Hi folks, I’ve been thinking or purchasing a Supernait 3 for a while, but have been put off by various statements, even one from Naim themselves, saying that you need special speaker cables for using the SN3. How accurate is this please?
I also have a Rel sub to wire up via speakers terminals, and am pretty sure I do have to upgrade the current Rel power chord for the blue Naim one, at around £350. Is this correct too?
Many thanks,
Rog.
Welcome the forum Rog.
You don’t need “special” cables for any Naim amp, although for the regular pre-New Classic power amps, Naim do recommend at least 3.5m per channel of low capacitance and moderately high inductance speaker cable to maintain stability (Naim’s NACA5 is ideal here). More on that can be read here;
The Supernait 3 is rather more tolerant than that though, and while you still should stick to a combination of low capacitance and moderately high inductance in the cable you use, you can likely use shorter lengths of around 2m per channel without any problems.
More of an issue though is that running a high level sub feed straight off the amp terminals can be problematic. At best, it’ll just lower performance somewhat, but it can also create buzzing, humming, hot running, and even force a shutdown. Much better to connect the high level connection from the speaker terminal end, that way it’s not “seen” by the amp. Best of all, no need to spend loads of money. It’s just a reference signal so cheap and flexible is the order of the day. We used to use Chord Leyline at the factory for high level sub connection and it worked really well.
6 Likes
SN3 here with 3metre pair Kudos KS1 cable. 
4 Likes
Thanks for that Richard, appreciate the feedback. It sounds like it may not be too much of a problem. I did forget to mention my speaker cable length is currently around 2m and I don’t need to increase that for placement purposes, so that’s good to hear.
In my tiredness I wrote I needed to upgrade the power cable for the Rel but it is in fact the high level nitric (?) connection that I’ve been advised to replace, as I think you assumed anyway.
I have other amps to consider also, but they are more expensive, such as Leema Tucana Anniversary, Hegel 400, SIM moon, luxman 509x. So many things to consider hey!
1 Like
The Naim version of Rel’s Bassline Blue cable you referred to above is a good, but expensive option if you want to connect the sub to the amp rather than to the speakers.
There’s a much cheaper version made by a seller called Designacable which would be my choice. Either that or connect to the loudspeakers, in which case, as Richard says, a bit of cheap old bellwire is all you need. If your sub is located close to the speakers this could be a good option.
2 Likes
Which speaker cable do you have currently, it might be perfectly suitable?
1 Like
At the risk of asking a really dim question, how does one achieve this if one needs to plug the REL in to both speakers? Surely it is far easier to do this at the amplifier end? 
1 Like
You would need to split the outer sheath of the Rel supplied cable to do this so that you can run onecable to one speaker, and two to the other one. This sounds messy but works very well.
5 Likes
I use Linn K400 (cut in half for single wire connection). About 2.5 meters.
I prefer it to Linn K20(= Naim NACA4).
The NACA4 is a bit leaner sounding compared.
And low level connection to my sub, but I recently prefer the sound without the sub.
2 Likes
Shopping in that price range definitely require a demo, better yet a home demo.
If buying second hand, I’d add Supernait 2 to your list - often available at half price.
Listen to Rega Aethos if possible, I went from Supernait to Aethos.
1 Like
Hi @Radiorog
I have a Supernait3, having also owned the previous SN2 model. It’s a brilliant amp. The SN3 will work well with any low capacitance / high inductance cables and a 2 meter length will be fine.
Many on here running a SN3 recommend the following speaker cables:
- Kudos KS1
- Tellurium Q Black II (what I use)
- One of the Chord offerings such as Chord Epic
- NACA5 (Personally, I think all of the above are noticeably better than NACA5 with this amp).
I’ll speculate that whatever model of Dynaudio speakers you have, they will work well with a Supernait. It would be good to know what amp you decide to go for in the end. Hope you are able to listen to your different options before buying.
3 Likes
I am using Chord Epic X with my Spendor A4 and my SN3 with great results.
2 Likes
Hi, sorry for the delay. I have The chord company , carnival silver screen.
I’ve been thinking of getting some van dammed cables for quite a while, to try something different.
Great, yep, checked that out tonight, seems to be about £200 for a 6m length.
That could be an option, as my Rel came with 2 lengths of 10m in the box. 
That’s interesting. What did you prefer from the Aethos?
Thanks for that. I currently have chord company - carnival silver screen , is that low capacitance/high inductance doyouknow?
Do you know if van damme cable can work?
I heard the SN3 very briefly, I liked it, but didn’t spend enough time with it as it had a large channel imbalance at low volume, and moved on to next amp in the demo.
I’ve had the Leema at home for a while and it’s a great amp, just nearly 2k more than the SN3. I’m thinking the SN3 was slightly warmer amp, but could be wrong there.
Thanks.
Van Damme will likely perform equally at best.
Long length will be the deciding factor.
Naim amps are better IME with long length cables(5-6M+) rather than short (2-3M)
1 Like
Right cool, thanks. Is that even the newer amps, such as SN3?
I have a SN3/Hicap with Harbeth M30.1s and a REL sub (I forget the model) run from the speaker outputs and have had no problems. Similarly with an original Supernait with the same speakers and LS3/5as. I can’t comment about the sound without as I have never done that. Speaker cable is Chord Epic. I have never had buzzing, humming, hot running or shutdown having used this arrangement for about 12 years.
1 Like