Naim + Focal

Dear @Cosca,

My AudioQuest Type 4 below. I like them very much in my current system with a SuperUniti and Spendor A6 speakers. As a minimum, they are different and I think better than other cables I have tested.

Mine have silver connectors.

Recommended.

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There is a good thread about this cable and quad core in general, here:

That comment is, as I understand it, more applicable to older amps.

But if weā€™re seeking to make these magnificent speakers do as well as possible, we might as well recommend feeding them via cable designed specifically for Naim amplifiers. ie NAC A5

I agree the magnificent Diablos deserve better.

hi Cosca, I have Focal Diablos too with naim equipment, about cable I can advice to you for Nac A5 as speaker cable, interconnect tellurium qblack din (qblack diamond is better but is also very expensive), as power cable, Iā€™,m very happy with powerline and neutral cable fascino, powerline is more dark and neutral cable more detailed, In my opinion you must choose about your target. Is also true that Diabloā€™s with better equipment will play better, but sn2 with hicap dr is very good because in my experience sn2 is quite relaxed and hicap dr give speed, transparency and detail. The source is objectively back the other equipment.

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Thanks all.
I never expected such a comprehensive, professional and holistic participation by the audience.
And it did suggest as well hints and areas of improvementā€¦

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Ok thatā€™s a new one and potentially dangerous :face_with_monocle:

Another speaker cable I can recommend is the AudioQuest Rocket 22. Very open and settles fast. I have several lengths short and long to experiment with amplifiers and speakers. The one in the picture beautifully terminated in gold.

In this case make sure to talk to AQ and check if the 22 also requires a special Naim version.

From what I can understand from ckcage79ā€™s post, the NACA5 is being used as a speaker cable (power {amp} cable). I would guess that the translation to English was not the best.

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I am using Rocket 22 cables with Naim and Dynaudios at the moment. No heating, no humming, no need to talk to anybody. A nice breeze.

Surely this was the case and I was half kidding, and half didnā€™t want to let it stand like this because who knows what future readers of the thread will try :slight_smile:

yes Richard, I can confirm. Also that the english translation is not the best :slight_smile: Now previous post has been modified. Iā€™m sorry for mistake.

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Feel free. Others had serious issues with certain AQ cables, so. I think if AQ decide to put a warning on the website, they will know why.

Maybe it does not apply to the 22, but then there is no warning for AQ Type 5 either, and ask airedog about how much his Nova liked that one.

In any case, every time someone complains about overheating amps it turns out to be some Kimber, Cardas, or AQ cable. (And some AQ are surely fine but others definitely are not. In particular the Rockets come in different configurations, such as single bi-wire which is the opposite of what Naim amps want)

I remain in love with the Diablos, they surely deserve the best.

I wasnā€™t saying that they didnā€™t

Hi Cosca, this observation is not aimed a you or your point, but I struggle to understand the level of near anger that sometimes finds its way on to a forum thread for no real obvious reason generated from a simple question or statement, or am I in the wrong area? Oh no it affects all threads at sometime or another!! Has any one else noticed?

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Of course and my post was not a reaction against your post, I apologize if it looked like that.

I am also trying to google the supposed warning from AQ but I was unable to find it, perhaps it is only in a Dutch or German site. Instead I found the following in What Hi-Fi? about the Rocket 22:

Quote_____
But given a few days of use, the Rocketā€™s sonic presentation opens up considerably. We use it as part of our reference stereo set-up ā€“ Naim NDS/555PS streamer, Gamut D3i/D200i amplifier and ATC SCM 50 speakers ā€“ as well as with Naimā€™s Uniti Star and a pair of Dynaudio Special 40 speakers with consistent and pleasing results.
Unquote_____

This seems to contradict your warning. We should be very careful with this kind of generalizations that can easily harm a reputation. Another cable I like and use is Kimber Kable, by the way.

I have noticed and it is nice to feel I am not alone. When it happens I go to my room, listen to my music and say a little pray. At the end I find it amusing.

I hope for other people is also therapeutic.

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A lovely way to deal with it my friend, just canā€™t understand why such anger can exist over ā€˜nothingā€™

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I didnā€™t generalize and explicitly wrote ā€œsome AQ are surely fineā€. But I agree that we must be careful with generalizing that all cables are OK because some clearly arenā€™t, for Naim amps. You can search the forum for all the posts about overheating amps due to inappropriate cables.

Youā€™d have to take it up with AQ regarding why they put the warning only on the Dutch website.

Naim publishes the recommended cable specs and I will never understand why some people insist on using the opposite. But if they do, itā€™s up to them, but they should be aware, so I see nothing wrong with an appropriate warning.