Naim Naca5 vs Chord signature (old) with new ohmic plugs

[anon4489532]

They all sound different. The answer is to borrow it and try it. I once tried Chord Odyssey for nearly a year. The sound was very organised but I found I was listening less and the music was less involving. Just one example.

[ryder]

@Biblobong

Hi PeakMan ideally I would like a wider soundstage I feel the naca5 is lacking a little in the bass area. Also the naca5 is a pain to route.

Try the Chord Epic.

I don’t have experience with the old Chord Signature so I could not comment. I upgraded from the Epic to Signature XL though.

I still have the NACA5. Similarly I find the stiffness to be undesirable.

[Biblobong]

Hi just wondering what system you currently have and what speaker cable you are using?

[anon4489532]

I have a 272/555 and 300DR. Cables are Naim SuperLumina. In case you are unaware, many members put their system details in their Forum profile, including me, though I don’t mention the cables and other stuff, just the boxes and speakers.

[Lyndon]

Hi Biblobong

I’m a big fan of the Chord cables, I’ve been using most of them for about 15 years
Similar to you I was looking for a little bit more, I had a decent LP12 52 half a dozen 135’s
This was at a time when Naim’s official line was NACA 5 was the best they’ve heard, I took that as they didn’t get out much

I replaced the NACA with Epic,
The Epic tamed down the brightness and edginess, both the 135’s and NACA are quite in your face
The Epic was a calming effect without losing any of the foot tapping and involvement “PRAT” while at the same time giving more detail
Using a well known auction site kept the cost to a reasonable level, bearing in mind I needed 3 pairs
Over the years I’ve used a lot of Chords HIFI and TV systems
The HIFI now is a mixture of Super Sarum, Super Sarum T and Music
The tonearm cable will soon become Music when I do the bearing

For value I’d wholeheartedly recommend Epic and Chorus Reference

The only one I’d steer well clear of is Signature

Lyndon

[Klout10]

Also here a fan of the Chord Epic loudspeaker cables, just ‘fit and forget’

[ryder]

@Lyndon

I replaced the NACA with Epic,
The Epic tamed down the brightness and edginess, both the 135’s and NACA are quite in your face
The Epic was a calming effect without losing any of the foot tapping and involvement “PRAT” while at the same time giving more detail

Just to clarify as people might associate brightness with harsh or strident treble. It’s not this brightness that Lyndon is talking about. To me, it’s the slight unrefined edginess across the frequency spectrum of the NACA5 in comparison to the smoother Chord Epic. The treble of the Epic sounds sweeter and decays linger in the air a bit longer than the NACA5. All this is achieved wtihout losing any foot tapping PRaT. In summary, the Chord Epic sounds almost the same as the NACA5 but adds a bit of refinement, sounds slightly smoother and sweeter in the treble. And bass goes deeper as well. If you want a meatier or heftier bass, it may be worth looking at the Epic too if you currently have the NACA5.

[edo]

Does anyone know the specs of Epic cable (Capacitance, Resistance and Inductance) per metre? I might be up for giving it a go but wouldn’t want to make my 250 unhappy.

[Lyndon]

Ryder

Yea, that’s it exactly

Lyndon

[Klout10]

I run my Epic with a NAP 250 DR and have no issues at all

[Joppe]

Twelve years ago my dealer were selling their original Signature demo cables, I did not get along with them at all. Five years ago or so I got to try the Signature Reference which I quite liked (same speakers and amps except 250.2 was now 300). At that time I decided to do DR upgrades instead. So if they are original Signatures I would definitely not recommend to by without a demo, the reference I would consider worth a gamble if the price is right.