Alternative to Phantom speaker cable

That’s quite some extensive research there, many thanks for the suggestions! Do note that

  • RS part number 1037637 / 4MM PLUG/7MM CABLE RED / 1 pack 10-items

seems to be silver-plated. So probably one can just take the red cap from it and use it with one of the nickel-plated “black” bananas.

I do have a spare pair of Naim plugs from my SN2 which I can use to terminate my KS-1 (I don’t have NACA5 now), so at least that’s some expense saved.

Mine is “thin black cable”, that’s why it sounds darker :crazy_face:

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That’s very odd @sihctr, actually I do have these red 1037637 and the black 1037621 in front of me as I write this. They’re definitely both nickel plated and still listed as such in the USA/Latin system of RS.

You are right that with that part number they now pop up as silver plated in the NL system, and there’s a new part no. 1806657 for Red nickel and still the same part no. 1037621 for Black nickel. Very very strange - I’ll edit RS out of my original post completely to avoid confusion and mishaps in ordering. Unlike before, plugs under the Deltron brand are nowadays well available also here anyway.

And yes, black cable must make a difference! :slight_smile:
There seriously were white vs. black Naca5 sound discussions on the old forum, amazing.

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Probably worth a serious experiment!

G

I was in the testing group and preferred KS-1. A lot.

G

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These are the ones I use. :+1:t2:
Colour code chart with part number included.

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Hi Graeme, can I ask what it was that you preferred about the KS-1?

I agree with your dealer. I use Epic X and am happy with it in my system and room.

Musical engagement and liveliness. The Spectre was boring with a slightly ‘glassy’ patina to the sound.

All system, room and ears dependent of course.

G

Thanks… (The normal Hifi caveats apply!) :blush:

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Hi Neil, I started off with Chord Rumour and then progressed to Odyssey many years ago. As the system has changed over time, regarding upgrades, i have never felt the need to change speaker cables. I feel the cables have always allowed the upgrades to shine and have never proved a bottleneck imo.

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In terms of matching price points, it appears that Chord Shawline X and KS-1 are coming out about the same. Has anybody compared these, or have experience of the Shawline cable? It’s not been mentioned so far in the discussions.

It’s worth remembering, too, that Kudos used to use Chord cable in their speakers, certainly in the Titan range. They stopped using it as Chord were making improvements to their cables and this was leading to inconsistency in Kudos’ products. Derek needed to control what became a variable so he decided to do his own. You’d imagine that it was likely based on Odyssey and probably from the same source.

Deltron plugs are fitted by the dealer on my A5s, what’s special? Should I prefer the original Naim ones? Thank you Skeptikal

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Hi
Deltrons are absolutely fine if they are the genuine stock ones.
I used the SA8 Naim plugs for the amp end as that’s what came with the Supernait.3
Both types of pins are almost identical and there is no need to buy bling ones.

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Remember that the Naim plugs will send the cable vertically downwards if soldered in the usual way with the black plastic covers attached. This can be a good thing, but it can also cause problems where the cable if forced onto the shelf below, as ideally it should not touch it at all. In this case a pair of ordinary nickel plated Deltrons can be a better fit.
If you have the Naim plugs they are sometimes good to use for speakers, especially Naim speakers or any others that use the common 19mm spacing between the sockets.

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If I had a thicker cable I’d have used Deltrons all round but KS- 1 is ideal :+1:t2:

Who is the member from the Netherlands who can solder?

Pressed the button on the KS-1.

Thanks for all the info on here. :sunglasses:

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It does say Silver plated though on the specs. And your Deltron bananas seem to shine a bit differently than the Naim SA8. So maybe they are indeed silver plated?
I saw some inconsistencies in the specs, with both nickel and silver mentioned for the same product code (550-), so I am not sure which is which now :sweat_smile:

583-series seems to be consistently nickel, so maybe that’s a safer option.
And I keep wondering if rhodium plated bananas would be a better match for my PMC terminals (which are also rhodium plated).

This game can be so exhausting! :hot_face:

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Yes, even simple things like speaker plugs!

Rodium for rodium does sound logical, as amp side it is nickel for nickel as well.

I looked up the 583 series and I really wonder what the quality difference is (if any) with the 579 series and the also mentioned 550 series, there is a difference in price so who knows.

I have double-checked 579 part numbers and my original post is now updated accordingly.