Im looking at cable for LONG runs inside my walls (18 meters). As one might imagine, it can get crazy costly quickly. (So costly I may give up on this solution and let them sit on the floor.)
Nordost have 14-2 OFC cable . . . but so do brands on Amazon at obviously vastly lower prices.
(The capacitance and inductance values Nordost publish are somewhat close to NACA5 and SuperLumina; in some senses in between those 2.)
I just wonder whether Nordost just buy from the same bulk manufacturers. One can purchase big rolls of 14-2 OFC cable for very little money on Amazon!
No idea how the Amazon stiff would compare, but for a couple of alternatives you could look at Chord Leyline (it’s 16/2 but they say it’s good for up to 100m) or one of the Audioquest in-wall cables. Probably cheaper than Nordost at a guess.
Why are you running this in the walls? Also if this is a new building any wire run in walls in the US must be CL rated. If the building inspector see’s it’s not CL rated he could have it all removed. I believe the current spec for in wall speaker cable is UL-CL3
I did a fair amount of Custom Installation BITD, what are you trying to do, what’s the wire for,?what’s above and below this room. 60ft is a long run I think 12awg or even 10awg
Would be a much better choice.
Be aware that @airedog had his Nova overheat when using Type 5 (which has star-quad geometry, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_quad_cable), and this stopped when switching to NACA5. Not sure if that would be a problem with your lengths, but worth considering.
I had conduit installed in the walls (new home construction, yes in the US) to give me the option of routing speaker wires from my NAP 500 that way, vs on the floor. Conduits are capped right now; won’t be a final inspection issue.
It is a long run, but it is what it is. 30 feet of conduit to one speaker’s wall plate, 40 to the other, plus length needed from NAP to the wall plate behind the Fraim, and from speakers to other wall plates. To keep the lengths equal I figure almost 60 ft needed. Maybe closer to 50.
The Nordost def. is CL3 rated. Another option I’m considering (Witch Hat Phantom) I’m assuming is not.
For 18m I think you should look at a much thicker cable than the 14-2’s 14AWG. NAC A5 is 4mm2, hence Naim says it can be used up to 20m. 4mm2 is around 11AWG.
I would not go any thinner than that, thicker if possible.
I can see what Blue Jeans has; NACA5 is just not going to work I’m almost certain - its too resistant to bending around corners. Otherwise I’d go with it.
Edit: Good tip! Blue Jeans has 10AWG made by Belden (it’s Belden 5000) with a white jacket (Ten White they call it), CL rated. Less than $2/foot! Checking the specs on it now.
Belden 5000 – capacitance is higher (85 mF/metre for Belden vs. 16 for NACA5, although I’ll note that Naim SuperLumina is 74, so almost as high as Belden), resistance is lower (3.4 vs. 9 mOhm/metre), than NACA5. It’s always apples vs. oranges looking at cable specs
Thicker gauge will always have lower resistance, and lower is better in this application. It’s the main reason for suggesting thicker cable for long lengths. With this length, resistance will still be double that of 3.5m NAC A5.
I actually started my journey with my SN3 using my long held 10’ lengths of BJC 10awg white (Ten White) with ultrasonically welded WBT locking bananas.
HUGE jump in Sound Quality when I moved to Witch Hat Phantom 3.5m’s. Just enormous improvement.
SN3 ran cool and happy with the Belden 10awg. Just didn’t sound as good as it could have. And I’m pretty sure the Phantoms are not CL-3 rated.
Not sure how this fits into your project, but just a data point.
Tellurium manufacturer reports to US importer that they are concerned that for the length I need, plus the current drawn by the Magicos, the gauge of the wire in these is just too thin. I will take their advice! They recommend Ultra Black II but I shall not be buying $15,000 worth of cables, this I know!
As much as I dislike cable companies that don’t publish specs, I really appreciate their honesty here. Stark contrast to QED who apparently claim 16AWG is good for a 100m
To get a bit more sensible price wise linn k20 has to be the best value for money cable on the market it’s just Naim A4 for £5 per meter.
Or even linn k10 2.5mm CSA and around £3 a meter bargain !!
