What’s this I’ve been reading about Naim amps and their speaker terminals being reversed and ways to deal with it? Someone please explain, I want to learn about the dark secrets of the Nait (specifically my newly acquired Nait 5si)!
It’s no dark secret, it’s just that the right channel is on the left side of the amp (& same from left on the right) when looking from the front of the amp.
It’s correct right to right & left to left when viewed from the rear, it’s the way it’s done with stage equipment.
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OK, thanks for that… I think I understand. So here’s another question, not worth starting another thread for I think: are Audioquest Rocket 11 adequate cables to use with my Nait 5si? I asked the question about whether it was advisable to use Naim cables to the British Audiophile and he said he thought it was not necessary but that figure of eight shaped cables would work best. AQ Rocket 11 are figure of eight shaped.
If in doubt, check the faq:
Ideally you want something with similar values to naca5 for inductance and capacitance.
The newer amps are more tolerant but there are still some cables that should be avoided.
With the 5si I would try to match the naca5 specs.
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The Nait amps are not so fussy about speaker cables, something like a parallel or twisted pair is OK.
A good idea to go long, 4 or 5m per side.
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This thing about checking specs (inductance, capacitance) of speaker cable is a whole new language for me. I suppose I can google these specs of AQ Rocket 11 but first impressions were that they sounded good with the 5si. I hope they are suitable as they weren’t exactly cheap and I tried 4 or 5 sets before I settled on these for my other amp (others I tried included Chord Clearway X and QED 40i but the rocket 11 were much the best). Obviously I don’t want to use cables which are going to put a strain on the amp in any way.
Thanks for your reply. I think one thing I’m doing wrong already is not using equal lengths but that’s not practical for me. I’ve got 4.5m on one side and 2.5 on the other. Is this an issue?
No. Some will say otherwise but … no.
Thanks I thought that sounded a bit OTT about speaker cables having to be same lengths 
On the SN models of integrateds and the power amps its more important to ensure equal lengths of suitably specd cables are used to ensure correct loading.
With the smaller simpler integrated amps it will not be an issue.
Yes. Some will say otherwise, but … yes.
After all, surely you want the loading to be the same for each channel. In these fora, it has frequently been said that NAIM consider the cabling to be a part of the circuit…do you want different circuits for each channel?
Hi. I actually asked this question directly to Naim support last year when I had a 5si. Their response: Rocket 11 is fine to use with the 5si HOWEVER they recommend NAC A5 of equal lengths.
I had Rocket 11 of equal lengths (3m) and all was well. I got my hands on some pre-loved NAC A5 and was impressed/surprised at what I heard (in a good way).
Its a recommendation, nothing more.
"when you had a 5si… " sounds like you didn’t have your 5si for long! Are you all upgrade junkies on here?
And another question on the speaker terminals being reversed to every other make: can I anticipate any problems by the speaker cables crossing over each other to connect to the correct terminal?
OK, so how much “more” did you get from using the Naim speaker cables over Rocket 11?
Presumably NAIM make that recommendation to its customers on the basis that that an equal lenght configuration optimises overall performance.
Blimey, hard work. Yes, ofcourse, the word “optimises” is doing all the lifting here. Do they say its an “issue” if you don’t conform?
Maybe. I can’t speak for anybody else on here. I had a Rega Brio for a few years and loved it. But I became ‘Naim curious’ shall we say and saw a used 5si for a good price so I picked it up. Just loved the sound, the control and the grip on the bass. Don’t get me wrong, the Brio is a great integrated, however the 5si was something else. After about 6 months, I decided I wanted more and got an Supernait 2—so good. The 5si is with a friend for the time being. I recently added a HiCap DR to the SN2 and it takes things ups notch again.