I think you’ll love the KS-1 with your 606s. It’s a fabulous combination. The only thing that bettered it with mine was/is WH Spectre which I now have. But given that that is no longer available you’re going to be at the top table with KS-1. Hope your comparisons work out? Let us know your views.
When I was upgrading my speaker cable from TQ Black my dealer suggested Ultra Black. I really didn’t get on with it with my 707’s. It put way too much bass in. KS-1 was much better at a much lower price.
When I demoed cables last month (brightnest first)
NACA5, TQ, KS1, Phantom.
Im anoyed with myself as I got mine made up slightly too short ok for now, but not if I move my fraim.
I’ve been using my 10m pair of Phantom cable for the nearly four years since I bought it. Today I decided to try going back to my 7m pair of NACA5. At the same time I swapped out my Witchhat Morgana DIN-XLR pair for the OEM Naim versions.
Now my entire kit is all Naim cable (stock cables, with HiLine ICs for sources, and Powerlines for PSUs).
Some of my system has changed substantially since I got the Witchhat stuff (analog source + subs) so I’ll see what I think in the coming days, weeks, etc. My best gues is it might not sound better or worse, but different, but maybe the changed different is better for what I have now (for the very major analog front end upgrades).
But I really, really hate the NACA5 coat-hanger cable. It is the devil for sure. It will require some ingenuity to make a 7m length work.
I’ll be interested to hear the outcome of your experiment as I’m wondering whether to stick with Witch Hat.
Hi James, no issue whatsoever with the Mogami 3082. I prefer the “thicker / meatier” sound of the Gotham 58025. To my ears, the 3082 sounds closer to WH Phantom.
So far I’m still playing with the Naim cables. My source (TT, arms, cartridge, phono-stage) is all new and vastly upgraded since I switched to WitchHat years ago. Now I feel that I like the Naim cables more. I’ll live with them for a few weeks and then switch back to the WitchHat and see what happens.
In the end it may just be that neither are better/worse, just different, and one or the other are more appealing to me with my revised analog front end.
I’ve found the WH cables, both Phantom and Spectre to be more like tone controls which allow more bass extension without affecting other frequencies much. Also, they seem to allow the music to flow more easily. I’ve tried putting the NACA5 back in a few times but I just can’t bear it. Each to their own of course.
Systems particularly room and loudspeakers are all different, notwithstanding the varied tastes and preferences of people who prefer a certain type of sound or presentation. For this reason I’m not surprised with the different conclusions. This applies to components and loudspeakers too.
If you have bright sounding speakers and prefer a warmer sound, or you want a more upbeat presentation with midbass boost where the midbass sticks out more and low bass chopped off, the NACA5 may fit well. It’s an overall more aggressive sounding cable for certain speakers despite the warmish sound. With the NACA5 the treble is rolled off and low bass is chopped off.
What does that even mean? There is no bass at “both” frequency extremes. Just one, right?
'treble is rolled off and low bass is chopped off at both frequency extremes."
OK. I see. That just sounded a bit odd. What you mean is just “treble is rolled off and low bass is chopped off”.
I don’t think I agree about the NACA5 rolloff at the bass and treble, FWIW, at least not compared to the WitchHat Phantom I have been using. I am thinking about selling my Phantom and sticking with NACA5. It might have to do with the fact I completely changed my analog front end since getting the Phantom years ago, and maybe now the NACA5 favors it.
Corrected.
In comparison to Chord Epic and Signature XL, the NAC A5 sounds that way in my system. I don’t have experience with Witchhat Phantom. Most people who compared naca5 to Chord Epic found the Chord to be bright so it’s all relative. The Chord Signature XL sounds just nice in the treble with better bass control and definition in comparison to NAC A5, and the overall clarity, separation and detail across the frequency spectrum are better.
OK. Fair enough. I have a non-zero chance to ever audition Chord speaker cables, but it isn’t much higher than 1%. I think a lot is system dependent and for me it’s going to come down to my analog front end, where I am getting great bass and treble response, and the NACA5 is not interfering as far as I can tell. I definitely don’t need things bright, as you say others noted with Chord. I already have great treble extension/response.
Yes it’s all system dependent. I only have a digital front end, no turntable, and the amp is currently a Luxman and not a Naim. Nevertheless I have made the cable comparison on the Naim before (282/250DR).
Apart from NAC A5, the Cardas Clear was also recommended as a great sounding cable but it’s too costly for me and for the fact that I don’t plan to change the cables in my system since they all sound great at the moment. If the NACA5 sounds great in your system with good treble extension, then stick with it. However, if you are able to try other cables you might get better clarity particularly in the midrange and a different bass response. It’s all a matter of preference.
I heard the KS1 sometime ago and preferred Phantom.
I’ve just added an additional PS to my system and asked my dealer if he’d kindly bring some KS1 with him so I could compare them to Phantom.
I have to say there was no comparison. Compared to Phantom the KS1 sounded thin and lacked the richness and detail of the Phantom.
This was what I recalled when I first heard KS1 but as many have preferred KS1 I thought I’d better give it a review.
I know these things are room dependent but it would take some room for the KS1 to catch up.
I’m now wondering how good Spectre would have been.
How odd. I find almost the direct opposite! Spectre I just found boring.
Vive la difference!
G
I’m not surprised, the KS1 is a thin (15 AWG) cable originally designed for short runs inside loudspeaker cabinets.
My dealer and I came to the same conclusion, it was that obvious listening.
Very strange.