Hello all, Ive been toying with the idea of changing my naca5 to chord odysseyx or epicx speaker cables. Does anyone have any experience with them and can do a sound comparison? Also is there a recommended minimum length for these with a naim supernait 3?
My experience of Odyssey is that it tends to be a fair bit softer overall than NACA5, although it can give the impression of a sweeter top end and slightly more extended bottom end, but more laid back overall and lacking the sheer punch and tension of NACA5. Overall I prefer NACA5, which just sounds more “real” and more engaging to these ears.
3 Likes
I use 3m Chord Epic speaker cable on my SN3 and I am very pleased with how they sound, however, I have not compared them to NACA5 so can’t offer any direct comparisons.
Mostly people on the forum recommend the Naim speaker cables, but I’ve never tried them as I have always had really good experience with Chord speaker and interconnect cables and always buy them.
1 Like
I have Odyssey on my SuperNait (1) going to my 3 way floor standing speakers, (self designed and built).
It’s a long time since I tested NACA5 (& others) with Odyssey but I remember the detailed top end and more feeling in the bass.
As for the length, accepting that the SuperNait is not really bothered about its output load.
Chord don’t publish CL&R specs so I measured Odyssey capacitance and (the all important to Naim) the inductance. Inductance is 0.6uH/m so ideally needs to be longer than the recommended 3.5m to achieve the 3.5uH output load. No problems as I needed 5m on one channel, so I’m close to a 3.5uH output stage loading anyway.
I used Epic Reference with my 250DR to good effect 
. 3m runs, no issues whatsoever.
ATB, J
I’d also consider Kudos KS1. It’s a very good cable and is thin and flexible.
1 Like
I’ve had Odyssey for 20 years now with a succession of amps and speakers, tried NACA A5 but with my speakers I think Odyssey more organic.
1 Like
Sorry i forgot to add: proac d20r, supernait 3, nd5xs2. The naca5 works quite well, except theres a lot of midbass emphasis and lack of smoothness and delicacy. I hope to retain the PRAT and attack of the naca5 though.
Correctionmade to this post. I mistakenly recalled using the Odyssey but in fact it was the Chord Signature wire.
Years ago I swapped out my NACA 5 for Chord Signature. At the time I had a CDS2/252/250 going to Quad 2905. Upon first listening I was blown away with the much wider soundstage, the warmer tones and what I thought was more realistic sound to instruments and vocals. I thought I’d found “the missing piece.”
But then after a couple of months I realized I wasn’t listening to music very much anymore. I couldn’t figure out why until I went to a live guitar jazz concert and paid close attention to what I thought was making it sound so much more exciting than what I have been listening to at home. It was the leading edge of the guitar, the pluckiness of it.
I got home from the concert and threw on Al Di Meola et all’s Friday Night in San Francisco, an album I loved but hadn’t listened to since swapping the wires. Pressed play and realized that while the sound was very pretty, it was missing that pluckiness and my foot was not tapping.
Swapped the NACA 5 back in and while it sounded a bit rougher again, the excitement had returned and I couldn’t help but bob my head and tap my toes. That was the point that I truly and finally understood PRAT.
I sold the Chord and haven’t removed the NACA 5 since.
3 Likes
For me, that is a good explanation of what NACA5 can do. I’ve tried it in a few different systems and always felt that it added some realism and excitement, possibly at the expense of accuracy but that doesn’t seem so important at the time.
2 Likes
This is an interesting point of view. Would you say that the odyssey lost the prat and attack?
Hi, I use epic with my Nova and Pro Ac D20R. At time of purchasing the epic I tested v naca5 into PMC twenty.24s.
I chose the epic because it was a more detailed and warmer sound, but naca5 was also good. It came down to personal preference as always.
At least for me, with my system yes it did lose those elements. I was really surprised at how much difference changing the speaker wire could make. In some ways it sounded like a very different system. I had only ever had Naim gear since starting on my audiophile adventures with a Nait 3 in the 90s, and never fully appreciated PRAT before losing it. With the odyssey everything sounded so beautiful and lush, but just not as engaging.
1 Like
Thanks for the replies guys. In addition, has anyone else auditioned the shawline X cable in comparison with the rest? Main reason why im asking about the shawline is to control the bass which my floorstanders have too much of in a small room.
I changed from QED XT40 cables to Chord Epic x to get more control over bass. I certainly got that control, along with oodles more bass along with midrange and a much sweeter top end. That said, there is a huge price difference between the 2 cables but it was worth every penny.
I changed NACA5 for KS1 about 9 months ago.
The KS1 sounded different, which was refreshing in itself - it sounded a bit crisper and cleaner.
And it was seductively easy to handle.
I have been a bit out of sorts with my system on and off for the past months, listening to less music.
Anyway I just put the NACA5 back in and my 52, 135s, SL2s sound whole again.
Oscar Peterson and Stevie Ray Vaughan sound bigger, deeper, fuller, more real, with more meat on the bones.
Makes KS1 sound weedy and thin, like the sound was coming through a narrow, tinny tube.
My foot is tapping, and I’m loving the music. 
4 Likes
I had Chord Rumour 2 for years with Arivas, then Chord Epic, then preferred 6m NACA5 to Epic with SL2s.
I sold the Chord cables.
How are the 350s with your 252?
I suspect majority of people who have better success with NAC A5 than Chord cables own Naim speakers. On all my non-Naim speakers my Chord Epic and now Signature XL sound better than NAC A5. I owned the NAC A5 for more than a decade before it was recently sold earlier this year. I have owned the Chord Epic and now use Signature XL.
Although there are differences between the NAC A5 and Chord Epic, in my experience both cables actually sound quite alike, not a big difference between them. The Signature XL sounds considerably different from the Epic and NAC A5 though.