DIY for cable management

sihctr · May 24, 2023, 10:02am

Following some rearrangements in my listening room, I decided to move my Fraimlite stack in a room corner rather than between the speakers (as discussed in this thread). One of my issues with the change was that it didn’t look nice with the black cables hanging loose in front of a white wall:

And the rat’s nest also got pretty messy:

Therefore I got a dark LAPPVIKEN piece from IKEA for €15, and after a bit of cutting and screwing, I made this contraption :

which in true Naim spirit adds separation of the power cables from the rest:

and looks much better from the listening spot:

If it makes any difference in the sound… who knows. But it was 15 euros well spent .

What solutions have you thought of to make the cable management more… manageable? Feel free to share!

ChrisSU · May 24, 2023, 11:50am

I always use white or pale coloured cables where available. Not usually an option with Naim, other than that you can buy white NACA5.
I currently have speaker cables running under the floorboards so that they are completely hidden. With a solid floor, that would require a bit of digging!

One of the problems I found with Naim systems is that they provide cables in fixed lengths. With a relatively small system of 3 or 4 boxes on a low rack it’s virtually impossible to dress them discreetly.

Mark63 · May 26, 2023, 6:51pm

Looks much better!

I’ve been struggling with this as well with a wide low unit, and made worse by an AV setup in there as well, so 9 speaker cables, sub, hdmi cables etc on top of all the HiFi cables and eight power cables all crammed behind this has been almost impossible to keep organised and separated.

This is what I’m working on now, three frames that plug together with dowels and which will have three lift off panels on top for access.

This should help me keep the HiFi cables above the power cables and also bridge over the AV setup. Currently almost everything is disconnected while I sort out the AV cables

Mark

Mark63 · May 26, 2023, 7:01pm

This is probably the hardest thing to deal with in my setup, 2m is far too long. The Powerline lite cables are so thin I could stuff them under the unit, obviously not ideal but all I could do. The Powerline I got recently is a problem, I have to run it away from the socket then loop back on itself to the amp, all on the floor as well. 40cm cables are all I need for 2 boxes and up to 1m for the others. Adding more Powerlines really feels impractical for me.

Mark

sihctr · May 27, 2023, 9:11pm

Fully agree regarding cable length. Half-length SNAICS and Hiline would make cable dressing so much easier!
Regarding power cables, I am considering to replace the standards EU cables with MCRU No. 75 EU Schuko Power Cords, 0.7m. That should make things more tidy. Any if any sonic improvement comes along, it will be welcome . I will still stick with the one Powerline for my SN2.

Mark63 · May 28, 2023, 6:47pm

I remember reading good reviews of that cable with Naim. If you do try it let us know how it turns out please. MCRU do a number of sets to wire up yourself, can get the parts at a discount that way and can be made to your perfect length.

Maybe shortening the Powerline is an option for me, going to have a look inside the IEC to see how it’s wired (I’m curious about its innards too), but probably easier to rewire the plug end.

ChrisSU · May 28, 2023, 7:28pm

Naim have often maintained that they choose cable lengths that give the best sound quality in their systems. When I pressed someone at Naim during a factory visit they were a little vague about this, and I had the impression that they had no appetite for providing a range of lengths, with all the stocking and logistics that would involve. They seem to be happy to leave such services to dedicated cable suppliers, although even Chord do have some minimum length recommendations for Naim DIN interconnects, albeit less strict than Naim themselves.

There is a dilemma to face when cables are too long on a small rack. We’re told by Naim that they shouldn’t touch the ground, and should be allowed to hang free for best sound quality. Yet the only way to achieve this would be to use a shorter cable, which they won’t supply because it is detrimental to sound quality!

feeling_zen · May 29, 2023, 1:28am

A5 comes in whatever length you like. Dealers just pull it off the drum. I think only SuperLumina restricts you to set sizes.

As to the other, I’ve always found cables don’t touch the ground if the racking order is done carefully. I did pream top, streamer, streamer PSU, preamp PSU, and power amp bottom shelf. It sort of lends itself to cables draping down and then up without hitting the floor. Power lines coiled under the rack and tied with velcro with just the right length coming off each.

