Naca5

Yes thats OK, length os not a concern in normal domestic install lengths
The most important with ‘classic’ Naim power amps is inductance, that give the output stage its load & stability.
Capacitance is a more secondary consideration, but in the real world a high L cable construction will give low C (& visa versa) so with a high’ish L cable suitable for Naim output loading, the C will never be excessive.

However I see you have a Nait 5si, the Nait 5s & other integrated amps are more tolerant speaker cables, so really no need to be too fussy on this.

I have 5m of Chord Odyssey, I measured this as 0.6uH/m so 5m = 3uH & in my case with a Supernait its perfectly OK
The C is 56pF/m & is also perfectly OK, all very middle of the road.

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That’s good to hear. I have the Cardas Golden Cross speaker cable that I (still) love to bits for its SQ. It has been on my Naim amps for 15/16 years and they never broke a sweat. They never got warm or anything like that either. And I play quite loud a lot too. The inductance is .0368 uh/ft/loop (1.1 uH/m) - very close to the NACA5 - but the capacitance is high at 154 pf/ft or 462 pf/m (x3).

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That’s certainly required, in my experience…otherwise it simply will not work as intended.

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… err ??? your math is not correct, its nowhere near close to NACA5

A foot is converted to metre by multiplying by 3.28084
0.0368 * 3.28084 = 0.12073 pF/m this is very low & would need 29m (95 feet) to match the Naim recommended 3.5uH
Capacitance is 154 pf/ft & that works out at 505.25pF/m which is very high

All this is typical of Litz construction, and very much a NO-NO for Naim amps

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No, you won’t get away with it on a NAIT 5 as the power amp in that was definitely based on old school Naim and appropriate lengths of NACA5 would be my recommendation. You might with a 5i though, but even then I wouldn’t recommend it.

Sorry Richard, I thought I was replying to Pauel with a 5si
RvL has a NAC200 so its a real NO-NO
I’ve edited the offending post -

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I know the numbers are ‘wrong’ but… 15/16 years… 3 Naim amps, 3 different speakers. Never had an issue and I’ve never found a better sounding cable for less than crazy money. And I’ve tried quite a few over the years. So I guess there must be a scary amount of repeating luck at play then… :thinking:

I had the NACA5 (maybe the 4, not sure) on my first Naim system more then 20 years ago. I replaced it after a few months and never looked back. Maybe I need to give it another go.

For now I’m off bying lottery tickets. :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes:

I too find the prognostications of doom about using anything other than NACA5 challenging to take at face value. I’m very happy to accept that the kit was designed with NACA4/5 in mind, for all the L/C output stage reasons stated, and that Naim kit will perform as intended and at its best in that way, but to believe that an amp is likely to be properly damaged just as a result of using a different piece of copper wire is, well…

Since NACA5 was always fairly cheap (by hifi speaker cable standards), I bought some years ago and have been very happy with it. Given that its price now is rather steeper, I wonder whether I’d take the same decision today.

Mark

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In this case there’s good reason. Historically Naim have made specific warnings about using speaker cable with litz type construction with their power amps.

Advance apologies if this would be a sensitive question but here goes…

If Naim believes that amps sound best without inductance networks and other stuff (sorry, I’m not a techy), and require a specific speaker cable (NACA) to be paired with it to sound its best, then why not stick with that philosophy throughout its entire range?

For me, this would show the brand’s strong conviction about its beliefs, and how to do things what they feel is really the best. No compromise so to speak…. I don’t have any problems with this, if I like the brand, I’ll just follow them and buy both their amps and the NACA.

So I go back to my original question; why did Naim stop this strict design philosophy on their newer and lower models (well Naim’s lowest models are still expensive for the normal consumer :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes:) ? Is it because the Uniti range is more of a lifestyle product and would cater to less “audiophile” type of buyers? Are the NAITS also catered to the not so hard-core Naim loyalists who might not understand the “Naim way”? Or did it have something to do with the fact that the company is now not entirely controlled by a single passionate owner who designs and implements what he thinks is the best, but rather now under the umbrella of a large equity firm which for sure focuses on profits (really nothing wrong with that)?

Again, apologies for the “sensitive” question, but just to let you guys and gals know, I use a relatively new and lower model, a humble XS3. And even though most say that I can use other speaker cables of which I have a lot from other brands, I still bought 5 meter runs of NACA5 because I believe that Naim knows what they are doing and I trust the brand.

Nothing to do with whoever owns the shares. AFAIK they don’t have ny hand in design and the NAIT 5i and the Unitis long pre-dated the current shareholders.

The actual design itself is still fairly similar, it’s just that the current NAITs and Unitis are a bit more tolerant than the power amps of old. Even the current big power amps are a bit more tolerant too, but that still doesn’t mean you should go against Naim’s advice of low capacitance, moderate inductance speaker cable. So, in short, the 5m per channel of NACA5 for your XS3 should be just about ideal as far as the amp is concerned.

Full agree with this advice. I tried to solder the NAIM plugs a couple of years ago and eventually gave up and took the cables to my local dealer.

Having said that, I haven’t done much soldering, although I am competent at DIY and I did try to follow the excellent instructions posted on various forum threads.

I have a set up here with naca 4. Is there any GREAT advantage to changing to naca 5?

NACA4 is pretty good, but compared back to back NACA5 is appreciably superior I have found.

Thanks Richard. I did try a cable swap from the other kit that has 5. The 5 does give a depth of bass in particular that is missing on the 4. I think I just have to bite the bullet and complete the upgrade of all the kit.

Out of interest, Richard, what other cables have you tried - successfully or otherwise - and do you use NACA5/Super Lumina? I only ask because I was recommended (by a Naim dealer) the Atlas that I use (and I’ve also some TQ Silver II that also sound great) and I’d be very disappointed to find that the truly excellent sound I currently enjoy would be improved by a cable that comes in at £30/m. There are many contributors to these forums who have extraordinarily expensive systems and I bet that their investment isn’t terminating with NACA5…

I’ve tried a number of them over the years including some very expensive ones indeed that we had in to the factory for trial. I used Kimber 8TC with my big valve amps but totally unsuitable for Naim. For all that my experience is far from exhaustive. I’ve heard Super Lumina on a number of occasions but not had if at home. I’m happy with NACA5 with my Naim, especially as I hate seeing kit when I listen so run long lengths to keep the racks behind me.

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They didn’t. There is plenty of evidence of people experiencing problems with incompatible speaker cables with the Atom and Nova, including posts on this forum.
Older Naim products also differ in their tolerance. The earliest Naits are more tolerant than the separate power amps, so it’s not just the most recent products that are different.

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Hi
Does the same principal apply to the super lumina speaker cable?
Min 3.5m
Ideal 5m.
Thanks

I think for Super Lumina Naim recommend a minimum of 3m per channel with Naim amps.