UnitiQute - speaker connections.

[admin_exported]

Hi all,

I've just got myself a UnitiQute. It's lovely.

The dealer told me that I could connect speakers via the usual banana plugs. This I have done - and the sound comes out as I would expect. I've not got the greatest speakers (yet! ) but it all sounded good to me.

But.... the connections are not as tight as I would expect them - particularly the black '-' connections, they have some 'movement' in and out. There is no tension on the speaker cable - there's plenty of give.

The plugs are simple £10 CambridgeAudio plugs onto Chord cable. I did it myself but the plugs and cable are firmly together - this is not the cause.

Was the dealer correct in telling me to use these usual connectors - or are there special Naim connections? ( this is my first naim system but I'm aware of this brand's historical 'eccentricities' re connections ).

I don't want to break it in the first week!

thanks in anticipation of your help/advice

 

[Andrew Everard]

Suitable speaker plugs are provided in the box with the UnitiQute.

 

[Anonymous]

those two black plastic connectors? i thought they were 'packing' pieces to stop dirt and stuff getting in.

So, was the dealer speaking garbage?

 

[Andrew Everard]

No, they are the speaker plugs. You can use conventional 4mm 'banana' plugs in the UQ's speaker terminals, but Naim recommends the use of the speaker plugs supplied: as it says in the manual "Custom Naim Audio loudspeaker connectors are supplied to make the connection and in order to comply with current European safety regulations these should always be used."

I'm surprised a Naim retailer wasn't aware of the provision of the plugs with the unit.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks Andrew. I don't know where I'd be without this forum for help!

This was an ex demo UnitiQute - so he went through the box's contents with me before packing it all up. He was very clear that simple banana plugs were to be used as speaker connections - he showed me, what I now know to be, the Naim connections, but just in passing really.

That passage in the instructions did confuse me ( and I did read it , I promise ) - but the dealer's instructions were so unambiguous that I just followed his. So , much for my first Naim dealer experience. Maybe Currys next time.

thanks again.

 

[roger06]

those two black plastic connectors? i thought they were 'packing' pieces to stop dirt and stuff getting in.

So, was the dealer speaking garbage?

Don't worry - I didn't know what they were either! They sat in the box my Naim Nait5i came in for years.

You can use them with or without the black plastic bit as well. I keep the plastic on at the amp end but have to take out the plugs at the speaker ends as the terminals are too far apart.

If you don't need 'em - a pair fetches £10 - £12 on eB@y.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for fessing up - it's nice to know I'm not alone.

£10 - £12 ? jeeeezzz! 'Welcome to the world of Naim'

 

[Andrew Everard]

For what it's worth I've used conventional banana plugs – the ones with a springbar fitted as standard on the end of Chord Cables – with the NaimUniti, the UnitiQute and the SuperNait.

But that's more to do with convenience in a reviewing environment, where cables tend to get swapped quite often!

 

[Anonymous]

Andrew, your banana plugs look better than the ones I've got - the springbar you've got will make the connection tighter. I don't have that.

I've looked at the Naim connectors - they're not exactly hi tec are they! - but I still don't understand how the speaker cable connects. Do I just wind it around the top of plugs themselves? Even then, it's all a bit tight in there.

I've opened the plastic up so I can see the plugs - do I just wind the cable around a plug, screw the plastic back on, and that's it? Surely not? - it would make a mockery of the money being spent on fancy plugs and such.

thanks, yet again.

 

[Andrew Everard]

The intention is that the ends of the cable are soldered onto the metal pins.

 

[John Duncan]

I've opened the plastic up so I can see the plugs - do I just wind the cable around a plug, screw the plastic back on, and that's it? Surely not? - it would make a mockery of the money being spent on fancy plugs and such.

You're supposed to solder them, as I found out just after I cut the banana plugs off my speaker cable to fit the naim connectors. Bit of a faff, but I had mine made up for me after my initial d'oh moment. Probably easier to just get some better quality bananas as Andrew suggests - they're usually a fairly simple screw-in.

 

[John Duncan]

(jinx)

 

[Anonymous]

ho ho . soldering required eh?

this'll be fun.

( i'll get some better quality banana plugs instead )

thanks.

 

[bazza]

ok folks.

i have speaker cable.bare at both ends.one set of ends into my existing arcam solo and the other set into terminals in my castle speaker(obviously same set up for each speaker).

what do i do with the naim should i buy it. ie..how do i used my existing speaker cable with it.

thanks very much

bazza

 

[davedotco]

ok folks.

i have speaker cable.bare at both ends.one set of ends into my existing arcam solo and the other set into terminals in my castle speaker(obviously same set up for each speaker).

what do i do with the naim should i buy it. ie..how do i used my existing speaker cable with it.

thanks very much

bazza

You dont.

You buy the expensive and impractical Naim speaker cable and the dealer should terminate it with the correct plugs.

 

[Vladimir]

Isn't NAC A5 cable important for amplifier stability? Or this doesn't apply to these newer budget series?

 

[chebby]

ok folks.

i have speaker cable.bare at both ends.one set of ends into my existing arcam solo and the other set into terminals in my castle speaker(obviously same set up for each speaker).

what do i do with the naim should i buy it. ie..how do i used my existing speaker cable with it.

thanks very much

bazza

You dont.

You buy the expensive and impractical Naim speaker cable and the dealer should terminate it with the correct plugs.

The correct plugs (for the Naim end of the cables) will be supplied in the box with the UnitiQute.

Take your speaker cables with you to the dealer when buying it and he will (or should) be able to solder them on for you. (My Naim dealer does this.)

He might charge a small sum for this service, but (if he has any sense of commercial reality and an eye on future trade with you) he will do it free-of-charge as part of establishing a good relationship with a customer who has just spent £1150.

 

[chebby]

Isn't NAC A5 cable important for amplifier stability? Or this doesn't apply to these newer budget series?

Not for the recent entry level stuff.

 

[nopiano]

Take your speaker cables with you to the dealer when buying it and he will (or should) be able to solder them on for you. (My Naim dealer does this.)

He might charge a small sum for this service, but (if he has any sense of commercial reality and an eye on future trade with you) he will do it free-of-charge as part of establishing a good relationship with a customer who has just spent £1150.

Absolutely, chebby. Name and shame (or is that Naim and shame?) if they don't.

 

[davedotco]

Isn't NAC A5 cable important for amplifier stability? Or this doesn't apply to these newer budget series?

Not for the recent entry level stuff.

Really? I find that very interesting.

They can build 'cheap' amplifiers that do not rely on speaker cable capacitance to remain stable but they cannot do so on their more expensive product......*unknw*

 

[Vladimir]

As you go higher up in the Naim range, more you travel back in time to the original 1967 Wireless World kit amp design and all its quirks.

 

[nopiano]

As you go higher up in the Naim range, more you travel back in time to the original 1967 Wireless World kit amp design and all its quirks.

I recall you've said as much before, Vladimir, but is that based on something factual or speculation on your part? I think you posted something about Rega being inspired by old mag articles, but maybe I've misremembered. And if that's the case, does it mean that there needs be nothing new under the sun as they had things licked decades ago, or that Naims sound outdated? I've always thought they sounded, 'different', and perhaps more so these days!

 

[Vladimir]

Not a speculation. Rega even proudly prints that info on their PCBs. Naim still uses DIN jacks and tantalum capacitors like back in the day. It's all kept authentic as much as possible. Read about how Julian Vereker (Naim) began his first amp and how he partnered with Ivor Tiefenbrun (Linn). Should be available online if you google it. I read a long article years ago and I'm reffering from memory. At the Naim forums you could learn all the possible trivia I reckon.