Cable length

Hi-Fi Corner
1

I would like to place my rack on the side wall in sted of in between the speakers. In my room this would require 7-12 meters of speaker cable. I’m a little worried after reading that the wrong cables can damage the amplifier (for some reason I think the longer the cable is - the more probable itis).

Could a which hat pahantom of 7-12 meters be harmfull to my nap 300 DR?
Also - would it be good enough sonically?

And also - out of curiosity, Naim recommends their own Naca5 - with a known spec. All specs are connected to length
Capacitance: 16pF per metre
Resistance: 9 milliohms per metre
Inductance: 1uH per metre)

Therefore I do not understand why they also recommend a spesific length. When they recommend minumum 3,5 meters of 16pF pr meter, is it not the same as recommending minimum 7 meters of 8pF pr meter? Or are these to seperate recommendations - you should have at least 3,5 meter (regardless of cable) and your cable should be 16 pF pr meter?

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The Witchhat Phantom cables I use with my 300DR is a 10m pair. Works well, sounds great, no worries. I’ve had them for over a year.

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The Naim recommendation is not capacitance, it’s the inductance load to add stabilisation to the output stage, 3.5m is 3.5uH. Why not actually say inductance rather than length, it’s something going back years pre NACA4 when it was a specific pair of single wire RS cables loosely twisted together.
I guess it’s easier to specify a length when few cable brands actually specify the inductance.

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4

For such lengths just make sure the cable you choose is of decent gauge. The one you mention is 6mm2, so should be fine from that pov.

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Especially since they themselves sell different cables with different specs.

I also have serious doubt as whether that requirement still exists with current products.

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I use 10m per channel of NACA5, which works brilliantly with my Naim amps. When I listened to various lengths, this was definitely my preference over shorter lengths, especially the minimum of 3.5m per channel.

However, how that applies to different cables of different inductance, capacitance and resistance, I couldn’t say.

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The recommendation for NACA5 with its given parameters is 3.5m minimum, 5-10m optimum, 20m maximum. You are right that the meter recommendation to achieve the same inductance would differ if the speaker cables have different parameters per meter. However, the values are often not published for other cables. Braided and twisted cabled are not suitable and can indeed even damage the amp. However, Witchhat has “the Naim specialists” written large on their home page and their cables are suitable and work very well by all accounts. You will be fine with 7-12, but if in doubt, ask Witchhat.

By the way, FAQ here:

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Still I find it a bit confusing, normally longer lengths would require a better (more expensive) I presume.

Has anyone tried 10 meters of VdH clearwater? It seems to have the same spec as as Naca5

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I replaced 3m lengths of QED silver cable with 2m Naca5, connected to NAP100. Convinced it sounds better, more weighty bass and just smoother sound.
Can it cause any problems using shorter lengths?

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Unitis in general are much less sensitive than the classic amps. You should be fine with 2m A5 on the Unitiqute, I guess.

(Edit: Oh I misread, there’s a NAP 100. What Richard said :slight_smile: )

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With a NAP100 you will probably be OK. With one of the bigger classic power amps, I would advise against going so short.

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Ok thanks, good to know :grin:

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