Supernait 3 with Audioquest Oak speaker cable

[Gracie.1]

I have an opportunity to aquire a pair of Audioquest Oak biwire speaker cables at no cost.
A question for the forum. Are the Oaks compatible with the Supernait 3?

[feeling_zen]

Compatible? Yes.

A good idea? Probably not. You don’t bi-wire from Naim amps and AQ cables are not a natural partner. You can, but it’s largely pointless and the increased capacitance, while no longer presenting a stability issue for Naim amps, doesn’t suit them.

Even free, I would not bother. But if your question is whether it is safe to try, the answer is yes.

[Stephen_Tate]

SN3 deserves NAC A5 properly terminated, if you have not done so already. You will hear then what a fully fledged SN3 is really capable of. Amazingly so.

[IanRobertM]

@feeling_zen

Compatible? Yes.

A good idea? Probably not.

Perfectly expressed.

[Gracie.1]

Thanks for the prompt and candid responses. I think I’ll pass on the Oaks at this time.

[opus]

Since this is the Naim Forum, of course you’ll get Naim centric answers. I’ve used AQ Oak I’d give it a try , for free I’d absolutely try it! I assume it’s an internal Bi-wire ? This is with your Totems?

[feeling_zen]

If you’ve tried it and gotten a result then that’s probably good advice Opus. Maybe the best advice here as it’s from direct experience.

I actually think AQ make decent cables and have used plenty in the past. I’ve just not had any luck with AQ and Naim or in fact anything other than a multi-strand bundle.

[Gracie.1]

They are internal biwire. Since they are compatible and free, I just may give them a listen.

[Mulberry]

I like both Naim and AudioQuest and think that they can work together nicely. The AQ “Bridges and Falls” interconnects are for example (with a single exception) available with DIN plugs on one or both sides. But the newer speaker cables simply aren’t what a Naim amplifier is designed to work with. There’s an exception to this, too, as the Rocket 88 can be ordered in a Naim- friendly configuration. The earlier designs, like the Crystal, Indigo and Argent should be less problematic. Unlike the current designs, the earlier ones had the positive and negative conductors running parallel to each other.
If you try the Oak, check the Supernaits temperature frequently to avoid major problems.

[Gracie.1]

The Oaks are built in a counter spiraling configuration unlike the Rocket 88’s parallel runs. I will be vigilant and monitor the Supernait’s temperature.

[opus]

I’m really interested to hear your results. I can give you one tip. Once you have installed the Qak cables let them sit for 24 hours or at least overnight before you listen, they really need time to settle in. FWIW I used the Oak biwire between ProAc D30R and an Ayon Spirit MK2 integrated amp. Sounded great.

[Gracie.1]

Greetings. I’m picking up the Oaks later this week from a colleague. They are a massive 9 guage ! I’ll be sure to give them a proper run. I will revert back with my findings.

[Gracie.1]

Unfortunately the Oaks will not install properly on the Supernait 3. With the speaker terminals being crossed on the amplifier the Oaks are to large and rigid to cross over for proper left and right channels. I didn’t want to damage the amp.

[Richard.Dane]

That might be just as well. I couldn’t find any capacitance or inductance specs, but just reading the description and seeing what they look like made me think these are cables that should probably be avoided with Naim kit, as while they may “work”, they will likely not be any near optimal and may well stress the amp making it run hot. Of course, without the specs, it’s impossible to know for sure…

[RogerGround]

Hi @Gracie.1

Loudspeaker Cables For SN3

Hi-Fi Corner

Loudspeaker Cables For SN3

Hi-Fi Corner

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71

DiggyGunRegular

1

Nov '22

@Stilts

Naim is fairly unique in its philosophy of requiring, in the past, the use of speaker cables carefully matched to meet amp impedance/capacitance needs

I think that you’ll find that this is still the current advice. See the FAQS.

Some people choose to stick with Naim cables or other manufacturers, but of similar specification. Others do not as it is still a free world.

At the end of the day, it is up to you what type of speaker cables and lengths you want to use with your system. Obviously, there may be risks associated with that, but again, that is also your choice.

Enjoy your music whatever type of cable you go for.

DG…

Stilts

Nov '22

I agree entirely. My point is that previously it was a requirement.

RogerGround

Nov '22

Responce from dealer when I enquired if they use Naim speaker cables in store.
"We use Non-Naim or Non-Naim normally. But it’s at our risk! LOL. I understand where you’re coming from…all I can say is we have a lot of Naim owner customers that don’t use Naim cable and have not had any issues…

I put Non-Naim to protect them.

1

RogerGround

Nov '22

In-Akustik speaker cables.

Who knew!

