Speaker Cable

My nait xs sounded terrible with qed silver anniversary.....do your self a favour and get some nac a4 (aka linn k20)it's nice and cheap and can usually be found on eBay,im not going to tell you nac a5 is the be all and end all like the naim forum will but k20 does a decent job..... silver cable just doesn't sound right with naim gear.I am not a believer in cables making much difference but in this instance and with the history of naim amps being a bit temperamental with cables I know it can.
 

TrevC

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SPAZTICUS said:
My current system uses QED speaker cable. Would Naim speaker cable make a significant improvement to the sound ?

If the Naim cable has a lower resistance it will sound better. Conversely if it has a higher resistance it will sound worse.
 

drummerman

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Imho ignore Abacus and TrevC is over simplyfying the complexity of cables as usual.

As to your question about Naim cables (Naca5) ... I have used it for years and although I don't routinely anymore change cables to listen for differences I used to think there is not to much I'd swap the Naim cable for. However, it is relatively expensive and I would source some s/h.

One of those I would consider in the context of my system (cyrus) was/is VdH's CS122 Hybrid. Cheap and very good.

You may feel different.
 

rainsoothe

Well-known member
Ignore TrevC. Although an engineer (I think), he prefers being clueless and deaf.

Naim recommends cables with low capacitance (which the Naca5 or any iteration is). Also DNM Reson, Anticables (that are UNTWISTED) offer very similar specs. Chord cables also match Naim very well (try the Clearway).

Current Naim amps aren't fussy with other types of cable, but they do benefit from cables that fit into their specs. Here's a post on Naim forums, for guidance. I use DNM, didn't like the Naca5 with my previous setup (Nap100), and I don't like it with the XS2 either, but you might, so don't let anything stop you from trying it for yourself.

http://forums.naimaudio.com/topic/speaker-cable-for-naim-amplifiers
 

MajorFubar

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There aren't any complexities, especially on the typical pair of six foot runs that people use in their homes on stereo setups. It's either good enough gauge to do the job with little resistance (desirable), or it's not (undesirable). The only additional complexities are imaginary, unexplained by science but fully understood by a bloke in a shed trying to sell you wire at £300+ for four yards.

Your choice of course, feel free to use some common sense to decide who is right, but above all else, if you do try some fairy dust cables make sure you can return them if not absolutely satisfied.
 

NSA_watch_my_toilet

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Especially when it comes about actual Naim, I would not use logic or search about a sense of logic. It's possible that the outputs are designed to work well only with cable having certain specs. They did this for interconnect in the past, why not for speaker cables ?
 

lindsayt

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TrevC said:
SPAZTICUS said:
My current system uses QED speaker cable. Would Naim speaker cable make a significant improvement to the sound ?

If the Naim cable has a lower resistance it will sound better. Conversely if it has a higher resistance it will sound worse.
So capacitance and inductance don't matter at all, in your opinion?

EG for amplifier stability for certain models of amps?

Or a minor adjustment to the frequency response?
 

rainsoothe

Well-known member
lindsayt said:
TrevC said:
SPAZTICUS said:
  My current system uses QED speaker cable. Would Naim speaker cable make a significant improvement to the sound ?

If the Naim cable has a lower resistance it will sound better. Conversely if it has a higher resistance it will sound worse.
So capacitance and inductance don't matter at all, in your opinion?

EG for amplifier stability for certain models of amps?

Or a minor adjustment to the frequency response?

No, everything sounds the same. Just like Aretha Franklin and Marylin Manson - if they sing equally loud, that is.
 

TrevC

Well-known member
lindsayt said:
TrevC said:
SPAZTICUS said:
My current system uses QED speaker cable. Would Naim speaker cable make a significant improvement to the sound ?

If the Naim cable has a lower resistance it will sound better. Conversely if it has a higher resistance it will sound worse.
So capacitance and inductance don't matter at all, in your opinion?

EG for amplifier stability for certain models of amps?

Or a minor adjustment to the frequency response?

As long as cables of normal construction are used the only important thing is resistance. Two separate parallel conductors in a figure eight. The frequency response won't be affected.
 

TrevC

Well-known member
rainsoothe said:
lindsayt said:
TrevC said:
SPAZTICUS said:
My current system uses QED speaker cable. Would Naim speaker cable make a significant improvement to the sound ?

