I have a Supernait 2 and today my secondhand HiCap DR (900 euro and from 2022) arrived and I just realized that I need an SNAIC 4 cable (the SNAIC 5 cable was included).
The SNAIC 4 cable cost 250 euro in the Netherlands, I will prefer to buy the Chord Shawline X SNAIC, because I read that this cable is better. But I find both quite expensive.
There is no sound playing over the SNAIC 4, can I purchase a cheap alternative of will I have a degradation in sound quality?
Unfortunately I cannot find a secondhand NIAM or Chord SNAIC 4 at the moment, otherwise I had purchased it already. I can return the HiCap DR to my dealer and wait till another one pops up with an SNAIC 4 cable…
I’d look out for a genuine SNAIC4. This cable still carries audio signals.
The SNAIC5 carries two 24v power rails from the Hicap to power the SN2 pre amp. It also carries L&R audio from the SN2 pre amp via the Hicap and SNAIC4 to the SN2 power amp.
If you have just parted with 900 Euro for an HC DR, then why didn’t you know that you needed a SNAIC 4 ? After all, you knew that it came with a SNAIC 5 anyway.
In my opinion just bite the bullet and buy a proper SNAIC 4. There is absolutely no point in mixing different SNAIC’s on the same system. After all, you did buy the Hi CAP DR to improve the SN2 didn’t you ?
I asked my dealer if the cables where included to connect the HCDR to my SN2 they said yes and when I read the Naim connection instruction I noticed that I need to purchase the SNAIC 4 pin cable.
So now that I know that is best not to mix different SAINC cables, I will get a black Naim SNAC 4 (the 5 is also the newer black type).