• Litz Speaker cables for Naim

1 month later

RogerGround

Dec '22

Following on from all of the above.
I had the follwing email conversation with Naim Support.
I note from the manual from my SN3 the following statement “however, a wide range of speaker cable types can

be used without risk of damage to the amplifier.”

Are there any type of loudspeaker cables that should definitely not be used with the SN3?

Thank you.

Kind Regards.

Roger

Hi

Sorry for the delay in responding.

Twisted cables add load to the amplifier, and can cause the amp to overheat, so we advise against using those. Parallel cables, with the red and black running side by side, are the best, like our NAC-A5 cable, found here: Naim Audio NAC A5 | Audio Speaker Cable

Kind regards,

Duncan

Hi.

So that I can make an informed decision what is the maximum pF per M of the cable recommended for the modern Naim amps such as the SN3?

Thank you.

Kind Regards.

Roger.

Hi Roger,

That information isn’t available.

We advise on a minimum length of 3.5 meters per side, and of non-twisted cable for maximum performance.

Kind regards,

Duncan

Hi Duncan.

Due to space constraints and loudspeaker configuration, I need 2.5M and 1M jumpers. I do not have room to form 1M loops of NAC 5 cable and I cannot afford your more expensive cable.

I appreciate we live in litigious times and Naim only want to give out standard information and not to go off the script.

It is an unfortunate sign of the times that is the line companies are taking.

Oh, how I long for the days long gone, when companies were customer centric.

Kind regards

Roger

I’d like to think that we’re still of the older order, and very much focused on providing the customer with whatever it is that they ask.

I made some enquiries, and this is what I found, I hope it’s sufficient.

Nominal NAC A5 specification is:

9 mΩ

16 pF/m

0.9 uH/m

A supernait 3 should be OK with double that capacitance, but note that you should use the same lengths on both channels.

Kind regards,

Duncan

I then had the following email conversation with Audioquest.

Good Morning Alasdair.

Do Audioquest make any loudspeaker cables that can be used with a Naim Supernait 3 amp?

I understand that Naim amps will not tolerate high capacitance cables.

I “heard” a rumour on a forum that the Rocket 88 can be “retuned” to make it suitable for use with Naim amps. Is this correct?

Thank you.
Kind regards
Roger.
Hello Roger,

Alasdair is no longer working for AudioQuest, but we’d be happy to assist you. You are correct that Naim amps are particular with the type of speaker cable used with them. We can do a special Naim audio preparation on any of our Rocket series speaker cables that will work perfectly with Naim amps.

Dustin Cairns

Hello Dustin.

Would the pF per M be less than 30pF per M?
Less than 30pF per M is the requirement of my modern Naim amp.
Thank you.
Kind regards
Roger
Hello Roger,

I checked with our senior director of engineering, he said the Naim preparation build ALWAYS works with both current and legacy Naim amplifiers. It has been tested repetitively.

Rocket 88 with Naim construction: 140pF / meter - 1.8uH / meter.

Dustin Cairns

So I purchased a 2.5M stereo pair and 1M stereo pair and have been using them for two weeks and my SN3 is perfectly happy.
The Rocket 88 are, IMHO with my ears in my room, far better than my old WH Phantoms. The noise floor is at lot lower and all the “hash” has disappeared and the presentation is natural and neutral. The top end is clear and I can turn the volume up without wincing. The bottom end is tight and fast.
I am more happy then a happy thing.

[Gracie.1]

Greetings - I was able to install the Audioquest Oaks in my system. They took about five days to settle in but they sound great. After discussing the specifications with Dustin Cairns I was very interested in hearing the results.

[Gracie.1]

I received a very reasonable quote from AQ’s Dustin Cairns to re-terminate the Oaks.
Dustin’s reply: When doing the re-termination we can extend the length of the speaker cable “legs” to accommodate the Naim amplifier. We’ve done this before on numerous amps where the speaker cable connection spacing necessitates an extra several inches of cable leg length. For the Naim amp we would re-configure the cable to standard “full-range” with two terminations on both the amp and speakers ends.

I am shipping them next week for the full Naim reconfiguration.

[ChrisSU]

I can understand that it makes sense to terminate the speakers for single wire use instead of biwire, but why the need to ‘extend the legs’? Naim amps and speakers use 19mm spacing between + and - terminals, which isn’t very wide, and is very much an indistry standard spacing, so I’m a little surprised that any off-the-shelf terminated cable couldn’t be used.

[Gracie.1]

Due to the large guage, being very rigid and Naim amplifiers speaker inputs being “reversed” vs. other conventional designs the cables need extra length in order to crisscross in the proper direction and keep them from making contact with each other.