends something like Amazon Basic cables.

I am heart-broken that you compared Nova to Fiat Uno. I love that thing!

A newer generation of audiophiles with gigabit ethernet and personalized, lossless streaming based on AI will continue to move towards something like Nova. The other alternative is seeing amps that come built into the speakers. I expect Vinyl and CD players use to decline. My wife just wants to use her iPhone or Alexa.

i didn’t want to criticize the Nova but the Nova is an all in one integrated amp with a streaming dac for around 4500 GBP, so the power amp inside is in the 2000 GBP range, very very approximately saying of course.

The Wilson sophia 3 costs around 22k GBP new.  So running a speaker of 22k with a 2k amp is like driving a ferrari with fiat uno wheels or driving a bugatti shiron with porsche boxter wheels, if you prefer.

Good analogy, [@mention:56335183628232089]. I see your point. Btw, "new" Sophia 3 is $16.7k in US, and Nova is $7k. Since Sophia's are discontinued, they current retail used versions at about $8k.

I think I'll consult with the very helpful Naim dealer to reassess. He was very kind to spend 7 hours to come and do a demo at my place. That's incredible commitment.

But... any feedback on power cable itself? Regardless of the speakers, is there one that you'd recommend for Nova?

gtur posted:

Good analogy, [@mention:56335183628232089]. I see your point. Btw, "new" Sophia 3 is $16.7k in US, and Nova is $7k. Since Sophia's are discontinued, they current retail used versions at about $8k.

I think I'll consult with the very helpful Naim dealer to reassess. He was very kind to spend 7 hours to come and do a demo at my place. That's incredible commitment.

But... any feedback on power cable itself? Regardless of the speakers, is there one that you'd recommend for Nova?

the naim power line lite is good and appropriate.  For prices, it is better to compare original price with original price. The Nova , without us import taxes is more 5k, but it is not only an amp, but a preamp, amp, dac and streaming platform.  The amp part must cost less than 2k, as the preamp part. It is not what you paid but the technology real cost inside that is important.

The Wilson are high end speakers, the nova amp part is more entry level in amplification.  

For sound quality optimization, it is better to have a balanced system or eventually better amps than speakers.  You will have better sound with a 10k amp into 3k speakers than 3k amp into 10k speakers, generally speaking.

I am sure that the Focal Kanta with the Nova will sound better than Wilson Sophia with the same amp.   Try some different speakers from the Wilson in your home or dealer place with the nova, you will see.  ( in the 4-6 k range, not too power hungry like atc...).

gtur posted:

But... any feedback on power cable itself? Regardless of the speakers, is there one that you'd recommend for Nova?

Power cable upgrades usually bring quite subtle improvements in my experience, and you will find a wide variety of opinion here, which probably won't help you make a clear decision. The Nova comes with a pretty decent cable as standard - I would suggest that you stick with that for a while if you buy a Nova. Leave it for perhaps a few months, then if you feel the urge, ask your dealer if you can borrow a demo cable and decide for yourself if it's worthwhile.

GTUR

I have Wilson Sasha with Naim500 for over 5 years and love it. Wilson and Naim is a good match. I think Nova is good enough for Wilson Sophia. Wilson is very easy to drive. With Naim, it gives great dynamics. Last summer when I had my 552/500 for DR ungrade, I paired my Sasha with Naim Uniti 2( Only 40W) it works well too but with smaller sound stage and less detail. 

I also had my Sasha with 282/250 ( my second system) for awhile. naim 250 is more than enough for Sasha, of course not as good as 500. 

Sophia is easier than Sasha and faster. 

I think Nova is good enough for Sophia.  However, Wilson is a bit particula with Position. Please play around and adjust position. Wilson speakers need to be toe in a lot. A bit of adjustment make big difference for Wilson. When you get them in right spots, speakers will disappear with big soundstage. 

Give sometime and adjustment, Wilson bass is amazing with great dynamic at low volume. 

I used all Naim Powerline and Superlumina cables interconnect and speaker cable. I think Shunyata is great but a bit bright but better than Naim standard power cable. In my system, I use Shunyata power outlet on the didicated 20 amp line. 

In your case, I will try Naim superlumina speaker cable before Powerline.

Nova and Wilson are good match. Of course, Naim 300 is better but... 

J the kop 

I don't know why people are so obsessed about the ratio of price between loudspeakers and their matching amplifiers. A better loudspeaker will always displace a lesser one as long as the amp can drive it.  You have to trust your ears...

gtur posted:

But... any feedback on power cable itself? Regardless of the speakers, is there one that you'd recommend for Nova?

The TibiaPlus12 from AVOPTIONS is a good power cable at a reasonable price.

