They certainly do. I have a pair and keep them in spite of having a far from ideal system. To my ears they are much more expert than the juvenile Sats (and I know Sats well…), albeit an older design strongly tied to the vinyl era.
They sound great with a Nait 50 but impressive with 2 x NAP200. Sats are much more friendly though. I still love them deeply.
I agree with Max. I should solder some cables but I’m afraid I’ll make a big mess.
First of all I do not know wich welding metal I have to use …
The two main things are a powerful soldering station (someone can be more precise about wattage) and lots of patience. But soldering NAC A5 is better done by someone who’s already faced a hungry lion, an angry fiancée or who’s tried to skin a cat.
Ok Max, definitely it’s not my businnes! So I’ll look for an alternative to put NAC A5 into n-sats without soldring. maybe some banana plug. Any idea or suggestion?
Seriously, a friend with good soldering skills? I’ve tried myself but hadn’t a proper iron. Naim plugs are the right thing because, among the rest, they allow you to put the Sats against the wall if that is what you want.
Where are you based?
I don’t think we’re very far away, I am on the far north of Lake Como
I do all of my own soldering. My n-SATs are sounding sensational.
I would use a solder iron with 100 watts or more. A multicore Crystal 505 60/40 tin/lead solder is the best to use here with NAC A5. Make a jig up using clamps to hold the cable and plug in place. Practice on some old wire and plugs first until you’re satisfied with your work. Finally a listening test will determine the desired outcome. Not happy? Start totally from fresh again.
I’ve been soldering for over 40 years . I can tell just by looking at a joint whether it works or not. I don’t need to make it look pretty, With age comes bad eye sight, even with specs on
I use mine with their matching n-SUB where they sound significantly more fleshed out & realistic without losing any of their charm.
Of course my SN3 has an easy time driving just the SATs, whereas the lowest octave is controlled actively & separately from the nSUB’s powerful onboard amplifier. Sounds utterly sublime in all areas of their presentation, regardless of any music genre.
@mb1969 I was wondering how (in)convenient it’s for you to have the job done by LASA in Piacenza…
@Stephen_Tate I had an n-Sub for a while but was never patient enough to set it properly. When I visited HH years ago he had Sats&Sub and it was pretty good. Sats have always sounded excellent in my living room, along with SBLs and Klipsch Heresy IIIs. My room definitely loves monitors with tight bass and cheeky attitude, and dislikes good manners…
My NSats were terrible, I find the tweeters detailed but sound cheap, the bass is a disaster, no chance without a woofer, Kans are miles ahead in terms of sound.
Soldering is very easy, but why bother with a naca 5 when the linn K20 is no worse
That’s a shame. When another forum member and I sat down to compare n-Sats (on their dedicated stands) with Kans (on KAN II stands) and IBLs, I found that with a digital front end we preferred the n-Sats overall, and Kans least, but with an Analogue front end (LP12) the situation reversed and the Kans were favoured most and n-Sats the least. n-Sats need their dedicated stands (alas, the prototypes were best!) and need to be set up on the stands perfectly if they’re to perform - all too easy to get the bobbin to stand connection not quite right or the speakers slip just off square and have the speakers underperform as a consequence.
As for K20 vs. NACA5, if you hear no positive difference for the latter then I fear it may indicate an issue somewhere. In the past I’ve tested like for like (same length, termination etc.) on SL2s and NACA5 was preferred overwhelmingly by all.
I don’t know if my NSATs were defective.
The thing about the cables is interesting to me, there used to be no difference with my Uniti devices, now I have a Nait 1 and I don’t notice any difference. Could it be the room?
I don’t know. All I do know is that when I compared, the difference was very clear and favoured NACA5. K20 was less defined and a bit more “lossy” by comparison.
Yes i use the n-STANDs and have tried to set them up as level and as accurately as i can, using a Stabila level, and making sure the spikes and lock-nuts are done up nice & taut.
Once the stands are dead level, with no rocking, I then offer the speakers onto their bobbins (slightly lifting and lowering by trial & error the rears with my hand) and adjusting the grub screws until Sats are dead level. Finally I make sure the speakers are hanging equally & straight on both bobbins. Also a final check with the spirit level so that Sats are level both ways.
Works for me
@MaxBertola “I’ve made up my mind to get all the gear and learn welding. I’ll keep practicing until I’m good enough to tackle the NAC A5! If you’re up for a weekend at Lake Como, we can have a blast pretending to be little electricians.”
Bravo! I am familiar with the area around Menaggio… Let me (us) know how the soldering went…
Hi Stephen, Where was that work done please and (if poss) by which staff member? Thanks.
C.
Hi Chris,
I do all of my own work on my NAC A5 cables.