Seeking advice on a slightly rare topic that I have not come across much. I have a SN2 and Vandersteen speakers. I use Naim speaker cable in the proper 12’ length to squeeze any compatibility issues away BUT Vandersteen insists to use biwire to get proper sound. Not only that but Vandersteen uses narrow spades(or bare wire) for hookup. Banana not compatible. Right now I use jumpers and a spade/banana adapter on the speakers, but wondering if anyone has any ideas on solving this problem and getting rid of clutter behind speaker. It is basically two hifi brands that have opposite philosopies. Naim says use single wire banana and Vandersteen says use bi wire spades…They don’t just say it, they outfit their gear with such hardware making it hard to do anything else without “rigging” it.
The only thing I have considered is…
Strip the end(and the banana fitting) off the naim cable and long enough to make contact with both bass and treble sections on the speaker.
Buy another 12’ naim cable and make a bi wire set out of it.(single banana to biwire spades)
Use jumpers, but which ones are compatible/similar to naim cable?
Use another brand cable. I already have another cable that is banana/bi wire/ spade but doesnt sound as good as the naim cable.
Buy a small section of naim cable for jumpers but then it is very stiff and not easy to bend the way it would have to.
Open to suggestions that I have missed…
Many thanks!
Naim amps require certain inductance and capacitance from the speaker cables, which a single pair of suitable speaker cables will give you, but doubling them up will not. Putting spades on the speaker end is fine, though.
That is what I suspected too. I have read that the newer naim gear is not as susceptible to inductance and capacitance as the older? However, I have heard an immediate improvement using the naim cable so that is probably why…
Bi wiring halves the all important inductance that Naim amps need & doubles capacitance which they don’t need.
Some speaker manufacturers might tell you to bi wire, but I don’t read any science in that. Others make their speakers deliberately with one pair of terminals to prevent bi wiring.
If you use badly incompatible speaker cables, even with the most recent Naim devices such as the Unitis it can affect performance. So I would still suggest that you use a compatible cable such as Naim’s NACA5.
If you use an incompatible cable your amp will not spontaneously explode! It may just sound a little off, especially at high volumes, and may run a little hotter than normal.
I am very open minded to this topic. I hear you. I have read alot about this and people say that when you give a speaker single wire, you have all information traveling through the same physical wire. Since bass and treble have different loads(impedence) things can get jumbled. Bi wiring just separates the bass and treble in two physical wires…Anyway thats all I’ve been reading about but I understand that EVERYTHING on the internet is true!
Thanks for your responsiveness. So I understand now and agree, bi wiring is out…Just a question then on how to convert my naim cable (NACA5) to connect to double screw type connectors>?
Only active biamping separates the HF and LF signals carried by the speaker cables. In the Naim world that requires a second power amp and a separate crossover and PSU.
Something I have considered but i still need some sort of “jumper” it would be inside versus outside in this case not a problem, however, what to use as a solder jumper? It initially seems I am overthinking, at least to me, but then if I use $300 naim cables to convey the sound to my speakers then jump through a .10 cent piece of wire…that is what I would ultimately hear, no?
Yes but it is stiff and Vandersteen doesnt give much room to bend. I was just looking to see where i can buy some a5 by the foot. I think i will do that first and if all is well, I will solder the a5 to the inside(to clean it up) Seems like a great comprimise.
I don’t know which country you’re in, but some UK suppliers sell NACA5 jumper cables ready made. Your dealer may well offer something similar.
I’ve had my jumpers for a while and while they obviously aren’t the world’s most flexible objects, they’re not impossible to manipulate - there’s not a huge amount of space behind my B&Ws (another brand which advocates biwiring).