SN2 vs SN3

Hi Ryder, I have both cables in my hands now.

The Vovox Vocalis has been on for over a week and it is a really really good cable for the buck. I found one pair of 2,5m for € 300 in as new condition. For that amount of money it helps improving sound significantly. I like it.

Now to the extremely expensive Super Lumina. Words a limited to WTF? What? Come on! To be honest, I am in HIFI for 30 years now and I have always made sure to have some good cables in my gear, not the most expensive ones, but good midrange.

My expectations where high for the Super Lumina - like “if Naim want this amount of money, I want to be impressed beyond doubt, far beyond small differences.”

Well, I am. This is totally beyond all I have ever heard with Naim, including my old combination of SN2 and HDX. This cable demonstrates that there is so much more that my Harbeth speakers are able to do for me, it almost feels bad to have wasted so much time listening to them below their level.

What are the really significant wow effects?

There is magic air in Leonard Cohens “Nevermind” which I had always realized to be there but now his voice is right in my face and I can hear him breathing, I can hear his mouth closing, his tongue forming the words.

There is more stage, wide and deep. Much more. The highs do not cut off so harsh anymore, they wave out with a charm.

There is a hell lot more PRaT. Alan Parsons DSD version of “I don’t wanna go home” is literally everywhere in the room, it swings and rolls and rocks out of the speakers in all directions, it is just an amazing demonstration of what is possible - same gear, same room, different speaker cable. The Harbeth speakers have fully come alive, it is as if they were breathing the music in and out. Waving.

I don’t know yet if I am really gonna spend three grand for this cable but I fully agree, that it makes a significant difference and really pushes the whole chain to a different level. My new SN3 has been on for 4 weeks now, 24/7, it is still getting better but today I really don’t know what “better” could mean after this.

Question: This demo set of Luminas is 4m. Do I still need a certain length with SN3, because 2,5m would be enough in my setup?

Chris

P.S. Boy, this pair of 4m sounds really sick, just listening to the beginning of Tony Joe Whites “Closer to the truth” right now - this is not normal anymore…control, bass, rhythm, loudness, lows/mids/high everything just in the right place.

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Very interesting. I’m using the same speakers with NACA5, you’re making me think I may be missing something.

I’m in the midst of a significant upgrade now, but I’ll make sure I home dem SL speaker cables next

Claude

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It is surely a right decision to use high quality speaker cables with the Harbeth Super HL5 Plus
I’m glad it worked out for you. Similarly my Harbeth SHL5 Plus really shines with the right cable. I thought the previous cables were good enough but realised they were not cutting it after trying superior cables. Similarly the better cable, in my case Chord Signature XL transformed the system and brought it to a higher level of performance. More detail, better flow, texture and tone, you name it. Music sounds unforced and natural, everything just sounds fine. You would realise it’s high quality sound after you have gone through the experience. You would also realise (and regard) the lesser cables to be not very good, coloured to a certain extent and limiting the full potential of the system and/or speakers.

In summary, you are correct that the Harbeth speakers deserve better cables. I spent £2,400 for the Chord Signature XL. Yes it is costly. Does it make a difference in my system? It surely does. Is it a value buy? Not really considering that it’s just some cables that are well, cables. Do I regret buying them? Not for a bit.

I’m sure the Naim Super Lumina are special. It is good that the Supernait 3 is up to the task and has the ability to reveal the strengths or differences in the cables.

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It is prudent not to overlook the speaker cables. Especially if you own the Harbeth Super HL5 Plus and Naim amps.

Alan Shaw have made cable measuring and test recently. His conclusion and recommendation based on this was to purchase any 6mm2 copper cable. Thickness and material is the only thing that can change the sound of a cable. Everything to read at Harbeths forum. I did what he claimed and changed my Chord to Mark Grant 6mm2 cables. Sounds great.

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I will definitely order a pair of Mark Grant 6mm in 2x4m just for comparison. They are extremely cheap in comparison to what we are talking about in here.

I had come across this advise before…

Chris

I have heard about Chord being excellent with Harbeth.

Chord cables do not have a market in Germany, very hard to find pre-owned. Same with Super Luminas, I have not yet seen a pair on ebay or elsewhere. Speaks for itself - or they don’t sell any which I will find out tomorrow…my way.

I would not agree that any 6mm cable does the trick, my selfmade cable with highend bananas is a 6mm and surely does not perform anywhere near the Lumina.

I will check out Chord cables on ebay UK now.

Chris

What about speaker cable length nowadays? What do Naim say?

Ryder, just found a pre owned Signature XL in Germany and its a dealer. Keep your fingers crossed he accepts my offer. It is 2x3m, is that enough with Naim amps now?

Slamdam,

regarding what Alan Shaw says, maybe keep in mind: They don’t sell speaker cables. It is not in his best interest, that people do the following math: 5 grand for his speakers and stands and then it takes another 2 grand to make them sing. He would never say that. Same with any Amp producer that doesn’t sell cables. Speak to them on a fair about cables and they will say, that they do not care too much about cables.

All these HIFI guys do not care about components they don’t sell and tend to value them down.

Naim did that for the power strip and claimed their 20 bucks strip would be more than enough, why? Because they want to sell external power supplies and not power strips. Would they say, it takes a 1 grand power strip, they would make their power supplies look very suspect. Well, at least they invented expensive power cables.

So, it all comes down to testing. And I will test the Mark Grand cables against anything I have and report back.

Super Lumina sets the reference so far.

Chris

Tellurium Q Black Diamond have exceptional reviews, and it seems a good synergy with Naim as well as other amplifiers brands; the problem is the price they have. With the integrated amplifiers, Naim is clear enough in the owner manual: different speaker cables are valid and there is no length restriction for inductance or capacitance needs. Personally, no less than 2-2’5 meters I think they would do the trick in a lot.

@Naimian have you tried the Super Liumina interconnect!? Now that’s WOW!!

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More like a double WOW once when you hear it in your system and secondly when you pay for it !!!

Not when you pick one up for used HiLine money! :crazy_face:

Well done, that’s what I call a value for money upgrade.

3m is the shortest you can order. I used that length quite happily with my then 272/250. When I got the 300 it was higher in the rack so I sold them and got a 4m pair. So before getting 3m think about whether you are likely to need longer in future. Bear in mind that coiling any excess impacts on sound quality. Any spare should be run away from the speakers and then back again.

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I’ve recently added a Superlumina interconnect between my NDX2/XPS DR and SN2 and just last week the speaker cables (3m). The impact is nothing short of astounding, it sounds like a completely different level of system,

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I just can’t help thinking that if I had the money to replace my existing cables with SL ones I’d get a 252 or 300 with it instead…

You would then still want the SL loom.

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And the S/L interconnect delivers more resolution to the preamp, and a better preamp or power amp won’t do that.

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