I have Spendor A4 speakers. With a SN3. I have OLD Clearway speaker cable. I am wanting to upgrade my speaker cable. Shawline or EpicX? I am currently using Shawline interconnects. Looking for a significant improvement. NACA5 is not an option. Too inflexible for my installation issues.
Hi @Jaybar, you may find Chord EpicX just as inflexible as NACA5. It’s quite difficult to work with around corners and is relatively thick so can present similar problems to A5. I use it but I did struggle to conceal it around corners / edges. It’s a more refined and detailed cable in comparison to A5 so it worked for me but it wasn’t entirely easy to work with.
If flexibility is an issue, then perhaps Kudos KS -1 may be a good option?
That’s a shame as it may have been a good option.
Hi Jaybar, there’s nothing wrong with OLD speker cable if its in good condition.
Whatever, I think a Shawline might not give you an improvemnt, its a thinner cable than Clearway (16AWG vs 14AWG)
If you are set on Chord cable & noting Steve57 comment that EpicX has a screen and will be a bit stiff, Chord Odyssey X is 12AWG and the same conductor & insulation as EpicX but without the screen
I’ve had Chord Odyssey for 20 years now with several sets of speakers, tried a couple of others but never felt need to change.
I have old Linn K20 between my SN3 and Proacs. Sounds good.
I use ShawlineX speaker cable, and as others have said, it is quite inflexible and thick due to the shielding and insulation. If you’re looking for a change, Odyssey would probably be a good choice.
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I have Chord EpicXL on home demo right now. I consider it superior to Kudos KS-1 and is also very flexible. It’s more of a mid brown which is less visible, at least in my situation, to the white of KS-1.
Have a look at Blue Jean Cables - Belden 10AWG.
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Bits of what follow are memory so might need verifying.
When you say OLD Clearway, which version are you referring to? The first iteration came with a clear outer sheath so was very shiny, this was very stiff and was replaced by a white outer sheath, slightly more flexible, but still awkward to use in shortish lengths. The latest version has the X insulation.
I originally had Monster cable, a similar construction to NACA5, that was so stiff that in cooler weather, if you knocked it whilst vacuuming it was possible to topple a pair of LS3/5a type speakers from their stands!
I went from there to Chord Odyssey and only moved to Chord Epic twin because I got a very good deal.
I had a chance to try a full Shawline loom and I cannot explain why, it didn’t feel right, that said, it has been mentioned often by Naim users, so may be a good fit.
Yes, there were/are changes, for me for the better each time. That said, the Epic is only slightly more flexible than the Monster. I have just unplugged the speaker end holding it loosely the natural bend is about 6 inch radius in a room at about 20ÂşC.
Then, I think it is correct that before bringing out KS1, Kudos used Chord Odyssey, so Odyssey might be a close match if you need to change?
Not gonna happen, sorry
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Isn’t Linn K20 the same cable as NACA4?
Often found on a well-known auction site at a reasonable price.
I don’t have the same system as you, but i do have a Supernait 2 along with a pair of Spendor A9’s. More importantly though i also use 2x8.5m runs of Chord Epic x. In my system, in my listening room, it’s a match made in heaven. It did take a hell of a lot of difficult auditioning to come to this “Nirvana” though. I actually started with QED XT40 that i had been using for years with an XS 2 and knew straight away i would need new cable when i got the SN2. I auditioned XT40i, NACA5, KS-1, Epic x and finally Epic xl. I didn’t try Shawline because i thought it would be to similar to the XT40. The best cable to my mind was the Epic xl, but it wasn’t that much better than the Epic x to be honest plus it was 4 times the price.
If you do go down the Epic x route, if your dealer offers a 96 hour burn in, take it. It is one of those cables that does take a long time before you get the benefit of all that hiding in there.
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Flexible enough for my use case, in fact about the same as the QED XT40. I am aware though that for a lot of people it may well be no where near flexible enough.
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Yes, that’s right.
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