But circumstances in each home vary and sometimes it’s hard. Another approach that looks nice is the tidy but on display one. There are some pics on the system thread with an un disguised plug socket going to a mains block out in the open. If you’ve got a knack for flower arranging, this can be pulled off.

sihctr · May 29, 2023, 5:03pm

Not sure if I will manage to hear differences between the cables and if I will have the patience to A/B them in length… but I’ll let you know how it goes. I was surprised in the past that I could hear a difference when I put a Powerline on the SN2, so you never know!

sihctr · May 29, 2023, 5:07pm

It’s trickier with 4 Fraimlite levels. I have SN2 on top and nDAC below it, and the Hiline just barely floats of the ground right now. No chance for the SNAICs to the Hicap though.

NickofWimbledon · May 29, 2023, 5:28pm

Good job! Are you tempted to repaint it to match the wall?

sihctr · May 29, 2023, 5:30pm

not that level of OCD yet!

feeling_zen · May 30, 2023, 3:10am

It is tricky yes. I have another system with a much much lower rack too. For interconnects, I gently loop them. So they drape down, then up and then down again in a gentle loop. A bit of velcro tape at one point of the loop can stop gravity from unravelling it. In that scenario, the cable touches itself, but not another interconnect.

Velcro tape is basically my saviour for cable management.

Mark63 · May 31, 2023, 7:38pm

I got things wired back up on Monday but forgot to take a photo
I wanted to try and improve the routing of the Powerline this evening, excess is now looped behind the AV amp … best I can get it I think. Here’s a pic of it now.

Good old pipe insulation is used to bridge over the AV wiring, speaker cables are in pipes right at the bottom. Excess Powerline-Lite cabling is pushed under the unit as before.

Still a nightmare but so much better than it was.

Mark

sihctr · May 31, 2023, 8:02pm

Wow, that’s true commitment (and a lot of cables ) Hats off!

Pipe insulation FTW always

Mark63 · May 31, 2023, 8:53pm

Cheers, yes quite a challenge, it’s been bugging me for ages so nice to get it done, even though not all the cables can hang freely at least they’re not touching anywhere.

sihctr · June 8, 2023, 8:28pm

The side benefit of Naim ownership: Learn carpenter skills

The MCRU 75 cables arrived today, so time for some modifications to my wooden contraption:

Short cables mean less mess in the snake pit:

Also due to the custom holes, the power cables keep their distance even more from the speaker cables:

And pretty much no cable is touching another at the moment. I’ll come back with my comments on sound quality in a day or so, once I’ve given the cables the chance to “run-in”…

MKL1 · June 9, 2023, 11:09am

Nice job. Appears well sorted.

sihctr · June 11, 2023, 5:36pm

So I’ve spent a couple of days trying the MCRU 75 and comparing them to the stock Naim cables. SN2 always powered by a Powerline. I’ve let them two days play night and day with volume at zero, just in case cable burn-in is a fact .

Right now my temporary speakers are a pair of Bowers & Wilkins 685, and I tried them with 3.5m of NACA5 cable and 7.5m of el cheapo Amazon cable (4mm2 OFC though ).

The conclusion is that the sound with the MCRUs is completely messed up! There is a strong emphasis on the vocals, which have become more “shouty”, and you cannot follow the music in the background. There is more bass (the B&Ws started exciting my 45Hz room mode which wasn’t happening before) and overall they are more bright. Overall the stock cables are much more balanced and the music has more cohesion. So it’s definitely a no-no, at least with this setup.

Following this trial I am really surprised that:

I can consistently hear differences between power cables
The sound of the system can be affected so much by the cables
The sound of these cables in my system can be so terrible

The cable change was motivated by the desire to get shorter cables, without expecting any significant sound change. So the MCRU 75 seemed a safe bet with their moderate cost and good comments. Alas, life is not so simple…

My OH also made the same conclusions for the cables, without me mentioning anything beforehand, to avoid biasing her. So I can say that our findings are pretty consistent and objective (again, for this system/room etc.)

I am expecting my new PMC 21i in the coming days, so I’ll give them a chance until then. Of course the speakers will also need some proper run-in, and I need to audition different speaker cables to see what will match better, so it’s a lot of variables at the same time, which is annoying. We will see… For now I will keep the system playing overnight to burn the MCRUs even more (just in case…), but I can’t really see them improving. So back to scavenging used Powerlines if I want to make any modifications I suppose!

Mark63 · June 11, 2023, 6:18pm

Thanks, turns out I got my numbers wrong, it was the the No 27 that I was thinking of, just went to the site to check!

I’m the same with being surprised that I can hear a difference with power cables, I was pretty sceptical tbh. Been doing some experimenting and the biggest difference for me seems to come from the connectors either end more than the cable itself.

Shame that cable didn’t work out for you, maybe it needs more “running in”

Cheers,
Mark