Flat or thin speaker cable recommendations?

[Bartman]

My job has required us to move away from the house we own and so we are living in rented accommodation for the next 18 months or so. I have a 252/SC/300DR driving some Shahinian Obelisk 2s and the NACA A5 necessarily crossing the room under a rug. It all sounds lovely, but can anyone recommend some not-too-expensive speaker cable that will leave less of a bump under the rug?

 

[Rockmeister]

I'd have a look at the excellent sounding Van Damme OFC range, well priced, well made and quite flat if you pick the thinner versions. Wont be a 'lit up' as the Naim however.

 

[stevec67]

Obviously you need to ensure that the cab;e has the right LCR values for Naim. You could get some VdH stuff that was flat enough to go under wallpaper, this may be worth looking up.

Also try here:
http://www.taperwire.com/speakerwire.htm

 

[Amber Audio]

Rega FSC maybe suit

I used it between Naim Qute and Neat Petite no probs

 

[Strictly Stereo]

Tellurium Q Black might fit the bill.

 

[jansen]

Nordost 2flat. Very flat and durable. Good performance even on longer distances.

 

[Amber Audio]

Not sure how much not too expensive means but would have thought Tel Q and Nordost would be a bit pricey as the OP says it's crossing a room so a good length I'd expect?

 

[jansen]

Well, Nordost 2flat is about 13GBP/mono meter.
http://www.emconnect.co.uk/Speaker-2Flat.htm

 

[Amber Audio]

Well, Nordost 2flat is about 13GBP/mono meter.
http://www.emconnect.co.uk/Speaker-2Flat.htm

Obvious name bias,I always equalled Nordost with expensive probably due to areading a review or 2 of them and currently looking for new cables, the online shop I was browsing started at near £400 for 3m pair White Lightning, wasn’t aware of 2flat.

 

[Alan Brown]

Elsdon Wonfor Audio LS-5 is flat and very very good.

 

[gizze]

Chord Rumour is still one of my faves, it can be bought as a custom install version too, so ver thin.

Always seems to be lots crop up on eBay fairly cheap.

They do an Odyssey version too.

 

[Guest432]

Depends on your budget but there's stuff for £1/metre at 15awg should be ok for Obs.

http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/710-5...0001&campid=5338728743&icep_item=172649559654

12awg

http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/710-5...0001&campid=5338728743&icep_item=222749086905

Van den hul d-352 is very thin but the thinnest I can think of is the old electrofluidics monolith 20/20 I had for my LV speakers but good look finding that.

 

[lencotweaker]

I've used Nordost ribbon cables (Super Flatline Gold and Baldur) for years to trail under carpets. Very unobtrusive and sound great in my systems over the years. Did I read that modern Naim amps are more tolerant of cables these days. NACA5 (or similar) is just a preference rather than an outright requirement these days I thought.

 

[stevec67]

Left field suggestion - use CAT5 as various people do, inc 47 labs if high price serves to reassure you, unzip it, lay it flat on the underside of the rug in question, gaffer tape it in position.

 

[Guest432]

47 labs speakers are very high efficiency, I wouldn't like to put Obelisk level currents through 24awg wire.

 

[tuga]

DNM, Cyrus (discontinued), Vovox

 

[Julf]

Left field suggestion - use CAT5 as various people do.

OK if you don't need very much current.

 

[Mullardman]

Some years ago I used some Ortofon SPK 200. Also handy for bi-wiring. Probably discontinued, but eBay is your friend. Very flat, and like most speaker wires, it sounded just like most other speaker wires.

 

[Whatsisnaim]

I find Avondale Black Link a decent alternative to NACA5. It's round, not flat, but it's thin and flexible, not too expensive, and is tried and tested with Naim amps. Even thinner is Chord Sarsen at just 3.2mm diameter - I have some running underneath a rug to a subwoofer, although I can't comment on how it would work with your amp and speakers.

 

[stevec67]

OK if you don't need very much current.

That's true, but you can always double up. He has a whole rug he can tape it to. 2 x 24g = 21g, 4 x 24g = 18g.
1 x 24g 3 core is rated 2A, 1.6 for 4-6 cores. Double that up, it's good for 3 or 4 A continuous, RMS depending upon layout. I know a few people with fused speaker cables, none go above 2-3A, most are 1A.

I'm dying of cold this afternoon, I ought to get round to making up some CAT5 speaker cables for the dining room. Of course I could go to 47 labs and pay them £8.95 a metre for 0.4mm solid core. They recommend this for their 85dB efficient single driver speaker. I imagine nobody plays it loud in small flats in Tokyo.