The answer to his question is a simple yes (and hopefully giving details) or no. Not questioning the validity of the question.
But yes, the conclusion can be read that no Naim amp appears to have blown up due to the length/type of cable, as far as Naim forumites are aware.
I asked exactly the same question here a while ago. Richard said heâd come across Naim amps overheating when âlitzâ style cable was used; other than that, I received a resounding silence (thankfully, no-one suggested I was an idiot for asking the question - it must have been a more tolerant time).
So, my conclusion is that Naim make their recommendations for good reasons and, quite reasonably, disclaim all responsibility if you go off-piste. In practice, though, their products are more tolerant than the lawyers are happy to admit in writing. As so often in life.
Mark
I used to think this. Then I had kids. There really are stupid questions.
âDaddy, why is the sky pink on a Tuesday but snow is blueish on a Wednesday after seeing a cat when you eat chocolate with the cars that go past?â
Iâve been following this thread and wanted to add a real use case at least of sound distorting with improper cables with a Naim amp that was certainly overheating and perhaps on its way to shutting down.
When I first got my XS2 I used the Nordost cables I had previously used with my NAD amp. All was well. Then I changed speaker position 90 degrees and this necessitated much longer cables. In the tickle trunk I had some long Alpha Core Goertz MI2 Veracity cables - which also worked well with the NAD - so I plugged them in. After a while I started to notice the sound distorting and I couldnât think what was wrong. I went over to the amp which was very warm verging on hot to the touch. I stopped playback and called up my dealer. It didnât take long to discover the problem was the recently introduced speaker cables and their high capacitance.
The amp didnât break - Naim amps are built like tanks. But in my experience you cannot just use any speaker cable with them - even with the newer classic Naits which are supposedly more tolerant than the older ones. It wasnât long after I got some NAC A5 and have been happy ever since.
FZ, did you mean Naim Support as in support@naimaudio.com ? It would be really excellent if theyâre willing to answer our nagging question of other kind of speaker cableâ:thinking:
Yes. If you ask them about a cable (you have to provide the specs), they will give you a simple yes or no.
And then recommend A5 of course but thatâs a given.
As I have posted on a few previous occasions here, I once tried the Kimber 8TC (that I had hitherto been happily using on some big tube power amps) on my then-new NAP250.2. It sounded rather disappointing and also the power amp soon became hot to the touch - hot enough that I quickly switched off as it was clear the amplifier was not liking it. Nothing blew up, and the most I would have expected would have been poor sound and perhaps premature triggering of the thermal protection. Naim amps are strong and can withstand abuse, but that doesnât mean itâs recommended to stress them that way, as it could easily lead to a premature component failure down the line.
I would also like to note that the Kimber 8TC was replaced on the tube amps and performed really well, so nothing wrong with them, just not suitable for a power amp designed to incorporate the speaker cable (and itâs inductance) into the amp circuit.
If zooming in on the recommendation I have a question about it.
âensure that the cable is low capacitance and of moderate inductance. High capacitance &/or very low inductance cables are to be avoided at all costs and may result in damage to your amplifier.â
What if a cable has very low capacitance AND very low inductance? I have a cable with 0.5uH inductance and 6pF capacitance per meter. As I understand it it is not only the individual specs but the relationship between capacitance and inductance values.
Once you get the fact that the speaker cables are factored into the design of the actual amplifier in the case of the older Naim amps in particular, it is hard to understand why anyone would want to change them.
This reminds me of the Wheeler Dealers Porsche episode where a previous owner spent hundreds of dollars replacing the stock air filter with an aftermarket one. It looked good but only succeeded in sucking in hot air under the bonnet more efficiently than nice cold air that the Oem would suck in from outside the car. The net effect was a significant reduction in horse power.
I have not found such a cable, at least in a cable that has no added components.
Capacitance increases with area (dimension/2) & the proximity of the + & -
This is how a capacitor is designed.
If you have multiple insulated interwoven with +&- such as Litz or Kimber or flat copper strips interlaid with +&-, then you get high C
Individual single +&- with less close coupled area between then & you get less capacitance.
Widen the distance such as with the Naim NACA5 at the capacitance is very low.
In all these cable types (depending on other factors such as dielectric) the capacitance & induction vary in opposition to each other ( high C - low I) & low C - high I)
What cable brand is that???
Oephi cables. New brand that have made a splash in the industry. You can read about their speaker cables over at The Ear. Recently their cheapest model Lounge was reviewed and their higher end version became the reviewers new reference replacing TQ Ultra Black II some months back.
Shunyata feedback above seem to manage low C and low L too.
With the above being said, we are confident that the Venom-X would be fine with the Naim 300DR based on the measurements we recently took of the Venom-X showing very low capacitance and inductance, so its LCR should work great with Naim.
They do not seem to understand what Naim amps need -
The important factor is inductance, the amps need a highâish inductance to further help the Zobel shunt circuit stabilise the output stage against oscillation (ringing) caused by capacitive reactance.
NACA5 is 1uH/m hence why its recommended to have a minimum 3.5m length to get the required inductance loading.
A mate of mine runs a successful automotive tuning shop and calls DIY âdamage it yourselfâ where people have completely misunderstood or guessed. 
Peopleâ:cowboy_hat_face: turned the fuel pressure up on turbocharged engines only for the engine to run lean and they couldnât understand why. And that did result in a blow-up 
Low capacitance is fine. Low inductance could be a problem as the inductance of the cabling is used by the amp for stability (this avoids the need for extra inductance networks in the output signal path so you get improved sound).
You have the patience of a saint 
Iâve emailed Naim support. Letâs see what they say about the specifications I provided them.
I have the opp to get 2x8m of naca5. Maybe I should give it a go to see how they compare against my more exclusive cables.
Very pertinent thread as most Naim users continue to be at some variable level of confusion ranging from complete and safe (but sad) NACA5 paralysis to trying out better based on feedback here or elsewhere (incl. Naim or dealers derived information outside not very informative manuals) or just own experimenting and experience - I am a mix of the latter two over time (glad I did as there is so much to be gained from getting the most sensitive cable link for improving SQ, in my experience).
During the last couple of years I have tried (loan or purchase) several speaker cables on my currently owned Naim amps and to try make my post a bit useful hopefully, this is my experience:
Nait 2 - does not work well with short cables (2M tried - noise/hum and does not sound good) but ok with 4M or 5M lengths from Chord (Epic, Signature), TQ (Ultra Black), Audience, so I found length to be critical. Not had the guts to conduct a long experiment with short speaker cables on the Nait2.
Supernait 3 - have tried 1.5 to 5 metres over long periods with no issues whatsoever (amp runs cold and SQ is unaffected by length), the shortest lengths were Chord Sarum (1.5m) and Music. Now I use a 2M ChordMusic. I am done and very happy with the results.
Iâve used NACA5 for over thirty years, and never felt the need to try anything else.
System?