Hello
I have some new NACA5 cable to use with my SN3. Does NACA5 still need to be de-stressed (flexing) before using? Or maybe this is done in the factory?
Thanks.
No need to de-stress. It’s stiff but also that means if you need to bend it into position it will usually stay that way, which can be rather handy.
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I’ve never understood Naims philosophy on this matter meaning sometimes being super paranoid about stiff cables and microphonics/vibrations like with Powerline and cable massage and floating in free air not touching and then for other Naim cables they are stiff like nothing else laying on the floor passing all vibrations straight into the box. Including ringing chassis to this which also is vibration 
With cables, the vibrations are relevant for the interfaces. Small signal interfaces like phono and DIN are sensitive hear because of the relatively small pressure contact area. Even IEC connectors (mains) have a relatively small contact areas typically.
However speaker connectors typically banana plugs (now over 100years old) or screw spade doctors, with Naim usually using straight banana plugs with 4mm diameter and a length of 20mm or greater with a larger contact area thereby minimising the influence of vibration on the connection,
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I’m not following your analogy 
Spikes have a super small contact surface to not move the energy further. A large contact surface like a banana connected to a stiff wire should push more vibrations into the system than the IEC with small contact area? You also have 230V on the IEC compared to few volts on the speaker cable so the influence caused by vibrations should be greater on a speaker wire too.
You are talking different things (mechanical coupling and loading vs electrical pressure conductivity), so your analogy doesn’t hold up. For electrical contact you need to have an inert pressure connection with sufficient contact area to support the required current which typically here is tiny. This is not to do with vibrations into systems… it’s about reducing the modulation of the pressure contact area of the connector in its socket.
This one reason why Naim use WBT phono plugs in its high end connectors that require phono, as they mechanically clamp under high pressure to the socket to make it less prone to vibration induced interaction of the electrical contact area.
In a small signal connection, a pressure contact area is a weak link. If the connections were made permant, perhaps by soldering or crimping, then this becomes moot.
Mechanical coupling as I understand can interfere with electrical signals. That’s what I mean but maybe not what I write
For example there is a video showing what happens to an electrical signal when you tap a clock in a DAC. Vibrations translating into electrics signal interference. All vibrations going into the electronics will add noise. I don’t see why a stiff speaker cable lying on the floor picking up huge amount of vibrations going directly in to the PCB on a naim amp would be any different.
Mechanical vibration in itself has no affect on an electrical signal in a wire, though it does in an optical fibre.
However if ferrous items vibrate near and relative to the wire or conducting track then they will induce a current into the wire (which of course is Fleming’s Right-hand Rule as we learned in physics at school) which is how phono catridges, microphones, sensors and generators work. One reason why some high end audiophile manufactures keep audio signals away from ferrous metals in leads and appliances.
However specifically here I am referring to the modulation of the contact area of pressure connections which is I suggest is typically a far greater consideration, which in the extreme for very small signals can become its own transducer.
Pretty bold statement given the industry working with products minimizing vibrations going into cables and Naim saying cable must not touch the floor etc
So you mean that if the floor vibrates at 3kHz from the speaker stand which a cable then absorb that these 3k vibrations in no way diffuse the signal in the cable? Is that what you claim? (sorry I sometimes have a hard time understanding what you say when talking tech english No offence. )
Yes a wooden floor vibrating will have no effect on the current in the cable… We might have a slight problem professionally if it did.
The key thing is keeping vibrations away from pressure contacts and relative vibrations from ferrous metals.
In an extreme situation I can envisage a reactive coupling to a ground plane, inducing common mode modulated capacitance in say a speaker wire…probably more likely if the cable is elevated and allowed to vibrate relative to the floor… but in practice I can’t see as being relevant as almost solar storm activity.
But yes vibrations do affect and modulate current in fibre optics… and that property is exploited in certain surveillance and monitoring applications.
And so by saying that you think Naim is wrong claiming cables should not touch the floor? Or what is it Naim is trying to avoid with that which in return is bad for the sound reproduction?
Sorry, who says that? I can only speak for my self. I suggest interconnects and I believe Naim say the same that interconnects shouldn’t touch the floor as you are inviting relative vibration for the sensitive pressure contact connectors into appliances on hifi racks etc as I have described twice now a few posts back.
As far as I am aware, Naim have not said speaker cables shouldn’t lay on the floor, and I can’t remember ever seeing them not being on the floor at Salisbury … but I don’t have a photographic memory unfortunately.
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Your memory is OK ….
A long pair … must be well over 10m …. running across the floor from whatever amp’s are in use to speakers.
The cables get moved without any special care to different amps and speakers for demos.
Power cables are the same, as are ethernet.
I didn’t take too much notice of IC’s and Burndys, the Fraim set ups tend to keep them off the floor.
That was the same in the old room and the new one
Correct Simon, Naim have not said that speaker cables should not lay on the floor.
Small signal cables, digital ICs, Burndy cables do seem to benefit from not touching surfaces, and even mains leads seem to benefit from careful dressing.
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I know Naim do not care about the speaker cable in this case. But I still don’t understand why a speaker cable would be the only exception when all cables are connected to a naim box and carry low level voltages going straight into the PCB and electronics. Naim also construct the IEC inlet to be floating not pushing vibrations into the electronics. The total contact surface on a burndy must be greater than a naim banana.
If you would tap naca5 1m away from the PCB and measure it I would be amazed if it’s not showing huge amount of vibrations going in to the box.
I agree. Every cable is carrying a current, whatever the value. Just because Naim haven’t stated that speaker cables shouldn’t touch the floor, doesn’t mean they’re excluded.
I haven’t given it a great deal of thought over the years, as my speaker cables go directly down from my amps through the suspended floor, via holes dampened with foam, travel 10m on concrete subfloor, back up through sponged holes and into my speakers.
Thanks Richard. I thought that was the case, but wasn’t abs sure. I think Naim do de-stress in the factory though? I remember an article years ago showing their shaker machine. Anyway, one less thing for me to do 
Regarding not running cables on the floor, that’s not something I’ve ever considered. Putting my electronics hat on, I would have thought the signal cables might be more susceptible to all types of interference, given their lower signal levels and higher impedances in the circuit, compared to speaker outputs.
I’m not sure that even Naim would want to tell their customers to keep speaker cables off the floor. I can’t imagine too many people would go along with the idea, whether or not it made any difference to the sound.
I do recall them saying that keeping the cable hanging freely from the plugs to the floor was preferable, presumably because it allowed the plugs to sit in the sockets without adding any mechanical stress.
One other question I had was on the solder to use when attaching the Naim SA8 plugs. On previous forum posts Crystal 505 60/40 tin/lead solder was recommended, but I’m struggling to find that in non lead-free. Is it particularly critical? I have some other multi-core 60/40 solder here.