Witch Hat Speaker Cable Questions

I know that are a number of threads relating to these speaker cables, but I have a few discrete questions that can probably be efficiently addressed in a new topic:

  1. Does Naim’s recommendation of at least 3.5 meters and preferably 5-10 meters apply equally to the N2 and Phantom cables (or to neither), or are there differences due to design and/or construction differences between the cables? Stated differently, does anybody know the specs of the WH speaker cables for inductance, etc.?

  2. Amplification is likely to be NAP 200 DR, with outside chance that I can stretch for NAP 250 DR. With these amps, is the increased cost of Phantom justified?

  3. Does anybody know WH’s current turn around time, given the worsening of the pandemic?

Thanks in advance.

You might be better asking WH directly. For a whole variety of reasons.
And, only they can answer the last Q.

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I don’t know the spec of the phantoms, just that they transformed my system. The minimum length you can order is 3.5m and that is what I purchased.
Lead time was a about 3 weeks when I ordered in September, but of course that can change.

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I rang WH to place my order as I wanted to enquire about minimum length of Phantom for my 250dr. Was told that 3.5m would be perfectly fine and that differences in cable length would make negligible audible difference.
I think mine took about 4 weeks but I believe it varies.
As others have posted I also found they made a significant improvement to my system, well worth the money. Saving for Morgana din to XLR :grin:

I ordered a cable around when we went into this lockdown at the beginning of Jan; when I queried it a few days later the answer was ‘about 2 weeks’. So they are working, maybe not as efficiently or as quickly as more normal times.

Still waiting tho.

On your question #2 (which is the only one I can offer advice on) I’d say absolutely YES. My amplification is 202/200DR and I found the Phantoms to be a very obvious and worthwhile improvement (over NACA5 and other cables I have tried).

Also on #2. I have Phantom cable with my NAP250DR and I would also say an absolute YES. On #3, I ordered the Phantom and Morgana cables at around about the same time and the Phantoms came back after a week, the Morgana’s took about 3 weeks (but worth the wait). On #1. I think the same rules apply as if it were NACA5 but confirm this with WH. The minimum length you can order I believe is 3.5m. Mine are 4m in length and work just fine.

I have, but have not received a response. Thanks.

Comms is not their strong point.

I get a sense that once a week or at a convenient point someone sits down to go through the emails.

Got it, thanks.

Week 4 on my order. Have to keep phoning to chase as no updates are forthcoming otherwise. Generally have to wait 3-4 hours for a call back. Lots of problems with customs, brexit, Covid blah blah.

Person that called back today first did not seem that interested. Told me cables were kitted awaiting assembly (same as previous week) only to be called again within minutes by the owner who told me that they were ready for dispatch. Also that it’s 2-3 days work to assemble a set so that went by quick. I expressed my frustration about communication generally but not sure it had much effect. Will not be a returning customer regardless of how good they may be. I was looking forward to receiving them but I’m now so pissed off I have lost all interest in the whole thing.

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That’s unfortunate Shimmyjelly, I ordered 4.5m Phantoms at the start of December 2020 & got them well before Christmas (UK) John Z in their customer service was really helpful with all my questions. Hopefully you will receive your order soon & the quality will re-ignite your interest :pray:

On my 272/200DR these continue to impress as an upgrade from Atlas Hyper 2.0, which I had been running for years previously!

I sent a question today to WH and got a reply within a few hours. A follow up question was replied to almost right away.

I ordered a pair of Phantoms at the beginning of October last year (minimum order of 3.5m). There was very little communication until I emailed them to ask when I might expect to receive them. They promised to send a UPS tracking number, which they didn’t, but the cables turned up out of the blue after about a month (I’m in Berlin, not UK). Not the best customer service perhaps but the cables more than made up for that. I found them to be incredible, the best bang-for-buck upgrade I have ever made. I planned to do some AB testing against my NACA5 for a week or so but after just one day it was obvious there really was nothing to compare, the Phantoms were that good. I run a 102/180/HiCap into Allaes.

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I’ve ordered a Phantom pair 5mtr just some weeks (Black Friday) before Brexit
Told I would not accept any delivery if crossed new year.
Thankfully cables arrived around Xmas so avoided refund etc…

Was sceptic as they previously had send me wrong cables and performed poor customer contact.

The cable however is VERY good.

Yes they need to up their customer service but even the mighty Naim and countless others started small with a loyal following who overlook frustrating issues, heck even Naim are wrestling with the app and firmware, I went through I think five Nova RMA, but held on for the SQ and brand.

So maybe a bit of slack whilst they scale to demand.

For me though I returned the Phantom after as 24/7/7 burn it, then A-B-A with the NACA5, I just felt from the off the Phantom altered the Naim signature. I can see why it may appeal to many, just not me.

Hi.

I have Phantom speaker cables and Morgana interconnects and to my ears in my system in my room where a revelation and vast improvement over my existing Chord interconnects and Supra Sword speaker cables.
My experience of their customer service during these trying times was one of no problems or issues. They replied to my emails within a day or two. I am one very happy customer.

N2 here, noticed no real difference from NACA5 but it gave me the flexibility to move it, which was worth the money. Being cheaper than N5 and to me sounding the same I would recommend it over N5 every time. However it took weeks to come early summer with many emails and teleohone calls to chase what was going on. As others have said CS is not their strong point but their product is.

I had an email last night to say it’s on its way and will be delivered by the end of this week, so that’s about 3 weeks from order to dispatch. Fine by me.

My suggestion of a weekly trawl through emails was slightly tongue in cheek but even so the two ideas aren’t mutually exclusive. It’s entirely possible that you emailed them when they were devoting a bit of time to CS duties and had a quick response, just by chance. An email 3 hours later could easily have sat waiting till their next session of responding to questions.

On a wider issue there are a few comments now along the lines of having to keep badgering them to get the order through, but who knows if that made a jot of difference or how long it would have taken if they’d just been left to get on with it unhindered? I’m reminded of the days when I used to investigate software issues on a production system; the answer to the repetitive ‘how long will it take you to fix it?’ was invariably ‘a lot sooner if you stop interrupting me with these questions.’

I sense they’re a small company and don’t have an army of HR staff and a Customer Services unit in a Call Centre and are maybe a bit overrun with having to work from home where poss at the same time maybe as seeing orders ramp up in response to this forum. A bit of slack in their favour wouldn’t go amiss.

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