lively interconnect for Nait 5i

[Vortex160]

hello folks

could anyone recommend an exciting forward sounding interconnect for naim nait 5i , my current system is a bit on the dull side, im using Pmc gb1is and source is an oppo bdp 103.

one of the reasons is that my room is carpeted and heavily furnished with large sofas , ceilings are pretty low around 8 feet.

I have heard the nait at a local dealers,loved it but have not yet introduced it into my system yet and i suspect that its going to need a lively interconnect to balance out the rolled off naim treble

heard good things about chord crimson plus suits the nait 5i.

thanks

 

[TrevC]

A different interconnect will do nothing. In the absence of tone controls different speakers are the only thing that will change the sound.

 

[the record spot]

That said, try moving your speakers around a little. Increase the toe-in, move them nearer if you can. This can make a significant difference.

 

[JoelSim]

I personally would get the Nait installed before you make any decisions.

I'm of the view that interconnects can make a very slight difference but you are talking 1 to 2% at most.

Speaker placement will have a far bigger effect.

Have you tried putting your speakers on marble plinths?

 

[Vortex160]

I personally would get the Nait installed before you make any decisions. I'm of the view that interconnects can make a very slight difference but you are talking 1 to 2% at most. Speaker placement will have a far bigger effect. Have you tried putting your speakers on marble plinths?

No i have not yet tried marble plinths , thanks for the suggestion

I think its the oppo bdp 103 thats the limiting factor here, eventually i have to get a dedicated source for music anyways.If the nait 5i was lively enough with proac response d18 which are far smoother than pmc gb1i im sure it will work in my system.

 

[Vortex160]

A different interconnect will do nothing. In the absence of tone controls different speakers are the only thing that will change the sound.

if speaker wires make a difference , why not interconnects?

 

[davedotco]

I personally would cancel the Nait if that is still possible and buy an amplifier with the headroom to drive the speakers properly.

Yhe PMC's are not dull, they just need and amplifier with the capability to drive them properly.

If your Oppo is your only source and has variable output volume try the PMC monoblock power amps, a little more expensive than the Naim but 200+ watts per channel, problem solved.

 

[JoelSim]

I personally would get the Nait installed before you make any decisions. I'm of the view that interconnects can make a very slight difference but you are talking 1 to 2% at most. Speaker placement will have a far bigger effect. Have you tried putting your speakers on marble plinths?

No i have not yet tried marble plinths , thanks for the suggestion

I think its the oppo bdp 103 thats the limiting factor here, eventually i have to get a dedicated source for music anyways.If the nait 5i was lively enough with proac response d18 which are far smoother than pmc gb1i im sure it will work in my system.

It is, yes. Why don't you try a DAC? Then you can use it on the Oppo and your computer. Use the Oppo simply as a transport.

I had an Arcam CD92 a few years back, and upgraded it to a CD192. The difference in sound quality was amazing, a completely different tonal balance from being very warm to being far more upfront.

I also tried an Arcam DVD player (roughly the same price as the CDP) and that sounded much worse than either of the CDPs.

 

[Vortex160]

when funds permit i will get a naim streamer ,in the mean time im using the oppo,a dacmagic or rdac could be a good short term solution.

 

[Vortex160]

I personally would cancel the Nait if that is still possible and buy an amplifier with the headroom to drive the speakers properly.

Yhe PMC's are not dull, they just need and amplifier with the capability to drive them properly.

If your Oppo is your only source and has variable output volume try the PMC monoblock power amps, a little more expensive than the Naim but 200+ watts per channel, problem solved.

Do you really think a $500 bluray player would suffice as a digital pre amp?

i could try a more powerful amp but will loose the naim house sound.

do you have any other alternatives in mind with simillar prat?

how about cyrus 8a?

 

[altruistic.lemon]

Vortex 160, the Nait 5i will be fine, especially if it's the new one which is up in power. DDC really is off on this one - Naim always exceed their power ratings anyway, plus they go well with PMC. I'm going with an XS shortly for my Maggies, and they are difficult to drive, but the Nait 5i I used before was fine.

 

[stevebrock]

A different interconnect will do nothing. In the absence of tone controls different speakers are the only thing that will change the sound.

exactly!!!

it sounds as thought you haven't got the amp yet so I would advise a home demo

 

[stevebrock]

A different interconnect will do nothing. In the absence of tone controls different speakers are the only thing that will change the sound.

exactly!!!

it sounds as thought you haven't got the amp yet so I would advise a home demo

 

[TrevC]

A different interconnect will do nothing. In the absence of tone controls different speakers are the only thing that will change the sound.

if speaker wires make a difference , why not interconnects?

Low resistance is a must for a speaker lead. This allows the anplifier to properly control the speaker and prevent response peaking at resonance. An interconnect used at line levels is entirely non critical. Virtually any wire can be used without affecting the signal in any way..

 

[JoelSim]

A different interconnect will do nothing. In the absence of tone controls different speakers are the only thing that will change the sound.

if speaker wires make a difference , why not interconnects?

Low resistance is a must for a speaker lead. This allows the anplifier to properly control the speaker and prevent response peaking at resonance. An inerconnect at line levels is entirely non critical. Virtually any wire can be used without affecting the signal.

Does that mean that the material the interconnect is made out of won't alter the sonic signature then? Nor the way the cable is braided? Hmmm.

 

[TrevC]

A different interconnect will do nothing. In the absence of tone controls different speakers are the only thing that will change the sound.

if speaker wires make a difference , why not interconnects?

Low resistance is a must for a speaker lead. This allows the anplifier to properly control the speaker and prevent response peaking at resonance. An inerconnect at line levels is entirely non critical. Virtually any wire can be used without affecting the signal.

