Super Lumina comparables discussion

SL I/C, speaker cable and an XPS DR is your answer… now that you are heading down the rabbit hole :sunglasses::heavy_dollar_sign::heavy_dollar_sign:

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I have tried once Chord speakers cables, but don’t remember which, perhaps epic. They don’t matched well with my speakers.
However i use Chord signature tuned array, preferred them to hiline. I like their tonality. Natural and free flowing.

I added SL speaker leads a few months back, they had a huge impact. Highly recommend.

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So it doesn’t look like there are many who have taken the time to experiment with speaker cables, home demoing maybe just for the sakes of seeing what’s what?

I wasn’t looking for recommendations just the characteristics surrounding some of the competitors to SL.

I thought this thread may take a route somewhat similar to the Ethernet thread.

:man_shrugging:

I had 20 year old cables before that, and the difference was a surprise. I haven’t tried others as I didn’t think it was necessary

I did try True Signal Revelation cable which is £1550 for 2m pair and £250 per pair per extra metre. I preferred this to SL and Naca5…but eventually bought Kudos ks-1. The True Signal i almost purchased but it would have needed modifying to get through my cable conduit under the fireplace…so put it on hold, then Kudos released their cable. Tellurium Q i tried their interconnects but their top speaker cables are very expensive…so i gave them a miss.

I use TQB din-din source to 252 and find it ‘sounds’ better than HiLine by a good margin. It’s also has a nice robust ‘fit and forget’ build quality. I also use TQB speaker cable which, again, I find better than naca5.

G

Yes, I have. I have SL interconnect and DIN-XLRs. I’ve tried SL speaker cables a few times and really don’t like them (or NACA 5). Until recently I’ve been using TQ Ultra Black II and I’ve been pleased with these cables.

However, I’ve been demoing different speakers as I’ve swapped listening rooms. I’ve pulled the trigger on Marten Duke 2s and my dealer loaned me Audiomica Reference speaker cables to go with these. They are a Polish brand and little known on this forum. They are a revelation and work really well with the Martens and my Naim amps. They are very reasonable (cheaper than Chord equivalents) and I’ve just ordered a set. Highly recommended :+1:t3:

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So the Marten Duke 2 works better in the room than the Miles 5? Good to know the Duke 2s are sounding great with the 552/300DR. I guess just about any speaker will sound sublime with the 552. Not so much with the 282 though.

Congratulations!

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Yes, the Dukes work really well in my room. They still have the same sound signature of the Miles 5 but the bass output is much more manageble in the room. I’ve tried a few floorstanders now (ATC 40A, Titan 606, Marten Miles 5) but I realise now I should have stuck with standmounts in the first place.

I’m picking up the Dukes on Saturday. Excited :grinning:

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I have only heard SL at my dealers a number of times whilst auditioning speakers. I got the impression of brightness (although this seems to be something I am sensitive to)
In my very first system CD5i and Nait 5i I had Chord Odessy but changed to Naca5 which I preferred (more body and dynamics) and have kept over numerous upgrades. I have WH Phantom arriving today.

I currently use SL for speakers and from ND555 to 552…I like their effect … then I tried din to xlr they were a run in dealer set … very disappointing 3k and refined but dynamics seemed restrained … the std cable was much better… Have ordered some Morgana din to xlr…let’s see if this is better…

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When people mention that they sometimes prefer the standard Naim cables to say SL, Sarum or some other exotic offering I’m always drawn to an issue I had with my system a while back.

Last year I had a small fault with my 555PS. Nothing major but enough to make the system sound slightly off. Whatever I did I couldn’t rectify it. In the end I swapped out all my SL leads for standard Naim cables and low and behold the system sounded much better. Of course I thought I’d found the culprit. However, some later swaps with the source equipment finally revealed where the real issue was located.

The 555PS when back to Naim where they found and replaced a faulty component and once back in the systems the SL leads totally destroyed the standard cables.

I think that these very wide bandwidth cables are simply less tolerant of any issues with the system, be it poor source, cable dressing, rack issues, faulty equipment etc. they can be heard straight away! The additional frequency extension and dynamics at performance extremes are very revealing, and just sometimes I think the ‘lesser’ cables can sound (and cope) better in these situations?

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That thread was not tied to one cable: you have tied this to one, and given the lengths often involved with speaker cables, one that is restricted to the more well-heeled among us.

You may not tease out all there is, as some that contributed previously may not see this, or may not bother responding as they have before, considerIng the forum to be a resource, which is the reason for the search tool!

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Yes I have tied it to SL because Naim make them unlike an Ethernet cable. The SL therefore has to be the datum if it is what Naim believe to be the pinnacle and statement worthy.

In regards to your second point a quick search leads to no information in a broader sense.
Certainly not on the first few search pages. Perhaps I was typing in the wrong key words. Maybe you can point these out to those interested including myself?

Apologies if you have scanned through the threads that come up when you type in SL speaker cable and found little evidence of anything of relevance- it was just that your previous response had rather given the impression that you couldn’t be bothered! I’d suggest the archived old forum, but the search facility on there is rudimentary and in my experience you have to be really determined or very lucky to find things even when you know they are there.

“Statement worthy” of course might not translate equally to best for all of Naim’s amps, as it may depend on the output stage/ characteristics…

The post but one above if you had read, you would have seen that I had done searches.

You maybe correct regarding SL and therefore an open discussion surrounding tests would be interesting.

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I had read your preceding post that said this:

followed by the one I cited, which together created the impression I indicated, even if that was not your intention! Anyway, it will be clear to readers now if not before that you had searched more thoroughly. :slightly_smiling_face:

I tried the SL interconnect a while ago in place of a hiline between CDX2 and 282. At the time I had Fraim Lite and the SL touched the floor where the hiline didn’t. There was an increase in separation but a loss of coherence, a loose loop in it wasn’t a success either making for a more analytical sound. I then found out that you couldn’t get Naim right angle speaker plugs on the SL speaker cables, I don’t have room for banana plugs behind my NBLs so I’ve never tried SL again. It may be possible to bodge up something with spades and pins but I took the hint that NBLs and SL don’t match and left it at that.

For years I used a Chord Anthem between my CDX2 and 282 but the day I auditioned the CDS3 the dealer demonstrated the positive effect the Hiline made, far more organic. I made the purchase. The problem was every time I stripped down the system the bloody thing fell apart. True Naim always repair them for no fee but in the end I got fed up. Against my better judgement I then tried a SL, what a revelation. Music is so sweet. One day I’ll try the XLR. Why don’t Naim develop a SL snaic?

Regards,

Lindsay

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