V.Dull – One for the Hi-Fi bods pls – Speaker cable suggestions pls…

Hi Sorry for the dull topic…Still using the bits of string the hi-fi shop chucked in when I bought it nearly 20 yrs ago…

Using the following:
Naim Nait 2 amp, Arcam Alpha 5+ CD player, Mission 761 speakers, Moth Alamo turntable.

Not looking to spend a fortune but any suggestions on speaker cable that would improve the sound would be much appreciated.

Thanks,

Nim

Kettle’s on. Battenburg anyone?

I’m not a hi-fi buff, but did a fair bit of research for my AV set-up and ended up buying this stuff, which seems to do the biz

(someone who knows more than me may be able to put you straight though)

http://www.tvcables.co.uk/cgi-bin/tvcables/SPC05.html

make sure you connect it the right way round

got any shortbread and early grey please.

If you can tell the difference between any reasonable gauge OFC cables in a true ABX blind test I’ll be amazed! If the runs are not massively long then the ‘bits of string’ will be as good as anything. I can give you techy reasons why if we’re both sufficiently bored.

I used to use Nordorst but its too costly and I had to give it back 😀

I now use QED Silver Anniversary stuff, its about £10 per meter and gives very good results, here’s the, erm, details:

QED Silver Anniversary XT Bi Wire Speaker Cable (Priced per unterminated metre). The QED Silver Anniversary XT Bi Wire-like the normal XT, successfully introcuces QED’s renowned X-Tube technology into a mid-priced cable for the first time. The precise cylindrical construction of the silver-plated, 99.999% pure, oxygen free copper cables reduces the distortion caused by ”skin effect”. The result is a completely neutral speaker cable that allows good hi-fi and home cinema equipment to shine. The QED Silver Anniversary XT Bi-Wire speaker cable is attractively finished, with each silver-plated core visible through a flexible 3.9mm diameter clear polyethylene outer sheath.

don’t skimp on the interconnects though, van den hul at least!

8 quid for 10m it’s even flat.

http://www.rapidonline.com/1/1/72-2x-ofc-flat-speaker-cable.html

You have to be careful with naim amps as they do not have a zobel network in the output stage so use at least 3 meters of cable and make sure it’s multistrand that there would work fine.

I use this

As other have said, I’d be amazed if you can tell the difference. It’s white so is very inconspicuous where it runs against skirting board.

I’ve always like the look of this if you’ve time to burn and believe the WOO. Cheap too.

I would probably go for something like this.

Will really liven up your system.

13amp mains flex

Kev

I have gone from bell wire to tri-wired Linn cable, and yes there was a difference (the Linn cable was not expensive back then, dunno what it costs now?).

As for interconnects, I have done comparisons between standard free cheapo cables, Linn’s standard offering (c.£20) and Linn’s Silver cable (c.£175) and could not hear any significant differences. I don’t know if the suggestion for using ‘van den hul at least’ was a joke, but in the context of your system, it should be taken as one.

13A mains cable before you try anything else…
*SNAP*

LMAO @ Nordst cable!

I accept that there may be some audible difference between some cables to some people (although I am yet to tell any difference myself), but spending over £15k on some speaker cables is frankly mental.

The connection between an amp and a speaker is electrical not pure liquid pixy dust. Surely once you’ve gone beyond a cable with a low electrical resistance and doesn’t change over time the electricity is still going to get from A to B.

have I over simplified it.

btw…. I use some of this to bi wire my front speakers and some of this for the rears. i still can’t believe that I didn’t buy the cheaper stuff for the rears. it was a moment of madness thinking that it was going to be buried under the floor and couldn’t be changed so more expensive must mean better (and I know better than that).

I used some cat 5 cable I had hanging around to make up some speaker cables; even took the trouble to bi-wire and everything. Expensive cables are for mugs people with exceptional hearing…..

stevehine – Member
I used some cat 5 cable I had hanging around to make up some speaker cables; even took the trouble to bi-wire and everything. Expensive cables are for mugs people with who would like to think they have exceptional hearing…..

FTFY

@druidh

Well spotted 🙂

Joolsberger is correct. The Nait 2 uses the characteristics of a certain length of NACA5 (our speaker cable) as part of the design. I might have some, mail me. A highly capacitive cable will cause the amp to oscillate, so avoid those. If in doubt, contact Naim HQ and they will advise you as to whether the cable you want to use is suitable.

