You may remember back in November ’23 I asked for advice on speaker cable for my Atom and Kef LS50 Metas. The issue was the speaker cable 2m length.
Having - finally - completed all of the redecoration and modernisation in our apartment, now I am in the process of setting up my system.
Since my initial enquiry, I have had a complete rethink of where the Atom is placed in relation to the speakers, so that now the longest speaker cable run will be 9m. I know, from the sublime to the ridiculous.
The cable will now run around the edge of the room in channels under the underlay and carpet. However, my Van Den Hul CS-122 is just too unwieldy, so I am thinking of purchasing Kudos KS1, which will make for a neater, easier installation.
Although Kudos KS1 is highly regarded here, and elsewhere, I have come across an issue in a review of the Kudos KS1 whereby with a 9m length it apparently caused overheating with a NAP200.
So, my questions are (discounting the Kudos KS1’s individual listening signature):
Is Kudos KS1 at a 9m length suitable for my Naim Atom and LS50 Metas?
Is KS1 likely to cause any problems?
Once again many thanks for your advice and assistance.
KS-1 with Supernait 3 here 2x3 metres.
I know this might seem odd but it’s better to have both cables the same length and excess should be folded or figure of 8.
Not “ coiled “.
After five days without a single response I was beginning to think the answers to my questions were deemed too obvious by the forum for even the briefest of reply. Then, like London buses, all of the responses came through in one hit on one day.
Thank you to everyone who answered; it is much appreciated. I am reassured and now will go ahead and order the KS1 cable.
Although I have always had decent hifi equipment and really appreciate quality sound, I cannot grasp and I am not interested in the technicalities. It just isn’t my ’thing’.
Naim’s signature sound has been an absolute revelation to me since I demoed some of their equipment in my home a couple of years ago. It is the sound I have been looking for 50 years.
However Naim’s information/warnings/comments about speaker cable inductance and capacitance etc left me feeling decidedly uneasy that I would damage my gear by using an ‘incorrect’ speaker cable of the ‘wrong’ length with the ‘wrong’ terminals. Over the past fifty years I have just used a good quality speaker cable with all manner of gear without a thought about electrical suitability, length, terminals etc except for sound; job done. Getting involved with and using Naim gear changed all of this.
So thank you everyone for your assistance and advice. Now I can get on with setting up my Atom and enjoying my music once again; it’s been a long wait.
Yeah I think you’re topic got a bit buried but I like to go through when I have time an look at anything I’ve missed and once someone replies it moves it to the top increasing the chance if more . Glad we were able to reassure you and I hope you enjoy your music once everything is set up.
A 9M 15AWG cable run is like trying to put out a fire with a garden hose. There is a reason why many people have reported overheating problems with such setup, the laws of physics can be defied but not beaten.
I’ve run an 8m length of Chord Rumor (first gen) with a NAP 160 bolt down for years now with no issue, zero over heating. I would assume Kudos is similar make/gauge and would be no problem.
I went ahead and purchased the Kudos KS1 cable and have this week only just got my system (Atom/LS50 Metas/Tidal) up and running with, in the end, after dressing the cable around the room under the carpet, 9.5m speaker runs.
I have to admit after being used to my previous cable (Van den Hul CS-122) the KS1 felt like door bell cable.
Obviously the system needs to be run in after a year out of action but it fired up with no trouble and, I’m really pleasantly surprised with the early results compared with the CS-122.
With the KS1 certainly there is far more middle frequency definition, the bass isn’t quite as weighty but it’s tighter and again, better defined without any ‘bloat’. The treble has a surprising amount of sparkle, which combats the fitted carpet and furnishing damping effect.
To be fair, I would have been perfectly happy with CS-122 but the cable wasn’t long enough for my new room and would have been difficult to accommodate under the carpet.
As I said, early days, but so far absolutely no complaints.
. Glad we were able to reassure you and I hope you enjoy your music once everything is set up.