Unlocking the 300 Series: My NAC332 Pre-Power XLR Shootout

Yes, if you book yourself on the factory tour you’ll be able to appreciate the trouble Naim go to in selecting their cables. Hundreds of samples and many hours in the listening room, plus you’ll be able to witness the famous ‘cable shaker’. And yes, Naim believe that if you ‘shake’ cables they sound better. They will explain that cables ‘touching’ one another will alter the sound characteristics and that some cables need to travel close to one another (Preamp/Power supply) to sound their best. What you won’t find them doing, when they run low on stock, is popping down to B&Q to get a few cable off cuts. Well, it’s only a piece of wire!

7 Likes

I found an interesting article where Harman studied the sound of their loudspeakers, and the sound people preferred. It resulted in the famous Harman Curve.

They invited a large test group of employees to listen to their speaker range being played on the same amp.

In the first test the participants could see which speaker was playing. In the survey they conducted afterwards, the participants preferred the sound of the most expensive speaker.

The second test was carried out with the speakers hidden, behind an acoustically transparent curtain. The participants voted the cheapest speaker in the range as the best sounding.

There must be more than one lesson here I believe.

Awsome. Just add a 31 band EQ to your rig and set it to Harman curve and you’re done :+1:

5 Likes

I see we’ve drifted a bit into the classic “do cables matter” debate.

To steer us back to the actual testing: The premise of this thread is that in a high-resolution system the signal path makes an audible difference. While it is true that Naim provides very good stock cables to get you going, the existence of Super Lumina is proof enough that even the factory engineers acknowledge there is significant performance left on the table.

We aren’t talking about simple EQ curves here, we are talking about noise floor, timing, and texture. The 300 Series is transparent enough to reveal these deltas, and my goal is to document the specific flavors these different geometries bring to the system.

If you fall into the camp that believes all cables sound the same or that high-end upgrades are purely placebo, I respect that view, but this thread is probably going to be a very tedious read for you. I politely invite you to use the mute function to save yourself the frustration so we can keep the thread focused for those interested in the results.

29 Likes

I had tried, purchased cables of different makes , from entry to top tier.. and it makes HUGE difference.. and I believe many here had tried that too. Yes you are right, the SL is in another level . I heard myself , interchanging other cables at the dealer. And the 300s , in this case, can go further more, revealing more .. I had not seen the end of the 300 capabilities unless I hooked the end endgame cables for me— the Odins/odin gold … :flexed_biceps:t2:

1 Like

As I have previously posted, I would advise not to take this thread down the off-topic route of blind testing vs. anything else. It’s off topic, has surely been done to death by now, leads only to reinforcing entrenched positions, and just becomes tedious for the wider membership. Thanks.

37 Likes

Don’t own any 300 series, but @gk_audio appreciate the time taken to post your findings on here. Hopefully we can stay on track from now on & for those who want to debate if cables make a difference, please start your own thread, as you’ll notice in the title, this isn’t the place for it.

11 Likes

Shame you don’t have the Vertere Redline to try. They are quite popular with Naim users in the UK and a VERY good match…..

3 Likes

Ime the differences between XLRs between 333:300 and 332:300 are absolutely at the margins of the margins. I’ve tried pricey Chord and Vertere variants but sat here listening through a pair of £60 Mark Grant’s is all the balanced cable I need.

YMMV

G

6 Likes

GH… I also love Mark Grant cables

I was buying from Mark when he first started and he’s a great guy to deal with

Great cables that are very fairly priced

2 Likes

And I wonder why !

I’m really not sure… why do you think? Maybe because Mark sells direct?

Take a closer look at whose comment i was replying to.

Sorry I’m really not sure who you meant to comment against THEGR

I just know that Mark’s products are very good

Mark’s products are good. I ditched my naim DC-1 in favour of his version.

I totally agree that Mark makes lovely items that don’t cost a fortune

It is a shame indeed. Vertere do not have great representation in the US and it seems the dealers that carry the brand do not have the cables. I would love to try those as I have never heard a Vertere cable in my system.

1 Like

So far (have to read further) this is my favorite… all I like :blush:

Waiting for SL to come :relieved_face:

This has been my experience with the 200 series as well. I tried the AVO XLR for a brief spell and found I preferred the OEM XLR in my system. The NC kit ime seem less susceptible to external environmental influences as with past Naim kit. I do plan to do some testing on the network side at some point aiming to see if switches make a difference with the NC. Will try plugging directly into the router and see if there’s any change in SQ.

3 Likes