Speakers Cables

emptage

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I need to buy some new speaker cables, the problem is that, becasue of the position of the amp I need 6m for one speaker but only about 2.5m for the other speaker. Is thgere any problem with having uneven lengths ? As the cable I want is approp £16 per metre I dont want to wast too much money on cable I dont need.
 

VoodooDoctor

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Some people advocate the use of same length cables but if you Google the physics behind it, you'll see that the lengths would have to be very long to make any difference. My cable lengths are different and I don't notice any problems. I'd save your money and buy what you need.
 

Sospri

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emptage said:
I need to buy some new speaker cables, the problem is that, becasue of the position of the amp I need 6m for one speaker but only about 2.5m for the other speaker. Is thgere any problem with having uneven lengths ? As the cable I want is approp £16 per metre I dont want to wast too much money on cable I dont need.

Naim recommend at least 3.5 mts per channel of speaker cable, it would ba a shame not to get the best out of your system for the sake of a few meters of cable, could you not go s/h, you often see NACA5 on the bay.......
 

paradiziac

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Can't speak for Naim, but there's no problem with different lengths of speaker cabling, I've used 2.5m and 0.5m lengths of Atlas Hyper.
 

busb

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When the amplifier has been properly designed, it should make no audible difference whatsoever. Some older Naim amps appear to be the exception as has been mentioned. I don't know how valid it would be to experiment with uneven lengths of cheap cable to test with - you would need something better than lighting flex. Could you try this on your existing cable first?
 

Sospri

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" When the amplifier has been properly designed "

That's quite a statement to say that Naim can't design an amplifier :rofl:

Everyones an expert eh........
 
A

Anonymous

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Using long cables, only effects the damping factor of the amp. But a slight difference wouldn't do any harm .
 

amcluesent

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>That's quite a statement to say that Naim can't design an amplifier<

For a while there, Naim didn't need a FM tuner in the range as the amp picked up everything!
 

busb

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Sospri said:
" When the amplifier has been properly designed "

That's quite a statement to say that Naim can't design an amplifier :rofl:

Everyones an expert eh........

As can be seen - I didn't say that but it was a sideswipe at the philosophy of making the cable & sometimes even the speaker as part of a low pass flter network as being less than a great idea. Sorry but I'm not alone in thinking that an amplifier should be unconditionally stable & not prone to RF interference! I don't think that most recent Naim amplifiers suffer from this but had the OP owned any other make of amplifier, the answer would have been unequivocal - don't worry about unequal lengths of cable.
 
amcluesent said:
>That's quite a statement to say that Naim can't design an amplifier<

For a while there, Naim didn't need a FM tuner in the range as the amp picked up everything!

Ouch! But probably quite correct. You do begin to wonder when amp manufacturers start quoting suggested cable lengths.
To the OP I say use unequal lengths by all means would be my response, 'cos you are not going to hear any difference. Use the cash you saved to buy more music!!
 

Crossie

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I have used equal and uneaqual lengths and can detect absolutely no difference in SQ. As far as I understand the science any difference will be very small indeed. Spend your money on new music :rockout: or on speakers where the differences can really be heard. (not that there is any thing wrong with the Q300)

More beer works as well :beer:
 

Sospri

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Remember the adage " A little knoledge is a dangerous thing "

This inmo applies to a lot of posters here, read something on the web and take it as gospel,

I know who I'd rather trust.......
 

Singslinger

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I'm not an expert but my recollection is the reason Naim recommend a minimum length of 3.5m per side of their NACA5 cable is that the cables form part of the amp's output stage.

Naim's cables apparently possess the correct electrical properties that would maintain the amp's stability (inductance and capacitance) and using unequal lengths or cables with different properties might destabilise the amp.

Also, all of the above only applies to the older range. I use a Naim Supernait and the manual states that different brands of cable can be used without risk of damage.
 

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