Hello, Naim community!
I understand that NAIM recommends NAC A5 cables to be 3.5 meters or longer.
However, what about 3 meter (Include connector) ?
What kind of loss occurs, and what impact does it have on the speakers?
My system consist of
NAC 82/NAP180/with Hicap
NDX2 with non-Naim PSU
Speaker: Rogers LS5
Kind Regards,
Lian Choi
It’ll likely be just fine with 3m per channel. However, when I compared different lengths of NACA5 at the factory many years back, I definitely preferred the sound of longer lengths, the difference of going from 3.5m to 5m being especially apparent. Essentially I felt the shorter length gave the sound a bit of “edginess” that was appreciably lessened going to 5m. Longer lengths gave the music a better sense of flow and I could really then fully engage with the performance. Overall, I found somewhere between 5m-10m my ideal, and indeed, I use 10m lengths at home. With an old NAP180 I would definitely be looking to run longer lengths than 3m just on a sound basis. Do make sure though that the plugs (Naim SA8s best at the amp end) are well soldered. Use whatever best matches the metal of the sockets at the speaker end.
Hello Richard,
Thank you very much for sharing your experience,
I am currently using a 4m Mark Grant cable and I am satisfied with it.
Recently, I found a reasonably priced second-hand NAC A5 cable on the market, which just piqued my curiosity.
Genuinely interested by this. I’ve had two dealers cut me lengths of A5 over the years. I only need 4m but had 5m from the off for reasons I don’t recall. Each dealer recommended I stick with the 5m.
There can be a other reasons apart from sound performance as I mention above; 5m is likely more practical than shorter lengths as it will give you a bit more flexibility in placement, especially of you move things around or change room. Of course, 10m here is better still and allows you to move the system well away from between the speakers.
ÂŁ78 for no more work.
I sort of agree to get the minimum length but really everything else equal length as required…
Like my KS - 1
Excess Figure 8 but don’t coil.
I would second exactly what Richard has posted, I first used a 3M pair of NAC A5 after some time I then swapped to a 5.5M pair, & as he described it was a noticeable reduction in some harshness/edginess to the sound. This was with Classic gen kit, so would expect this effect to be just as noticeable, if not more so with older gen kit.
Excuse me I have a curiosity: Naim NAC A5 loudspeaker cables are labeled “Naim Audio ------->” with an arrow. Does this last one indicate the direction of insertion into the speakers or into the amplifier? Thanks to whoever will answer me
It’s the direction of signal travel. So the arrow should be pointing towards the speakers.
My (potentially limited) understanding of the speaker length requirement is it being a hang over from older generations of amps, I’ve certainly used shorter lengths (2m) on NAIT’s and an Atom and experienced no performance issues, currently owning a NC NAP250 I note that the manual specifies avoiding lengths shorter than 2m and ideally less than 20m (sounds expensive) but falls short of saying “but 4-5m is best”.
Looking as I am at various cabling options (like Chord Signature XL) adding an extra meter or 2 to the length just in case adds a lot to the cost, ideally, I’d be happy settling for a 2m pair as it suits the setup and doesn’t involve having to fold away all the (costly) excess.
What I find consistently surprising is that multiple Naim dealers I’ve interacted with, shy away from Naim cables in preference of others, taking a more open approach of “try yourself and see if you like it”, I’ve also struggled to ever find an approved dealer that actually uses the Naim banana plugs either in their demo systems or by request in cables for customers, that’s not to say they’re all that way, but these are all well regarded dealers in the South of England.
That’s probably because half of them can’t be bothered to learn to use a soldering iron any more. They can make good margins on aftermarket cables from the likes of Chord who use crimped connectors.
Yes of course, it’s a faff and not something many would be getting excited about doing. I just find it interesting the disconnect between the manufacturer and their dealer network, and I’m talking about those a short drive from Wiltshire in the UK, not some far flung corner of the globe.
In my case, like many, I’ve had Naim amps for so long it’s an easy default to just use NAC A5, but there always remains a little curiosity as to what alternatives offer. I’m going to loan a selection of speaker and XLR IC’s soon and see what happens, at home and in my own time.
Best soldering job I’ve ever seen of SA8 plug pins is Cymbiosis.
He takes the time and care. 
A good example, I used to use them when I lived in Leicester, many won’t even entertain A5 let alone soldering anything on the ends of it!
Good and yes indeed!
KR,
Peter
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