No, it’s not amps-currant
‘I’ is current (only) and is the rate of flow
and is measured in amps (amperes) ‘A’
And I thought it was named after Erik Lensherr.
2 Likes
Ahh yes, the Henry powered magnetic action-man.
Gravity defying flight utilising superconducting magnets.
Not forgetting his mumetal helmet that defies & defends against RF charged audiophools.
1 Like
A Good Compromise
I respectfully read what everyone on a few threads on this forum had to say about speaker cables and speaker cable lengths and was leaning toward NACA5. However, the reports of its stiffness and unwieldy structure scared me off.
Then, I came upon the mention that Linn K20 is, basically, NACA4. I needed the flexibility, so K20 it was. The soldering task was tolerable (even the amp-end Naim connectors), the routing/installation in my listening room was not messy (4.5 meters/speaker), and the sound impressed right away.
All in all, I think the Linn K20 is a good compromise with regard to price/ease-of-installation/sound, and you kind of stay in the Naim family, so to speak.
4 Likes
I have both NAC A5 and LInn K20, the only down side for me with Linn K20 is its grey ‘colour’ as it doesn’t hide so well against my white shirting boards.
My solution was to slip a white expanded fabric sleeve over it and shrink wrap the ends to tidy them, it now looks like one of those fancy expensive boutique cables, Oh the shame!
1 Like
Strongly agreeing here - with both @johnnymax and @Roog - regarding Linn K20.
It was originally (said to be) the same as Naim A4 - and a settlement was reached, which funded the work to produce A5. K20 probably isn’t identical now - but is still ‘similar’ - to NAC-A4.
Its low cost, to me, makes it a no-brainer to try. Shame its only in black or grey…?
My Naim NAC-A4 is white… And cost me £1-00 per metre - in 1982. It was the very first Naim item that I bought… 
1 Like
…and the reason we use a letter I to stand for Current is that it was originally called ‘electrical Intensity’. As so often in Physics, we changed the name but couldn’t face changing the letter.
Mark
My dealer gave me a pair of cables of 3 meters each for the Nova. Is it possible that this could create problems for the system? Thank you
Were they NACA5? If so, I would think that your Nova will be fine with them. However, if you move up to the Classic separates then you might consider getting longer lengths, although even then, they’d probably be OK, if not optimal.
Yes, they are naca 5. Thanks
You’ll be fine - we specified and sold 3m lengths when we bundled NAC A5 with Uniti + Focal systems last year. As Richard notes, however, ‘black box’ Naim likely to need longer lengths.
This is true.
1 Like
Absolutely, the electrical characteristics of most speakers plus cross over are more significant than that of most standard construction cables, I guess as long as you have the cable element taken care of, you have satisfied Naim’s criteria, everything else is your problem! :0)
1 Like
I’ve tried 5m of VdH Clearwater. This cable has very close parameters to NACA5. However, I’d tell it sounds worse than Qed x40i
To me, something happened with the stage. Nout sure how to describe the difference
One characteristic that’s very different is the gauge, making it a lot less suited to longer lengths. 4.0mm2 vs 2.5mm2.
Depending on your speakers minimum impedance 5m might have been a bit long for it.
Some interesting auditioning coming up for me in a week or two.
Two 4M runs of NAC A5. It’ll be the first time I try the A5 again after many, many years. Last time was in a different Naim system, different speakers and house so… Very curious how they’ll hold up against my trusty old Cardas Golden Cross this time around. 
5 Likes
That’s taking it a bit too far @n-lot
Speakers pull very low current, typically milliamperes.
2.5mm/2 cable is rated at aprx 25 amps
2 Likes
I was basing myself on the table in the audioholics article on speaker cable length vs gauge. Many other similar ones from other sources available. It recommends 14AWG for up to 20ft at 4 Ohms, which is about 6m. Extrapolating a bit I figured 5m would quickly be too long if your speakers dip lower than that. I accept you know more about the subject than I do.
FWIW I use this cable, approx. 2.7m lengths (from memory) with speakers that dip to 3.1 Ohm.
Ahh Audioholics, that explains a bit. 
(14AWG is 2.5mm/2)
3 Likes
As mentioned, other sources when googling for length vs diameter have similar tables. I like this one because they explain how they came up with the numbers. What would your recommendation be?