Hello,
I’ve recently been able to purchase a lovely pair of mint SL2s which are ideally positioned close up against a solid brick wall in my lounge. The SL2s have replaced a pair of Sopra No.1s which whilst enjoyable needed space to breath in my room that created room and placement issues. The SL2’s are ideal in terms of both quality and being so room space friendly (I’d always wanted a pair and now know why their reputation proceeds them).
The rest of my system consists of a CDS3/XPS, NDS/555PS, 252, SC, 300DR connected by Superlumina DIN interconnect between NDS and 252 (and a Highline between CDS3 and 252) plus Superlumina XLR interconnects between the 300 DR units. I have been using NAC5 speaker cable for many years, but have now acquired Superlumina speaker cables and am keen to employ the full lume.
I have a question/problem that I hope fellow forum members may have ideas or suggestions about. My existing NAC5 cables terminate at the speaker end with Naim plugs that were soldered onto the cable ends at 90 degree angles. That was for use with a pair of Linn Kan’s I owned which like the SL2s were designed to be postioned with their backs as a close to a solid wall as possible without the cable touching the wall. The Superlumina cable plugs are ‘straight’ which means that to plug them in they need rather more space. So the speakers need to move away from the wall and by quite a degree to ensure the AirPlug connection engineering isn’t compromised by the cable fouling the wall. My options appear to be:
a) Find some 90 degree speaker plugs to connect between the Superlumina speaker plugs and the SL2s.
b) Hollow out the wall by way of where the Superlumina speaker cables would connect with the SL2s so as to be able to accommodate the straight connection. I can’t see the Mrs being very happy with that idea.
Any ideas/suggestions would be much appreciated. Thank you.
I used SL cables with SL2s and it worked really well. About 10cm between the top of the cabinets and the wall should allow for the plugs. There is no way you should mess around with right angled adaptors or other nonsense. I set the speakers in place, then tipped them forwards until there was enough space to insert the plugs. It’s best to do this with the top box removed.
Naim’s recommendation for SL2s was between 10 and 45cm from the rear wall, so you should have just about enough space, even at the lower end of that range.
SL bananas are quite long - I had some when I first bought my Shahinian Arcs and I had to raise then up from the floor on 5cm wooden blocks in order to fit the plugs.
Many thanks for your suggestions and comments. I’ve now got the Superlumina speaker cables installed and found that I needed about 12cm between the back of the SL2’s and the walls to avoid the cables touching/fouling. It gave me a good opportunity to freshly adjust and re-level the SL2s (ensuring that the tweeters sit nice and centrally in their housings). Having now been able to spend a few hours listening my impression is a further lift in clarity, and texture to instruments. With a first class recording the sound can be stunning. My only slight reservation is whether there is now a hint of fizz/brightness compared with the NAC5. I shall persevere and compare directly against the NAC5 when time permits.
I had the superlumina speaker cables at home for 3 weeks,I was impressed by the texture sharpness that was presented by the sopra n1, but as much I appreciated the superlumina and liked their behavior with good recordings, I struggled a lot with others.
Most music I listen are not audiophile recordings, and going the superlumina route only worked for me as an optional cable in the system, the lean sound that makes it sound very clean and shows the textures impressively, also destroys many of the music I love, and with it, I was starting to search for a lot for recordings that sounded good with the superlumina and not listening to the ones I like, because they did not sound that great.
So I decided to not get them, they are in a price range that if they do not play all that great the music I like, the investment in them made no sense to me.
The superlumina gives a fantastic uau factor on the first days, after living with them some weeks I started questioning their sound more than their price. It’s a great cable but not for everyone, and will make many recordings sound like perfect trash, love the superlumina but also do not love the superlumina.
I will search from time to time on the used market for a pair because what they do is impressive, I do not think the price of a new kit is logical, but what does not work in my room does not directly translate to any other room or system.
I perfectly understand the “fizz/brightness” on your words.
Thanks for your thoughts. I think I’ve attached a few photos of the SL2s, but I’m not confident using this mobile! I purchased the Superlumina speaker cables secondhand so am unsure if they’re burnt/run in. I shall continue with them for a few weeks and see if the slight brightness fades.
