Balanced
Any capacitive grounding to ground can effect speaker cable performance, but in itself twin cable (send and return) coils are fine, and generally recommended.
There used to be some audiophile misinformation on the web about added inductance… but luckily not so much these days, I guess they re-read their A level physics text books.
The biggest problem with coiling in most cables is heat dissipation, ie why ratings are different with coiled and uncoiled mains extensions, but for speaker cables, especially Hi-Fi hear is not an issue.
The general principle in quality amp speaker systems is to usually keep the speaker cable as short as possible / permissible in a given system so as to reduce distortion across the audio band especially when driving multiple drivers across the audio band. AC impedance loading effects from inductive and capacitive drivers with a crossover across the audio band over a length of cable is a complex and fascinating topic… and consideration of this needs to be such that the amps feedback processes are not significantly affected.
Now where some get confused, just because it’s a more accurate / cleaner signal, doesn’t mean it’s subjectively preferable sonically… and reading the narratives from Richard this seems to have been a consideration with Naim . In fact in contemporary music production, overtones and harmonics (harmonic distortion) can sometimes be deliberately added to make a sound / instrument more pleasing to listen to. Some of the audio treatments in this area are even called phono simulators… but I won’t go down that path
Many contemporary research and engineering texts and papers in this. Not least in the AES library, and D Self’s book on contemporary amp design and performance is great insight for the electronics engineering astute Hi-Fi lovers.
I have come to appreciate the drivers, crossoverover, speaker cable, amp coupling is the most sensitive and critical part in many Hi-Fi chains.
In the professional world typically one would often use active speakers with balanced inputs for optimum performance to avoid these constraints and pitfalls as well as keep speaker leads as short as possible.
Clearly in consumer Hi-Fi there is more scope to tweak and adjust to suit personal taste, where some of these interactions and distortions might be preferred. However short unbalanced signal interconnects is really a must. Certainly I would avoid anything over 2Ms.
Not all distortion is necessarily bad!
Useful to know. Although the NACA5 may bend to the required shape as shown in the photo, it will not resume its normal shape after being bent to such a small radius at both ends due to the rigidity of the cable. In the event the cable needs to be reconfigured or rebent into another shape, it may take the form of a snake, losing its nice uniform curvature. It may not be an issue to most people but it is to me.
Bending older NAC A5 in a tight radius as shown in the photo can give rise to cracks in the insulation, I have had this happen, although this can be offset somewhat by warming first. The question is why do this? The induction issue does not occur where there is a parallel return path in the cable as the currents cancel each other, such as occurs in nearly all speaker cables and power cables.
My surplus speaker cable just lives as a big open loop under the sofa!
The reason for uncoiling a mains extension lead is to minimise heat build up in the spool, but even this only occurs if you are pulling a lot of current in a low rated extension. Countless anxious people have told me off for ‘loose coiling’ my surplus power cable underneath my camper on camp sites. The cable presents a much greater risk to trip hazards if left uncoiled than by catching fire by coiling!
Yes indeed, but the same applies to most all cables, PVC & similar polymers especially. These polymers have a ‘memory’, & when bent into a shape it deforms to some extent & keeps that shape. Its hard to get it back into its original natural straight form, impossible in some cases, & I suspect it will be the case with that NACA5 pic I posted.
Chord Odyssey (as I have) & other Chord cables is not PVC & its insulation & outer sleeve are inert (it bends to shape & stays in that shape) it can be made straight again, but it still has a hint that it was once bent.
Yes, similarly I think it is impossible for the NACA5 to get back to its original form once it is bent into such a small radius since its made of hard PVC. The shape may be corrected with adjustments but it won’t regain a perfect straight form. I used to have the Chord Epic which I presume is quite similar to the Odyssey. The Chord is much more flexible and can be bent to a much smaller radius than the NACA5 without losing its original straight form.
Not on the topic of coils and loops (reading the thread, since I have a NACA5 for trial over the week-end, next to a Chord one):
Whether NACA5 is white or black does not have any impact on SQ?
Nova is black, speakers are greyish, and walls are white.
(Duck and cover… )
For cosmetic reasons, I swapped a well used set of black NACA5 out of the main system and into the second system earlier this year. New white NACA5 went into the main system and I noticed a difference in sound quality which was not better.
As recommended elsewhere on this forum, I left the white NACA5 in place and just lived with it. A few weeks ago I, following a Fraim strip down and rebuild, I noticed that the system is sounding much better again. I cannot say whether the improvement is due to the system rebuild and careful attention cable dressing, the new white NACA5 coming “on song” or a combination of both.
Whatever, if your NACA5 cable is new, give it some time to settle in. I can definitely recommend it in both of these systems. I am also looking for some more pre-loved NACA4 or NACA5 in the right lengths for a couple of CB combinations that are also used from time to time.
Well I’ve purchased 2x 4.3m of used naca5 in black and got great deal on it from my local dealer . Just need to solder the Naim plugs on as cable came with banana plugs soldered at speaker end . Fingers crossed for some positive results compared to the QED cable it’s replacing .
Enjoy and make sure you have a soldering iron with enough wattage, the wire is good at transporting heat away. Many helpful posts on this if you search the forum in case it’s needed
There’s a good FAQ post on the old forum about soldering NACA5 which is well worth a read if you haven’t done it before, as it’s not the simplest stuff to solder. Unfortunately the photos have disappeared but it still gives some useful pointers.
https://forums.naimaudio.com/topic.php?oid=1566878606552864&coid=159503632588889
Unless one has the correct iron, jig, solder, practice, patience & experience, i’d ask the dealer to make them up.
true, Naim techs say that it was necessary to have at least 3.5 meters on old style and olive gear, but the newer gear eg NAIT XS etc does not need to.
My dealer couldn’t solder to save his life. Worth doing some research to find one who can if you’re going to do this.
I have ADHD, I can’t sit still either!
What are the electrical specs of the Naca5? (capacity, inductance…)
I know it was on the old forum but I can’t find it anymore.
1uH/m
16pF/m
It’s in the FAQ on this forum too.
That’s assuming they have all those things and can be bothered to use them all
What if I have about 15-20 feet of NACA5 coiled?
So, 5 meters of NACA5 will have 5uH/80pF in total.
What if I use some different cable, with different length, that gives me the same values?
In other words, I’d like to know if such replacement works fine or I should try NACA5?