If you weave the Cat 5 cable as per the recipes on the web you wil get a high capacitance cable I believe, not necessarily good.

Try the Van Damme cable, makes the Richer Sounds stuff look expensive:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Van-Damme-Professional-Studio-Speaker/dp/841311330X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1296832648&sr=8-1

As good as my Kef stuff but doesn’t look as discrete.

Unfortunately mains cable appears lacking to me.

Yes, watch out for those dodgily built Naim amps that are cable sensitive…

According to the shopkeeper, I overbought loudspeaker for my Cambridge audio ‘rubbish’ (he got very upset with me) by buying QED Silver Anniversary at something like £5/m at the time (2001 ish). However I only needed 6m or so and it made an astonishing difference, so it was definitely £30 very well spent!

It was just the bass cable run I upgraded at that time (treble run was upgraded later with other kit at the same time) but it reveald absolutely tons of bass detail and even a good chunk of volume.

Anything with a low inductance.

High capacitance using cat 5 may be an issue for some amps prone to oscillation, but will be fine for most.

NAIM NAC A5

Interesting thinking from Naim. I’ve previously run into issues where a capacitative load in the crossover sets off amp oscillation which can be damped by the resistance of a skinnier speaker cable. Cables that are too long and thin will introduce a series resistance and thus change the woofers’ electrical parameters as well as changing the crossover’s transfer functions. Mains cable is fat enough unless you’re running extension speakers around a stately home.

absolutely tons of bass detail and even a good chunk of volume

hmmm…

hmmm…

You don’t know what he was using before. Spaghetti perhaps.

Spaghetti perhaps.

Maybe he hadn’t even connected them at all…

The only thing you need to get right with cables is matching electrical properties to the item delivering the current. For that reason, I thoroughly recommend you use naims relatively inexpensive naca5 cable to match your nait.

quick highjack <apologies>

What is amplifier osciallation and how do I know if my amplifier is oscillating ? <genuine quesiton>

Kev

Surely the best speaker wire is made by companies that take out full page ads in hi-fi mags?

Amplifiers generally incorporate negative feedback to improve linearity.
This feedback, if designed badly (or ‘well’ according to some hifi companies) can allow the amplifier to oscillate (i.e. to produce a alternating output without any input, or ‘ring’ after the input has finished.
Connecting capacitative loads increases the risk of this behaviour.

You know it’s doing it because it sounds awful (and possibly breaks your amp).

Naim naca5. I think it needs to be copper as well.

Yes, watch out for those dodgily built Naim amps that are cable sensitive…

I suppose you could look at it like that. Another view would be that it’s fine to assume that you will connect your amplifier to your speakers using a cable. If you could fix the characteristics of that cable by telling your customers what to use, you can then incorporate that data into your amp design. It’s actually a very intelligent piece of engineering, but does rely on people reading their manuals. Oh, and on people not providing misinformation on the internet. That’s also useful.

It’s actually a very intelligent piece of engineering,

What, a Naim power amp? Are you serious? It’s an very intelligent piece of marketing, not engineering.

White men can’t dance, but they can talk for hours about the equipment that makes the sounds they can’t dance to..

I use these.Very nice
http://www.russandrews.com/product.asp?lookup=1&region=UK&currency=GBP&pf_id=3167&customer_id=PAA0479027311028SFOGKXEMYRXJWMBN

What, a Naim power amp? Are you serious? It’s an very intelligent piece of marketing, not engineering.

Yes, I like it as a solution. Lol at your marketing dig. I’ve worked at Naim for about 10 years. We didn’t even employ anyone in marketing for most of that time, yet managed to sell about £100M of UK built hi end kit. I bet that really irritates you 😀

Essentially any decent multistand will work with your Nait. NacA5 is not as cheap as it once was, used to be a couple of quid a meter but I think its about 8 pounds a meter now. Van damme or that one I posted will be fine.

RichPenny – seriously, you work for Naim? How cool is that.

All smutty puns aside, seriously do you know how many hours of pleasure you’ve given me over the last five years?

OK so there’s no preface I could reasonably write to make that line sound any less ‘dave bromance’ thread but seriously, some of my happiest times off the bike and in the absence of my wife and son have been in the company of my Naim hifi.

Thank you.

yes, she was just Penny before she started working at Naim, then she became RichPenny…