Does that mean that the material the interconnect is made out of won't alter the sonic signature then? Nor the way the cable is braided? Hmmm.

How could the braid alter anything at line levels?

 

[Thompsonuxb]

My suggestion would be to try the freebie interconnects you may recieve with the CDP. if you are happy with the sound stick with them.

But if you feel the need to upgrade try QED Performance 2 - its an excellent interconnect, do not be put of by the 4star review by WHF ( it got dropped a star for some unknown reason)

They sound better, cleaner and more open than the Chord Crimson which in my sytem had a hardness and flat (wall of sound) sound to them.

The performance 2 have a very nice 3d detail which allows a wide sweep of the frequency range - the bass is not 'loud' but detailed in that you can deifferenciate between instruments in the lower frequency range.

They'll set you back about 50english pounds new.

I know opinions will differ but once you have opitmised the location of your speakers for best response try them and let us know if you hear any improvement.

 

[Vortex160]

My suggestion would be to try the freebie interconnects you may recieve with the CDP. if you are happy with the sound stick with them. But if you feel the need to upgrade try QED Performance 2 - its an excellent interconnect, do not be put of by the 4star review by WHF ( it got dropped a star for some unknown reason) They sound better, cleaner and more open than the Chord Crimson which in my sytem had a hardness and flat (wall of sound) sound to them. The performance 2 have a very nice 3d detail which allows a wide sweep of the frequency range - the bass is not 'loud' but detailed in that you can deifferenciate between instruments in the lower frequency range. They'll set you back about 50english pounds new. I know opinions will differ but once you have opitmised the location of your speakers for best response try them and let us know if you hear any improvement.

not getting the cdp, the QED looks like a good alternative.

Will play about with the speaker positioning and get report back.

 

[Thompsonuxb]

another suggestion is try the digital coax out on you bdp into your amp with a single leg of the interconnects you already have if you have not already.

with the recievers I own they are better than the Optical inputs for music - you can compere them with the hdmi sound too.

 

[Vortex160]

I personally would cancel the Nait if that is still possible and buy an amplifier with the headroom to drive the speakers properly.

Yhe PMC's are not dull, they just need and amplifier with the capability to drive them properly.

If your Oppo is your only source and has variable output volume try the PMC monoblock power amps, a little more expensive than the Naim but 200+ watts per channel, problem solved.

Dave you were right!

after listening to the pmc and nait 5i combo im convinced that the pmc's are under powered.

You cant really tell the difference with jazz and acoustic but with fast paced electronica bass control is totally lost, i feel the need to crank up the volume considerably higher to get the punchy bass.

The pmcs ATL acts like a subwoofer with one note bass,the track looses all its tenacity.

I compared the pmcs to my old canton book shelves with the nait , the canton though harder to drive on paper was a very good match with nait 5i.

Now im confused ,if should i change my speakers or amp, really like the naims mids and highs though.

 

[stevebrock]

A different interconnect will do nothing. In the absence of tone controls different speakers are the only thing that will change the sound.

if speaker wires make a difference , why not interconnects?

They don't

 

[davedotco]

I personally would cancel the Nait if that is still possible and buy an amplifier with the headroom to drive the speakers properly.

Yhe PMC's are not dull, they just need and amplifier with the capability to drive them properly.

If your Oppo is your only source and has variable output volume try the PMC monoblock power amps, a little more expensive than the Naim but 200+ watts per channel, problem solved.

Dave you were right!

after listening to the pmc and nait 5i combo im convinced that the pmc's are under powered.

You cant really tell the difference with jazz and acoustic but with fast paced electronica bass control is totally lost, i feel the need to crank up the volume considerably higher to get the punchy bass.

The pmcs ATL acts like a subwoofer with one note bass,the track looses all its tenacity.

I compared the pmcs to my old canton book shelves with the nait , the canton though harder to drive on paper was a very good match with nait 5i.

Now im confused ,if should i change my speakers or amp, really like the naims mids and highs though.

The PMCs are fine speakers that really respond well to better amplification, the issue is that anything that is going to powerful enough with the grip on the bass that you require is not going to be inexpensive. If you really want to take the system forward, you need to make some serious choices.

I am not familiar with the Oppo players but if your model has the variable output (volume) control, my earlier recomendation of the PMC monoblocks stands, they are the only thing at this sort of price (£1200-1300) that offer the power and control that you need.

If you really like the Naim sound, then in time replace your Oppo with a Naim all in one, a Unitqute say and use it to drive the PMC monoblocks from it's pre outs.

 

[stephennic]

Hi,

Try a nordost blue heaven or supra EFI. They will probably brighten up the sound.

Cheers

Steve.

 

[plastic penguin]

hello folks

could anyone recommend an exciting forward sounding interconnect for naim nait 5i , my current system is a bit on the dull side, im using Pmc gb1is and source is an oppo bdp 103.

one of the reasons is that my room is carpeted and heavily furnished with large sofas , ceilings are pretty low around 8 feet.

I have heard the nait at a local dealers,loved it but have not yet introduced it into my system yet and i suspect that its going to need a lively interconnect to balance out the rolled off naim treble

heard good things about chord crimson plus suits the nait 5i.

thanks

There could be a number of things here: Firstly, the Nait 5i should have enough about it to power the GB1s - PMC and Naim are great together. I've driven DB1i, arguably harder to drive than the GBs, to impressive effect with my old 40 watt Arcam.

From personal experience the Naim is rather fussy about partners: One equation slightly out of kilter than it'll stick out like a sore a**e. I would say that the Oppo doesn't gel with the Nait 5i as well as it should.

(Try and borrow and CD5i and see if that makes a difference).

 

[BigH]

Why don't you try it in your system and hear how it sounds?