If the Naim cable has a lower resistance it will sound better. Conversely if it has a higher resistance it will sound worse.
So capacitance and inductance don't matter at all, in your opinion?

EG for amplifier stability for certain models of amps?

Or a minor adjustment to the frequency response?

No, everything sounds the same. Just like Aretha Franklin and Marylin Manson - if they sing equally loud, that is.

Edited by mods. See house rules.
 

lindsayt

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TrevC said:
lindsayt said:
TrevC said:
SPAZTICUS said:
My current system uses QED speaker cable. Would Naim speaker cable make a significant improvement to the sound ?

If the Naim cable has a lower resistance it will sound better. Conversely if it has a higher resistance it will sound worse.
So capacitance and inductance don't matter at all, in your opinion?

EG for amplifier stability for certain models of amps?

Or a minor adjustment to the frequency response?

As long as cables of normal construction are used the only important thing is resistance. Two separate parallel conductors in a figure eight. The frequency response won't be affected.
And what about cables with an unusual construction?

Such as these:
flat-wire.png


Or these?

OdinSpeaker.jpg
 

andyjm

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lindsayt said:
TrevC said:
lindsayt said:
TrevC said:
SPAZTICUS said:
My current system uses QED speaker cable. Would Naim speaker cable make a significant improvement to the sound ?

If the Naim cable has a lower resistance it will sound better. Conversely if it has a higher resistance it will sound worse.
So capacitance and inductance don't matter at all, in your opinion?

EG for amplifier stability for certain models of amps?

Or a minor adjustment to the frequency response?

As long as cables of normal construction are used the only important thing is resistance. Two separate parallel conductors in a figure eight. The frequency response won't be affected.
And what about cables with an unusual construction?

Such as these:

Or these?

As a general rule, if you separate the conductors you lower capacitance, but increase inductance.

For short runs of speaker cable, neither are likely to be significant, but the beauty of engineering and the contributions made by Mr Farady, Mr Ohm and Mr Henry, is that given the basic parameters of the wire (L,R,C) and its length, it is possible to model the likely impact of the cable and the resulting speaker frequency response.

As is often the case, the manufacturers of the cables you have linked to don't publish these figures.

Clever idea though, that flatwire.
 

TrevC

Well-known member
lindsayt said:
TrevC said:
lindsayt said:
TrevC said:
SPAZTICUS said:
My current system uses QED speaker cable. Would Naim speaker cable make a significant improvement to the sound ?

If the Naim cable has a lower resistance it will sound better. Conversely if it has a higher resistance it will sound worse.
So capacitance and inductance don't matter at all, in your opinion?

EG for amplifier stability for certain models of amps?

Or a minor adjustment to the frequency response?

As long as cables of normal construction are used the only important thing is resistance. Two separate parallel conductors in a figure eight. The frequency response won't be affected.
And what about cables with an unusual construction?

Such as these:

Or these?

They look OK. Conductors spaced well apart.
 

TrevC

Well-known member
andyjm said:
lindsayt said:
TrevC said:
lindsayt said:
TrevC said:
SPAZTICUS said:
My current system uses QED speaker cable. Would Naim speaker cable make a significant improvement to the sound ?

If the Naim cable has a lower resistance it will sound better. Conversely if it has a higher resistance it will sound worse.
So capacitance and inductance don't matter at all, in your opinion?

EG for amplifier stability for certain models of amps?

Or a minor adjustment to the frequency response?

As long as cables of normal construction are used the only important thing is resistance. Two separate parallel conductors in a figure eight. The frequency response won't be affected.
And what about cables with an unusual construction?

Such as these:

Or these?

As a general rule, if you separate the conductors you lower capacitance, but increase inductance.

For short runs of speaker cable, neither are likely to be significant, but the beauty of engineering and the contributions made by Mr Farady, Mr Ohm and Mr Henry, is that given the basic parameters of the wire (L,R,C) and its length, it is possible to model the likely impact of the cable and the resulting speaker frequency response.

As is often the case, the manufacturers of the cables you have linked to don't publish these figures.

Clever idea though, that flatwire.

Yes, handy for laying under carpets. Just to add that the values of capacitance and inductance encountered in a speaker wire won't affect audio frequency response one iota, but excessive capacitance could cause catastrophic parasitic oscillation in some solid state amplifiers.
 

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