Hi all,many thanks for your comments on replacement speakers .Second question is that i’m thinking of changing my high line to lumina interconnect cable and signature speaker cable to lumina sc.Thoughts ,opinions welcome.
I have both on my SN2/Hicap/NDX2/XPSDR set up, and the Superlumina is a big upgrade indeed, the interconnect was as good as a black box upgrade. The speaker cable is very natural and really opens up the soundstage and significantly improves the bottom end.
There are some great deals that come up on ex demo Super Lumina cables.
Replacing mine I have found dealers who have just sold the demo set but will supply a new pair at ex demo prices. Well worth checking out dealer sites and calling around.
Do you already have a really good stand and dedicated mains? If so, it’s worth trying the wires, though I might be looking at speakers first.
At this price point, I would suggest borrowing naim’s super lumina and chord’s sarum t cables and compare at home. You may have a preference with your set up.
Peter
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Good idea. I did try a Super Lumina phono to DIN, Dave DAC to 552, but it really did not work well in my system. The Chord Super Sarum I currently use is excellent.
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I tried a superlumina to replace the hiline between nds and 552 and I didn’t like it. A local friend with a similar system also tried it and had the same results as me.
Try before you buy is always wise.
If it`s worth anything?
I auditioned speakercables, NAca5, Tellurium Q black II, Chord Epic, Naim SuperLumina and Chord Sarum T. The first three mentioned was like sidesteps towards eachother, with their own spesific sound.
As much as I wanted the Naim SL to work in my room/ setup, I could not live with them. Sweet and cosy, but took the life and sparkle out of the Focals. The Sarum T, I didnt want them to work due to its cost, but sadly they where just wonderful.
Again, in my room/ setup.
S
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Is your current speaker cable the Chord Signature? I currently have the Signature XL and it’s a much accomplished and complete cable than the NACA5 and Epic. I would concur with Stover that both these cables have a sound on their own. After experiencing the Signature XL I realised that I have been listening to colouration all these years with the NACA5 and Epic. The Signature XL’s purity and neutrality let more music through.
Do post your impressions if you managed to try the Naim Super lumina.
Sarum T is too rich for me. I settled with the Signature XL instead which was still considered to be a slight overkill for the system. I’ll be getting some new speakers to restore order soon…
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Hi i have the original signature with the new banana plugs but the xl is another consideration.
In previous threads, some folks were keen to point out that super lumina works best as an integrated approach ie interconnects and speaker cable working together. If you are considering changing out both, it may well be in your interest to make sure you borrow both interconnects and speaker cables to try at home. You don’t have to buy both at the same time, but at least you would have a better handle on your long term strategy.
Peter
Hi Stover,
I would appreciate if you can briefly describe on the differences between the Chord Sarum T, Super lumina and NACA5 or Epic. I noticed you are not using Harbeth Super HL5+ anymore and have switched to the Focal Sopra 2. Classy speakers.
I would be interested in these areas ;
- Clarity in music
- Fine detail and nuance
- Bass quality
When I upgraded from Epic /NACA5 to the Signature XL, clarity and flow in music improved with a smoothness and organic feel in the midrange and treble. However, bass on the Signature XL is leaner than the full and fatter bass of the Epic and NACA5. I’m going to switch to the NACA5 again to reconfirm my earlier assessment very soon…
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Ryder.
I made a comparison between NAca5 (7m) and Sarum T (3m) this evening, not a very scientific one, but still enough for me to differ the two.
There`s one big difference (included the price) between the two, Sarum T is music and Naca5 is hifi in comparison. In my view NAca is still a very good VFM cable, I have run them more or less since 2005 and in Naim setups at most levels. To me, Sarum T just represent another league. So it should!
At first the Naim cable seemed to do clarity very well, but it`s just more clinical and colder compared to the Sarum T. The latter beeing more coherent, very natural and musical sounding, still detailed and nuanced/ articulated. Music is presented more pronounced and “confident” (lovely), bass is much deeper and most important, very articulated.
To be honest it was a bit scary to compare again after some months 
but (luckily), to me there was no match really.
I`m not good at descibing differences, but hopefully this was useful at some point. As always, the above is my opinions and experiences, other may disagree. Therefore as always, listen for yourself, especially if you purchase new.
S
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Hi,very good comparison but what about the sarum t against the super lumina,thanks
I’m not aiming this at anyone, it just seems it’s the same old, same old brands. Is it because the UK brands are a better bargain? I never hear a wit about say Audience Audio or AudioQuest, Acoustic Zen, Black Cat, Cardas, DH Labs (very good and inexpensive) Furutech, High Fidelity, JPS Labs, Kimber, Nordost, Purist Audio, Wireworld, Synergistic, Shunyata… too name more than a few 
Is it that UK dealers just don’t stock much?? In the US we have a place called The Cable Company they sell pretty much every brand… And the nice thing is that they do home auditions, Someone ought to do this in the UK…
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I compared them some months ago:
As much as I wanted the Naim SL to work in my room/ setup, I could not live with them. Sweet and cosy, but took the life and sparkle out of the Focals. The Sarum T, I didn t want them to work due to it s cost, but sadly they where just wonderful.
Again, others have experienced SL otherwise so this is just one opinion amongst many.
S
Not exactly the Sarum T but a member here recently compared the Superlumina to the Chord Signature XL and found the latter to be a better sounding cable. The Signature XL is a lower range cable than the Sarum T.
Stover, thanks for making the comparison. I’m glad the Sarum T is confirmed to be a superior sounding cable when compared to the NACA5. It is very useful to know that there is a marked difference between the 2 cables too.
Perhaps one day I’ll try the Sarum T. Yes, there is a big difference in price between the Sarum T and Signature XL which I currently own. For a 4m length which I need, the Sarum T costs £4,800 which is a rather big investment. Will see how it goes. I will need to trade in the Signature XL if considering the Sarum T.
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