SN3 speaker cables length

Hi-Fi Corner
1

Hi All,

may I ask for some opinions/advice here, I got SN3 (most probably to be upgrade to 282/250DR someday) with 4m long TQ Silver II speaker cables. I’m planning to switch to TQ Blue Diamond 2.5m long (to warm and upgrade my system a little bit).

… and now extract from SN3 manual: “Loudspeaker cables are vitally important. They should each be at least 3.5 metres long and of equal length. The recommended maximum is normally 20 metres although longer cables may be viable with some Naim amplifiers”
… and now extract from 250DR manual: “Loudspeaker cables are vitally important. They should each be at least 3.5 metres long and of equal length. The recommended maximum is normally 20 metres although longer cables may be viable with some Naim amplifiers.”

so Naim recommendation is simple minimum 3.5m but the longer the better.

How serious shall I take this ? is this just recommendation or rule to follow with no exception. Even worse - with upgrading speaker cables I will also move SN3 from “from the side” placement to “between the speakers” placement - which is I heard also not recommended placement :((((

Well I’ve heard 2.5m TQ Blue Diamond and they sound great, but longer run don’t know how cables and electronics “interact”.

I will stay grateful for some advice here(as I almost bought TQ 2.5m). thanks Piotr

2

Not very I’ve got 3mtr cables and all ok.
I’ve got a mail somewhere where Julian advises 3 mtrs minimum.
And that was for the older more fussy stuff.
:+1:t2:

3 Likes
3

Those lengths cannot take account of the capacitance and inductance values for your speaker cable.
They are relevant for naca5.

4

The manual also states that, “a wide range of speaker cable types can be used without risk of damage to the amplifier.” While that isn’t quite the same as saying any cable can be used, the construction of TQ cables is pretty similar to Naim cables, so they should be fine.
The fact that cable length matters yet cable type doesn’t seems odd, as both factors will affect the critical induction and capacitance which a Naim amp needs for optimum performance.

5

No point IMO, I’d use the cash towards separates, would make more sense.

3 Likes
6

My dealer recommended 5 metres in each length as a minimum. That is what I used in our last three homes.

In our latest home, they are laid in a lazy S.

Warm regards,

Mitch in Oz.