J The Kop posted:

GTUR

I have Wilson Sasha with Naim500 for over 5 years and love it. Wilson and Naim is a good match. I think Nova is good enough for Wilson Sophia. Wilson is very easy to drive. With Naim, it gives great dynamics. Last summer when I had my 552/500 for DR ungrade, I paired my Sasha with Naim Uniti 2( Only 40W) it works well too but with smaller sound stage and less detail. 

I also had my Sasha with 282/250 ( my second system) for awhile. naim 250 is more than enough for Sasha, of course not as good as 500. 

Sophia is easier than Sasha and faster. 

I think Nova is good enough for Sophia.  However, Wilson is a bit particula with Position. Please play around and adjust position. Wilson speakers need to be toe in a lot. A bit of adjustment make big difference for Wilson. When you get them in right spots, speakers will disappear with big soundstage. 

Give sometime and adjustment, Wilson bass is amazing with great dynamic at low volume. 

I used all Naim Powerline and Superlumina cables interconnect and speaker cable. I think Shunyata is great but a bit bright but better than Naim standard power cable. In my system, I use Shunyata power outlet on the didicated 20 amp line. 

In your case, I will try Naim superlumina speaker cable before Powerline.

Nova and Wilson are good match. Of course, Naim 300 is better but... 

J the kop 

 

 

you say “ i think nova is a good match for sophia “ but you have not tested. You had 552/500 and 282/250 with Wilson speakers. 282/250 is a lot better than nova pre/ amp part, which is more nait xs range.  I have always found that is better to have better amps than speakers and not the contrary. It is my experience and had listened to a lot of systems in 20 years.

But i must confess that i had not tried nova/ wilson sophia personally. It is just my point of view, like the point of view of members above. But who knows, maybe i am wrong.  The op must try some combos by itself.

I've spent quite a bit of time listening to the Nova with ProAc Tablet 10's, SBL's and Kudos Titan's.  Super Lumina speaker cable opens up the sound and is far more resolving than Naca5.  The improvement is similar to adding power supply.  Highly recommended.  

Can't say I'm a big Wilson fan... did you listen to the Kudos 707 or 606?  That would be a much better match for your Nova.  

Adding TibiaPlus12 and Super Lumina speaker cable to the list. Thanks [@mention:1566878603995136] and [@mention:1566878603865114].

[@mention:1566878604019356] You give me hope! [@mention:36201736949470193], I'll give Power Line Lite some time.

Any fans of Shunyata Research Alpha Series and PS Audio AC-12?

J The Kop posted:

GTUR

I have Wilson Sasha with Naim500 for over 5 years and love it. Wilson and Naim is a good match. I think Nova is good enough for Wilson Sophia. Wilson is very easy to drive. With Naim, it gives great dynamics. Last summer when I had my 552/500 for DR ungrade, I paired my Sasha with Naim Uniti 2( Only 40W) it works well too but with smaller sound stage and less detail. 

I also had my Sasha with 282/250 ( my second system) for awhile. naim 250 is more than enough for Sasha, of course not as good as 500. 

Sophia is easier than Sasha and faster. 

I think Nova is good enough for Sophia.  However, Wilson is a bit particula with Position. Please play around and adjust position. Wilson speakers need to be toe in a lot. A bit of adjustment make big difference for Wilson. When you get them in right spots, speakers will disappear with big soundstage. 

Give sometime and adjustment, Wilson bass is amazing with great dynamic at low volume. 

I used all Naim Powerline and Superlumina cables interconnect and speaker cable. I think Shunyata is great but a bit bright but better than Naim standard power cable. In my system, I use Shunyata power outlet on the didicated 20 amp line. 

In your case, I will try Naim superlumina speaker cable before Powerline.

Nova and Wilson are good match. Of course, Naim 300 is better but... 

J the kop 

 

 

Yes I have listened Nova and Sophia3 at the dealer as I am a fan of Wilson and Naim but I don't own the combination.  Therefore, I did not describe to GTUR how it sounds as he probably knows it well.  I also have listened to Wilson Alexia 2 and Alexx. I personally like Alexx and Statement.. for the obvious reason. 

( I have owned several sets of Naim systems and Wilson, just to be clear,  I am not a dealer but just have Naim tattoos on one arm and Wilson on the other arm)

What I meant " it is a good match" for it price if one like the sound of Wilson and Naim combination and want to get into it. Nova is kinda entry level of Naim as well as Sophia.

For instance,  my friend has Naim with Raidho. He loves the combo.  I have listened to it and also agree that Raidho is great with Naim. But I like Wilson sound, he like Raidho sound.

Of course with better amp like 250 or 300, Sophia will sing better.  However, if one don't like the sound of Naim and Wilson, going up the amp will not much change the character of the sound. 

Nova and Sophia is not a bad system...just enjoy!

J