This has been discussed before and I don’t want to create a debate. I have changed the room layout which suits the family and in particular speaker and listening position. This does however require longer speaker cables, 10 metres to be precise. I currently have 7.5 metres of naca 5 and am considering Phantom for a couple of reasons. Firstly, flexibility, I’m a bit sick of fighting with naca5 over the years. Secondly I am in the process of auditioning new speakers and am interested to know what characteristics Phantom brings. My room seems quite bright and I wonder if a change would help somewhat with this. I may be able to get away with minimal room treatment to help with this in the future but first I need longer speaker cable. I have read that Phantom does provide a slighter sweeter high frequency and better detail but I definitely don’t want a brighter harsher sound.
Would love to hear Phantom users experiences and what speakers they are used with.
I also want to try the Phantom with acoustics Neat. Who has such experience?
I’ve just received WH Phantom speaker cables. First impressions are a bit mixed.
There is more detail, I’ve picked up instruments and voices that weren’t as clear through NACA5.
The bass is better controlled and sounds slightly extended.
Some CDs sound better and others I prefer NACA5 as it sounds more musical/involving.
On some tracks vocals seem to recede into the background or it might be the rest of the sound has become more prominent.
I already own Morgana interconnect which made a big improvement to SQ but will have to hope the Phantom improves with time.
Thanks for the feedback JohnF, hopefully it will improve over time. It always seems that new components take some time to improve. Please keep. Us posted on how things works out. I haven’t ordered mine yet as still demoing new speakers.
highly interesting, please keep us informed !
Ordered mine on the 1st of May but won’t turn up for another couple of weeks. Hopefully as good or better then NACA5. Just can’t get the NACA to sit right in our small lounge, have had to use Chord Rumer for the last couple of months.
After several hours of listening the sound is settling down.
Phantom is a an improvement over the NACA5.
The main thing is the extra detail which improves everything else.
At first it sounded very analytical but the longer I play it the more emotion/musicality is added to the sound. I’m back to the Naim sound.
I tried Witch Hat after all the comments and have since purchased both Morgana interconnect and Phantom speaker cable and can confirm they have greatly improved the SQ on my system.
That is great to hear. Hopefully there will be more improvement over time. Have the bass frequencies changed significantly?
Better detail and control of the bass improves the sound. I’m not sure if it’s the effect of the extra detail but the bass sounds slightly extended.
My Phantoms were a noticeable improvement on NACA5 from the off and they improved further over the next week. This was before I received the Morganas so no doubt on the improvement. The extra detail and refinement was very noticeable.
Do you find with added clarity and detail this has improved listening at lower volumes. The reason I ask is that I am considering purchasing Neat Ministras and they need a bit of volume to let some of the detail and emotion through.
Been using phantom for more than a year after decades of a5. Phantom is more transparent and refined. A5 in comparison exaggerates the upper bass- masking detail and rhythmic subtlety, and it has a cruder top end. Phantom has better extension at both ends, the bass is less prominent but more agile and tuneful ( but you will lose that a5 bass “thunk”).
Phantom opens up a soundstage more, while a5 pushes certain sounds forward.
Phantom does make the a5 presentation seem like a bit of a cartoon.
Hope this helps.
I’ve found the Phantom cables to be consistent regardless of volume level.
The clarity is surprising and has continued to improve the longer I’ve used the cable.
Beginning to wonder what it will sound like in a couple of months.
I don’t have the WitchHat Phantom cables, rather their N2’s. I find they beat the Naca5’s too. Better clarity and lows. Similar to the previous comment by @Booster.
I went from a 7m pair of NACA5 to a 10m pair of WH Phantom. This was about 45 days after I got my 300DR but I am happy with the WH cables. I think they have a more balanced and neutral presentation, and just sound better and more musical overall. I’m not looking back in any case.
I love the immediacy of my Naim system and I find the Phantom manages to prevent that immediacy from sounding too forced, in the way it can with A5.
I’ve been using the Phantom for a couple of weeks now and they have about eighty hours playing time on the clock.
I’ve found them to be a great deal better than my previous NACA5. More detail and clarity whilst at the same time maintaining what I can best describe as the “Naim involvement”. Really enjoying the all round improvement in SQ.
I think they are a bit of a bargain and have now decided to sell my NACA5 cables.
Thanks for the update, very helpful. I very nearly ordered a 10 metre set the other week but we have decided to change the room layout so I will only need 3.5 metres. Glad I held off.
Moving from NACA5 to Phantom looks like the most common move – makes sense for obvious reasons. But I wondered whether anybody coming from Chord Epic Twin made the move to Phantom. If so, first-hand experiences would be greatly appreciated.
Many thanks!
Today I received a pair of Mono XL—Din Morgana’s that connect 300Dr to SuperCapDr. Have to say I am pleasantly surprised: very nice improvement from the beginning. More detail and especially more depth in the sound. Nice
Iver