Hello all,
Didn’t see an intro page…55 yo audiophool with 35 years of hifi sillyness behind me, residing in France. Migrating from Jadis tube seperates after 23 years because my tired ears require more detail and control. Fancy new SN2 is now racked and connected with non-recommended cables to Sonus Faber Cremona Auditor Ms. For the moment, getting massively exaggerated bass response…Using stock power cord into wall to get used to sound. Don’t want to use NACA5 due to flexibility issue and SL requires winning the Euro lottery. Not sure if non-Naim companies can be mentioned but there is a British company whose name conjures up a mythical old woman with a crooked nose who casts spells and wears a head accoutrement offering Naim specs on inductance, capacitance and resistance…Are these worth a try? Secondly, when leaving your amp on, do you simply hit mute and turn the volume to zero?
Do appreciate your comments.
Brgds.
Welcome to Naim DavidParis
What ‘non-naim’ cables do you have ??
Its OK to mention brand names, the few exceptions are PSU’s as they constitute unapproved modifications, maybe some others
With my Supernait (1) I use Chord Odyssey, nice round 8mm diameter, flexible & inert memory-less bend ability, so it stays in place. Good quality silver plated OFC & teflon insulation.
If you say what these non recommended cables are it might help others to give a steer. The Witch Hat cables are very good by all accounts. You should avoid using cables as tone controls and you may find that you need to adjust your speaker position now that you have new amplifier. Just putting the amp on mute is fine: there’s no need to turn the volume down if using mute.
Hello, currently they are a pair of older Tara Labs RSC 500s. Years of good service and sound. I did read about the Chord products and would like to hear the Epics, but quite expensive…
Hello, intention is not to use cables as tone controls but did notice the powerful bass on an amp that surely isn’t run in yet. Will have to change cables anyway to get somewhat close to the Naim specs (if it is indeed a good idea to do so based on the amp design and Zobel network absence…). As for the speakers, they may be due for a change of owner one of these days, but no hurry for the moment as I get a handle on the SN2 characteristics. May look closely at Harbeth and Proac at some point…
I can’t find specs for the RSC 500, but pictures don’t seem to be anything untoward such as woven/plaited or Lintz. OK they have the ribbon conductors, but overall they are just a twisted pair.
I would not get too obsessive about getting close to Naim specs. the Supernait is not so fussy about cables, or at least mine isn’t.
What cable length do you need, its the total length & resultant inductive load that we (Naim) are aiming for
Also: all amps have a zobel network across the output stage, this is a capacitor & series resisters in shunt across the output. What Naim (& some others) don’t have is an inductor coil in series with the output, this is what the speaker cable is for.
I use Witch Hat Phantom with my Nova and I’m very pleased with the results, would recommend trying especially as they offer a return if not satisfied.
Hi Flac, am leaning toward the N2 solution…thanks for the advice.
Hello Mike, same here, the RSC 500 is so old that specs are difficult to determine, plus it’s a good idea to change anyway. I need 3.5 meters but will probably go for 5 per side for good measure. The WitchHats are definitely within budget. Unfortunately, I can’t change or update one of the most important elements…my living/listening room!
Looks like you’re good to go
Enjoy
With the change in amp, the bass you’re hearing may well be remedied with speaker placement. A change vs. any wall behind them might be all you need (??)
Hi Bart, yes but in fact as an SF owner for the last 25 years I got caught in a trap where I could acquire the SF Cremona Auditors in pristine condition for an excellent price. In the frenzy I somewhat neglected to consider room modes for the low frequencies. As the Cremonas are rear ported it has been an absolute titanesque struggle to tame the bass. A MiniDSP has helped but I dislike adding circuitry into the signal. Room placement is already at divorce-level so at some point I will seek to identify a proven association with Naim amplification. Room is 32m2 and rear ports currently at 35cm from rear wall. Side wall distance is fine. Previous SF models were front ported. Thanks.
I tried WH Phantom 2 x 3.5m from Naim 150x power amp to Naim Ariva speakers to replace the 2 x 8M of 15 year old Chord Rumour 2 and the WH did not work at all for me. I ended up with 2 x 3.5M of unused Chord Epic with factory terminated Chord Ohmnic plugs that I bought from a member of a UK hifi forum (name connected with fishes).
Understood! I recently moved to a sealed box speaker. Placement is still important, and different than my previous rear-ported speakers. But placement IS more forgiving I’m finding although I don’t know if that’s universally the case with sealed box speakers.
There is an interesting piece of equipment - PSI Audio’s active bass trap. I’ve not read any user reviews. But I think they cost £2000 each or so, and rooms usually need more than 1. Not recommending this, but just remembered that they exist!
Mike, I was told by 2 Naim dealers, that twisted speaker cables shouldn’t be used with Naim amps. Maybe that is the source of the problem?
Thereby hangs the sad & common tale of misinformation.
My Chord Odyssey is a twisted pair, as are all other Chord cables with the paired conductor design, as are all other cable brands with this design.
This cable design will typically give a middle of the road induction & capacitance, as such its perfectly OK for the integrated & new platform all-in-ones.
I suspect what these dealer people might be confused with the warning caution needed with the woven/plaited/litz cable designs.
Also I suggest you consider the Tellurium Q Black II or Ultra Black II speaker cables and interconnects - very good and neutral.
Hi Jim, it all boils down to the impossibly difficult equation between equipment and listening room variables. Always good therefore to learn from other’s experiences. Guess that’s why we keep looking for the ultimate setup that sounds precisely as we want, in our rooms, with all recordings, night or day and with all styles of music. Mission impossible !
Just for the record, before connecting speakers to SN2 I took the liberty to phone the Naim UK number for customer support. Was told by a nice person that while awaiting proper cables for electrical synergy, any cable would basically suffice…as long as they weren’t twisted. Might be good for Naim’s current and future customers to make this issue perfectly clear. On this very site you have the FAQ which inspires caution on the subject of cables…
Second Tellurium Q Black II.
I just got them for my XS2…wow.
I’m having a whale of time, doing the classic thing of digging out my not-played-in-a-while
and really enjoying them. And I really liked NACA5, but the Q Black II…phew!
There could be a hardness on some vocals at higher volumes with the XS2/A5…it has diminished considerably. Feels like my XS2 has gone up a level 
Even a two-box (202 etc?) friend was impressed. Very.