Has anyone tried Naim’s SL XLR interconnects with their new system?
BTW, I am led to believe that the ‘standard’ SL XLR interconnects may not be wired correctly for NC but that the ‘as supplied’ Statement XLR interconnects may be suitable?
I stand to be corrected.
ATB, J
You’re right. The Statement connections are balanced and the pre to power interconnects use standard wired XLR plugs, so yes, they could be used for connecting NC products.
SL doesn’t come as standard with Statement?
I’m surprised. Thought it would.
I thought it did as Superlumina came about from the work done on the Statement amps. Statement owners tend to be a shy bunch, but maybe one of them could confirm ?
Thanks All. I’ll reach out to the dealer and inquire.
I’m told Naim had some SL Interconnects on their dealer demo days……
ATB, J
I looked up the SL configurations earlier and they do a 1.5M XLR to XLR version for £3600. Well into Chord (except Music) territory!
Thanks James,
However, I believe, perhaps incorrectly, that these are the ones not wired correctly for the NC kit……?
ATB, J
If it was DIN to XLR then yes I’d agree, but up until the NC introduction, the only true balanced XLR to XLR configuration would have been Statement. It would make sense for the SL XLR to XLR cable to be wired to industry standard balanced XLR configuration rather than single ended 250 (and additionally handed) 300,500 configurations.
Thanks again James, sounds most logical, however, £7k for a pair sounds uncomfortable to sat the least…… ouchies!
ATB, J
I was hoping the £3600 was for a pair ! The DIN4 to XLR version is listed as a pair for the same price as the XLR to XLR version. Report back if you do find out for sure 
Me too……. But it doesn’t say ‘pair’. Ever hopeful 
Edit 22/01/24:
They are indeed £3599 per pair……. Perhaps that explains the lack of posts on the topic.
Time to buy a lottery ticket.
ATB, J
Thanks for confirming. Hopefully as more NC products get sold / come out, there should be a bit more interest in alternative XLR cables. With Naim going standard on the balanced cable pin outs, there are lots of options available which was not always the case with the DIN cables.
I am hoping to get a demonstration set to audition at home……… although I fear this may be very, very dangerous 
!
ATB, J
I’ll be interested in how you get on. I’ve got the standard Naim ‘in the box’ XLR cables plugged in at the moment and a set of Chord Music RCA cables, now surplus to requirements…
Given the price and returns policy, I might give the Mark Grant cables (which were recommended on another thread) a try, just to see whether it’s worth exploring more in this area.
I too am currently using the NC standard XLR interconnects which give a really great SQ.
So the SL’s are going to have to something truly exceptional if they’re to be a replacement contender,
We’ll see…….
ATB, J
I asked (my local dealer) about the SL XLR’s yesterday, he mentioned Jason (Gould) had referenced them making a new one specific to New Classic to be optimised for the balanced impendence implimentation in the new designs.
So whilst they do list one on their pricelist, there appears to be a NC specific version in the mix, hopefully one that’s a bit cheaper (ever the optimist).
When I was at TomTom Audio recently they had one (assume NC specific) they’d just got direct from Naim so they are in the wild, if only in small dealer network quantities.
Thanks for that - I’ll chase up with my dealer.
ATB, J
They do work well despite wide spread bad mouthing by dealers desperate to get you to spend black box money on fancy upgrades.
They apparently tested a lot of different cables during R&D of NC and the Standard XLR IC was a result of those cycles, so it’s not just a “cost only” after thought thrown in the box.
They also included the existing SL XLR ↔ XLR IC but the results from a listening test comparison were less favourable overall.
This insight comes from a conversation between my local Naim dealer and Jason Gould when they were training dealers on the 300 Series.
It’s an evaluation of interest to me, having done a full loom evaluation last year of Chord Company Epic and Signature Tuned ARAY.
At that time I struggled to do the same with Naim SL (Speaker + XLR IC).
TomTom have the SL XLR in their 300 Series demo setup in St Alban’s for sure, they have a very close and long standing relationship with Naim so makes sense they’d be one of the first to try a sample out.
Yes, they seem fine. The plugs are quite clever and of course the ubiquitous 3amp mains cable has been retained. I’ve ordered the Mark Grant cables, so we’ll see what they bring. Good luck with the SL demo.
