I guess we all must decide from among the too-many available brands and make a decision at some point. I would not criticize any component that i’ve not heard nor anyone’s choice of system or accessories. I can say for certain that the ISOLDA cables work within my system (252/SC/300DR) and to my ears are superior to the Naim cable.
I posted on the old forum about this at some length. I was curious (as were some others) so we conducted some listening tests at the factory and made up a bunch of NACA5 sets; IIRC one was the minimum of 3.5m per channel, one was 5m, one was 10m, and then we had a 20m one just to see how that went. Overall I much preferred the 5 and 10m lengths over 3.5m, which just made the music seem a bit edgy and the music just didn’t seem to flow as well. the gap between 3.5m and 5m sound-wise was much greater than that between 5m and 10m. I could live with 5m although overall I liked 10m best (and now that’s what I use personally with my Naim power amps). Remarkably, 20m was pretty much like 10m, so the Naim way of doing things - using the inductance of the cable to provide stability, this avoiding added inductance networks in the output stage - shows that the losses you would expect from such long runs are minimised or even ameliorated. I think amongst those who listened to the test, we were all in agreement with the findings.
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Chord Epic is way too thick to hide under carpet, so are XT40, Naim A5 and Phantom.
For that purpose I suggest Chord Sarsen, Kudos K1 or something from Tellurium Q.
all very thin.
Otherwise you can install a dedicated floor panel made to hide cables.
The specs of that Isolda look scary as anything for a Naim amp. Very low inductance and very high capacitance is exactly what a Naim power amp doesn’t want. IIRC this type of flat copper ribbon speaker cable was exactly the sort that Naim warned users not to use. Curious about the compensation network. I guess it must work if your amps are still OK.
Interesting. Thanks. Is this relevant for a 300DR too you think? I have 4 meters of cable (not naca5 but similar design) so not sure if it’s worth the hassle in selling and purchasing another set for +1m.
Yes, definitely relevant with a NAP300DR. IIRC we did the tests with a NAP250.2 and a NAP300.
No, probably not worth selling just to add an extra metre. Although could be worthwhile to go to more than 5m per channel. If your happy with what you have then I would stick with it for now. Maybe on day in the future, a system move around or a house move may dictate the need or opportunity to go for longer lengths.
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Apologies. Just realised, the pun in my opening sentence was not intended.
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Curiosity is evil 
No hurry since it sounds great but I will have it in mind if a cable update becomes relevant 
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I’m aware if at least one small manufacturer who will make up a small, inexpensive box that adds the required inductance, allowing you to use any speaker cable with a Naim or other amp that doesn’t have this built in. I’m guessing the box on the Isolda has something similar.
Its a zobel network, as far as i’m aware. I did use isolda with a nait xs; it didn’t seem to be affected, but i did swap to naca5.
I would guess so, but surely not having to have an inductance network in the path is the more elegant and logical solution. Still, I guess if it works and saves the amp from melt down then it certainly makes the cable more useable and commercially viable.
Surely adding networks to the end of an unsuitable cable to bodge it into suitability is simply adding links in the chain that don’t need to be there and cannot do anything positive to the sound.
The ‘cable’ is effectively an unrolled capacitor, two strips of flat conductors laid over each other.
Its always been to same with Townsend (IMO) make a simple function more complicated than its needs be & stack the price.
Indeed, my take on this is that if you really don’t want to use a Naim cable, there are plenty of alternatives around that are known to be compatible. I guess issues arise when people already own exotic speaker cables, then move to a Naim amp.
A friend of mine had a channel cut in his carpet underlay to accommodate his NACA5 and position his naim system next to the opposite wall from his loudspeakers - behind his seating area. This worked so well, that until he told me, I thought he had put the cable under the floor. The process had been very neatly done and there was absolutely no indication that it was even there.
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TQ Black as suggested will fit the bill, as will the other suggestions, the major issue from your initial post will likely be cost. The TQ Black will be approx £864 for two 8M runs as opposed to £210 for the QED XT40.
Yet the electrical characteristics of Naim SuperLumina and NAC A5 (let alone other cables) are quite different. So which cable are they talking about and why don’t they specify? If 3.5m is for NAC A5, you’ll need 5m of SL. If it’s for SL, 2.5m of NAC A5 would suffice. (Based on inductance)
It will again vary wildly for other brands of cable. Length is a curious choice of metric IMO.
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I agree your concern with the applied “length” logic.
With NACA5/@ 1uH/m, it’s not so difficult. But it might have been easier from the get go to have said the amps output stage requires a speaker cable with 3.5uH total L.
But with so few cable brands including any specs, it’s still an uphill climb whatever.
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That’s what I meant and used for calculating the relative lenghts. I’ll correct the typo. Thanks for pointing it out!
Would this 5m preferred length also be true for the Super Lumina Speaker Cables?