@Russ out of curiosity, have you tried a Naim preamp in your system in comparison with your Allegri?
I haven’t but with a Naim pre amp I guess it would make my cable decision all the more easy- Naim cables all the way.
However, my system has changed since I wrote my profile and although the Allegri + and the 300DR remain, the front end that I have settled on is made up of dCS/Chord. Interconnects are Townshend Fractal and these seem to work well between the Chord and the Allegri+ and the 300DR. My Quads seem to reveal every change I make, which is good, but messing around with speaker cables (NAC5A and Witch hat phantoms) I realise that I’m going to have to aim pretty high to get the sound I’m looking for (seriously great image, great bass as well keeping the bouncy, melodic side of things).
Did you change just the speaker cable? How is the imaging and bass Andy?
Naca 5 is a tough cable to beat … Imo, max out your source/pre/power before considering changing out the Naca 5. I dare say that even at the 500 level of gear, Naca 5 will play nicely and will take a considerable investment to beat. If you must spend money on cables, the IC from source to preamp would be my first step. Spending even a huge amount on this cable will pay off…
ATB,
Mark
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It makes sense to start again with the NAC A5. Mine isn’t long enough and needs re soldering so I might look for a company that supplies NAC A5 with good quality terminations. Maybe I can have it run is as well so I don’t have to wait 2 weeks before I can listen to it!
@Russ I changed the speaker cable and the interconnect between the 252 and the NDS. The bass definition and sound stage image is just awesome - I have to be careful here because I could go overboard in my praise for the Super Lumina as the results in my system have been night and day.
It is expensive but for me each time I listen to my system it makes me smile at the thought of money well spent.
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Further to my previous comments, I have Super-Lumina between the CDS3 and pre and was hoping for further synergy and gains from SL speaker cables. The SL on the source was a really massive improvement and worth every penny. The one area I really noticed difference with SL speaker cable was subtle micro-detailing, however as mentioned at the end of the day I can’t really justify £3k for modest improvement and perceived impact on flow.
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Thanks Russ, I was just curious as I had hoped an Allegro would be a good low-box-count alternative, but I can’t get it to sound as good as my 282.
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Chris, I think you might have difficulty in fitting one of those on your rack, and the build quality was also rather dodgy, might I remind you.
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Those guys who developed Apple’s auto correct must be ****ing themselves laughing at the billions of spelling mistakes they cause every day 
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I can vouch too for Townsend Isolda cable. Runs between 300DR & PMC 25.23s and sounds lovely.
Have compared to Chord Signature and NACA5 amongst others and stuck with Isolda (the older style)
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Hi Russ, what did you make of the witch hat phantom cables, they are supposed to be really good?
Hi Gazza
The Phantoms sound nice, on a par with the A5. I’ve had them about 4 months. However I am sending them back for a full refund because two of the banana plugs came apart. I’m concerned about power amp damage if they come apart without my knowledge so that’s my primary reason for looking to change.
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[quote=“Gsr, post:32, topic:3123, full:true”]
I can vouch too for Townsend Isolda cable. Runs between 300DR & PMC 25.23s and sounds lovely.
Have compared to Chord Signature and NACA5 amongst others and stuck with Isolda (the older style)
[/quote]Hi Gsr
Very useful information, thanks very much
Ansuz X speaker cables. Low impedance, excellent addition.
Hmm… at £14k for 2M stereo pair they should be! Thanks for suggesting, I think these are a little above my pay grade 
I’m using Tellurium Ultra Black II speaker cable & jumpers with my 300DR & ATC 19s (& previously with my 250DR). I demoed it against the SL speaker cable and I much preferred the Tellurium. The SL cable sounded dull and flat by comparison. The Ultra Black II is fantastic, equivalent to a black box upgrade. It works well on my system with SL interconnects too.
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I don’t know the differences between “old” Isolda and “new” isolda, but the specs for new Isolda are:
Inductance 0.002uH
Capacitance 3,100pF
Resistance 8.4mohms
Leakage 25Mohms
Impedance 8ohms
Here’s Townshend’s explanation of their cable which, incidentally, also shows why it’s not a good electrical match for Naim amps…
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?attachments/cable-theory-and-isolda-pdf.23945/
It’s a tribute to the toughness of the 300DR that it can at all tolerate a cable so far away from the design specification!
I agreed sir. I would not put $17,000 cables on my pmc’s or my dynaudio, but I did obtain the entry level pair in 4m at $2250 USD. They have multiple levels, hence the X series reference. Good luck in your journey.
All the best
Scott
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@Russ i have always used Cord Odessey with my AMP and speakers, had 200 and now 300DR - netural and dynamic
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