Thank you @Mike-B!
So the same folding principle and system of the NACA5 can also be applied to the power cables?
David
1 Like
Youād likely find the same issue with non-Naim speaker cable. Just follow Richardās advice and you should be fine.
Roger
1 Like
Yes, but donāt get too carried away.
Having a power cable in a roll (coil) will add inductance & impedance, but in home hifi use with milliamps & 50Hz, a few loose turns will add nothing of any consequence.
Whatever; my OCD says folding back & forth cancels out inductance so thats the way I do it.
3 Likes
Now I got two options from the shop I contacted concerning their sale and offers:
1.) 2x 3,5 meters Demo NACA5 with Banana Plugs for the speakers and Naim Connector for the amp which I have to remove and use such as mentioned by @Richard.Dane.
2.) 2x 3,5 meters New NACA5 just from the roll without any plugs or connectors.
Both priced very similar (about 180 EUR) so very fair. As the shop went out of business and workshop and service department are already closed they cannnot offer any kind of cable assembly. Bringing the new cable to another shop or dealer for assembly is not really my cup of tea when not buying the cable at the same place. However I do not have any own experience with cable assembly yet.
So what yould be your suggestion here?
Thank you very much.
Colormind.
Iād clearly go with option 1, Richardās recommendation is simple to do and you will still have plugs attached. (Make sure that the speakers accept banana plugs)
1 Like
Buy the new cable as 180 euro is a superb price for 2 * 3.5 metres. What i do with mine is use occ crimps (elac), cleaned and polished which then is crimped to speaker end then double screw clamped to high quality spades. The crimps are around 20mm and provide a massive contact area for the spades and you can always unscrew the spades and try another method or different gold or rhodium plated material. For the amp end i had them proffessionally soldered by a friendly chap from cymbiosis in leicester, i forget his name Peter i think and but he did a superb soldering job on the sa8 amp plugs.
1 Like
Just bear in mind that the sockets on the Atom are all very close together, and the + and - pairs are arranged one above the other, rather than side by side in the amps that are intended to take regular Naim SA8 plugs. This means that you have to be particularly careful to ensure that the cables can be connected properly, and without putting undue strain on the sockets. (Itās also surprisingly easy to connect them out of phase!) You will probably need to cut away a section of the web between the two conductors, and do some careful but firm hand bending to get everything just right. Stick with it though, itās worth the effort.
1 Like
I would very much like to hear what you hear from this upgrade. I have not done it only upgraded to Kimber Kable to the speakers. Audioholics say since no sound waves come through power cables you wonāt hear a sound diff. They also said to make sure the new cables have the āULā certification on them as you donāt want a potential fire hazard
best
JH
1 Like
UL (Underwriter Laboratories) is a USA certification company.
Its not applicable in Europe although it is an indication of a good safety standard.
Are you saying you have Kimber speaker cables on your Atom?
These are not suitable for Naim amps due to their very high capacitance.
1 Like
Yes wow I had no idea. I will call Kimber. Is there a list of cables that work with naim and is that info on naim site someplace?
thanks
1 Like
Any cable that is not woven, plaited or Litz is OK, all thats needed is simple construction.
I currently use Chord Odyssey on my Supernait, its a simple 2 core cable. Other brands have the same construction type & they all work just fine.
Naim NACA5 cable is spaced pairs to give the right amp output stage inductance load, & that construction form adds a side benefit of low capacitance.
However when you call Kimber I suspect they will deny its a problem. And it might well be that an Atom might be OK with them, but I know from experience that when I had Kimber 8PR it made my Nait-2 run hot & sound bad. I hooked it up temporally to some basic power flex & that was an instant fix.
1 Like
Yes that is exactlt the situation. Older Naim products have to have specific cables or they will run hot (a sign of a problem). The atom doesnāt run hot or even warm on the kimber woven cables. That said I willl switch if I hear back from Naim that using them will void the warranty. I had not idea so thank you for bringing this up
jh
1 Like
To give you a comparison of the spec numbers
Kimber 8PR : 267pF/m & 0.14uH/m
Naim NACA5 : 16pF/m & 1uH/m
Chord Odyssey : 56pF/m & 0.6uH/m (this is a middle of the road cable construction form & what I use)
1 Like
Hi Mike I posted on another thread this info. I spoke with Henry at Naim and the bottom line is braided cables are not recomended for naim products. They should make this very clear in the manual like in Bold! Where did you get your cables? Did you hear a sound diff? Thanks JH
1 Like
Amplifiers Reference Manual, general section, 1.2 Loudspeaker cables:
Some Naim amplifiers are designed only to work with
Naim loudspeaker cable and using alternatives may
degrade the performance or even damage the amplifier.
Other Naim amplifiers can be used with any high quality
loudspeaker cable although we recommend that Naim
loudspeaker cable is used.
(ā¦)
Contact your local retailer or distributor for further advice
on loudspeaker cables and connectors.
Then e.g. in the NAP 300 section, 34.3 Loudspeaker Cable and Connectors:
Only Naim Audio speaker cable should be used to
connect a loudspeaker to the output of the NAP 300.
However in the Supernait section, 19.5 Speaker outputs:
Naim Audio speaker cable
will provide the best results; however, a wide range of
speaker cable types can be used without risk of damage
to the amplifier.
1 Like
Hi Johan, where did I get my cables ?..
It was a long way back & I actually bought them before I had Naim, they ended up in my bits-box.
I then moved to Naim, thru a few pre/pwr & integrateds & along the way also bought a Nait2 for a 2nd room system.
I was fully aware of the importance of output stage loading to counter capacitive reactance. But despite this I tried to use the Kimbers as I needed the 5m length, that just proved the story about cables with such high capacitance. Previously a cold running amp now started to feel warm & the sound varied from OK to distorted, but obviously not a happy amp until it was replaced by other cable.
1 Like
Just a little update about my tiny project. I now get the opportunity to test both cables: The NACA5 (of a friendās friend who is a helpful and nice Naim enthusiast) as well as the Tellurium Q Black II. Curious how I they do for my system and to my ears in comparison ā¦
2 Likes
Keep us posted!
1 Like
Exactly!! That sentence is what the Kimber rep read to me. That should not be there if there is a problem using woven cables. Confusing. I switched back to 14ga cables but honestly the Atom never heated up or distorted on the Kimber. Odd for sure.
1 Like
It could be bold, maybe, but it says that the wrong cable can damage the amplifier and you should talk to your retailer or distributor, obviously Naim retailer/distributor. It does not tell you to talk to the cable rep who wants you to buy their cable. This is right at the beginning of the manual. The fact that it mentions damage should be a hint.
Even in the Supernait section it does not say that any cable can be used, just a wide range.
The amps differ. Uniti are probably the most flexible, it may well be that it dealt with the Kimber. Supernait less so, and I guess no clarification for the manualās statement is needed for the Classics like the 300
1 Like