I would rather not, naming a cable can upset people, just avoid the woven, plaited & litz types.
Naim only sell SL cables pre-assembled, we must assume the shortest length at 3m is approved.
2 Likes
You are correct, itās approved at 3m, but is 5m better ?
Impossible to answer, first Naim have not published the spec & no one with SL has experimented that I know of.
Then define better, with what amp, what speakers,
Hi-fi News reported the Superlumina specification as :
āNaimās classic figure-of-eight geometry necessarily endows the Super Lumina with a low 66.4pF/m parallel capacitance and moderate 0.74ĀµH/m loop inductance while its gauge delivers a very low 9.6mohm/m series resistance (a loss of just 0.0104dB/m)ā
Does that suggest that a 3m length of Superlumina will not meet the 3.5uH that is needed?
2 Likes
Best let Naim answer that one, but whatever this is all getting a bit too detailed, running an amp on less than 3uH does not break it,
1 Like
so naim say you need 3.5m of NACA5 to get the required 3.5ĀµH inductance to run a power amp but you only need 3m of superlumina which will give you 2.22ĀµH inductance ā¦
1 Like
Also, 1m of SL will have the same capacitance as 4.15m of NAC A5. I think Iāve read that the cable capacitance doesnāt matter that much with recent amps, so perhaps the SL is only to be used with those?
It would be nice if someone from Naim could chime in and explain what specs are necessary for what generation of amp.
1 Like
I was under the impression itās inductance that matters and modern amps are not as sensitive. Also itās only really a problem with power amps and not integrated.
I phoned naim about a year ago and asked about my SN2, the guy on the phone said I should really have 3.5m of NACA5 or similarā¦
You have it 100% right Sephen the termination, type of plug, type of solder roughly in that order can alter focus and tonal balance markedly. The more strands a cable has the more difficult it is to do correctly and more heat being required. However i have never found NAC5 to be no more than ordinary in a non Naim system and with some vintage Naim stuff i long ago stopped using it in favour of basic figure 8 24 strand driving full range Monitors B139s and triple ports. I do not subscribe to the more copper is better theory having easily disproved that many times decades ago. But there are many full Naim systems which sound just fine with NAC5 if the termination and synergy is there it will work.
1 Like
I also use Naca5, but the plugs (on amp side) are soldered very badly (I did a post on this some time ago). But I didnāt find a right person for resoldering work in my region, so I left everything as it is.
Anyway, Iām still hoping to resolder it some day 
Also, some forum members mentioned that it is very hard (or impossible) to solder Naim plugs at 180 degree angle (Atom/Nova version). And I have never seen any photos of well soldered Naim plugs for Atom/Nova.
So Iām thinking is it better to use badly soldered Naim plugs, or well soldered non-Naim plugs? (for example Deltrons, as it would be much easier to solder them at 180 degree angle and much easier to find a person for resoldering).
I know when I had the plugs redone on my A5 that the dealer used new plugs rather than desoldering the old ones. He told me it was hard to get them clean enough to get the wire to fit. Iāve since soldered a pair myself, new plugs again but for my second system and there wasnāt even room for a twist in the wires. This was with the classic Naim plugs rather than the Unitis though, Iāve not seen those.
1 Like
Deltrons are also good connection for naca5 as theyre the same material as SA8 plugs. As long as good solder and most crucial of all the soldering itself is done properly youll get a SQ your naim amp is capable of.
2 Likes
Thanks. I found that Deltrons can be silver plated and nickel plated. As I understand nickel plated are the same material as SA8 plugs? (and silver plated are not suitable for replacing Naim plugs?)
Yes, go for nickel plated Deltrons. I havenāt come across them silver plated, but they are avaiable gold plated. I would only use those if the sockets they were going into were also gold plated, as with some non-Naim gear.
2 Likes
Hi you said you use Van Dammeās iTQ Black, what amplifier do you have?
I have no intention to deviate from the direction of this good thread but I simply donāt know where to post. I couldnāt find any reference with the search engine.
Has anyone tried and promoted the use of physical supports for speaker cables in particular for NACA5, SL or for other often recommended cables for that matter?
If my memory serves me correct @frenchrooster uses speaker cable supports, perhaps he can confirm and elaborate?
1 Like
I had TQ Black and changed to VanDamme. I have an Atom.
Thanks indeed Gazza. I found a few threads. Here is one of them if of any interest: https://community.naimaudio.com/t/titan-audio-cable-lifts/3770