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Naim users... speaker cable better than NAC A5

I’ve had both LS50 Meta and Totem Arros. The Totems were used with Naim’s entry level Nait 5i to good effect if lacking refinement. I’ve also owned the similar 112x/150x/FC2 into Dynaudio Contour 1.3mk2 speakers (with a CD5x) with NACA 5 cables and thought the treble sounded rolled off. At that time I switched to Chord Co Odyssey 2 which, for me, gave a bit more energy to the treble…

I certainly didn’t think the LS50 Meta was bright when I had them. I thought its treble was very well judged and quite refined (even though ultimately I couldn’t get on with them).

I now own Focal Kanta No1 speakers which I’m sure the OP will hate even though I think the treble here is the most forgiving of any Focal that I’ve heard…
 
naka said:
Funny, I read that the Model 1 have a roll-off treble and are quite warm and natural sounding.
Of course, system combinations could change the performance of components as well every individual set of ears :)
The Arro are not bright at all, but they are very reviling of different speaker cable characteristics. They could be sweet with the Supra Ply 3.4s or the Belden 9497, and a bit hard and lifeless with the Canare 4S11 or the Atlas Equator 2.0... this in the context of one system.
The Kef LS50 are competent speakers but I always get bored after a couple of weeks. But they remain in my collection.

Can I ask what were the other components that you paired the Totem Model 1 with? And speaker cables?
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Perhaps bright may not be too appropriate to describe the Totem model 1. At the time I listened to them, the treble sounded a bit unrefined in comparison to the Harbeth SHL5 which I own during the time. The treble of the Harbeth sounded smoother. The benchmark is the Harbeth so I guess anything else will either sound harsh or bright. If there's something that sounds warmer than the Harbeth, they would qualify as dead sounding speakers.

Amps were Naim NAC202//NAP200 and speaker cables NAC A5.
 
I still use the stock Naim cable with ProAc 1sc's but if I swap in my Falcon LS35A Gold I swap to some Chord Odyssey which has just a bit more energy up top, otherwise the LS35A's sound a bit dull by comparison. If I did not live with the 1sc's and only had the Falcons I suspect the Naim wire would sound fine to me.

I also made up a set of Mogami 3103 cables that are good but slightly less top end energy so prefer the Naim wire with Supernait/ProAc 1sc's. If you wanted to tame treble a tiny bit these might be an option.

I am thankful for all the recommendations here as I am also getting tired of the inflexibility of Naim wire.
 
Jezzer said:
I’ve had both LS50 Meta and Totem Arros. The Totems were used with Naim’s entry level Nait 5i to good effect if lacking refinement. I’ve also owned the similar 112x/150x/FC2 into Dynaudio Contour 1.3mk2 speakers (with a CD5x) with NACA 5 cables and thought the treble sounded rolled off. At that time I switched to Chord Co Odyssey 2 which, for me, gave a bit more energy to the treble…

I certainly didn’t think the LS50 Meta was bright when I had them. I thought its treble was very well judged and quite refined (even though ultimately I couldn’t get on with them).

I now own Focal Kanta No1 speakers which I’m sure the OP will hate even though I think the treble here is the most forgiving of any Focal that I’ve heard…
Click to expand...

My intolerance for the high frequencies is something that puzzles me as I experienced it many times when listening to some systems of other people or at stores. It is a matter of taste and no more, because the systems I have and like could also be uninteresting to others.
Then, It is also true that the very best systems I experienced were set by others.
 
naka said:
My intolerance for the high frequencies is something that puzzles me as I experienced it many times when listening to some systems of other people or at stores. It is a matter of taste and no more, because the systems I have and like could also be uninteresting to others.
Then, It is also true that the very best systems I experienced were set by others.
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Another possibility is the speaker-amp combination instead of speaker wires that might have caused the harshness is the high frequencies. I get some sibilance in the high frequencies when I use NAC282/HicapDR/NAP 250DR with Marten speakers. When I switch to Harbeth speakers the sibilance is gone.

The Supra Ply3.4 or other cheap speaker cables such as Van Damme, Mogami etc. may sound even duller on Naim amps. I've tried Rega SC42 and other cheap cables with the Naim and they mostly roll off the treble and made the music sound thick.

In my limited experience, few cables that are able to bring more extension at the frequency extremes when compared to NAC A5 are mid level Chord such as Epic and the higher range cables. The Chord cables also bring better definition and detail.

Perhaps stick with Supra Ply if you can live with the slightly reduced clarity since it is smoother at the top in comparison to NAC A5?
 
VTA said:
I also made up a set of Mogami 3103 cables that are good but slightly less top end energy so prefer the Naim wire with Supernait/ProAc 1sc's. If you wanted to tame treble a tiny bit these might be an option.

I am thankful for all the recommendations here as I am also getting tired of the inflexibility of Naim wire.
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See my post at the top in my response to Naka. Similarly the Rega SC42 speaker cables rolled off the high frequencies and made the music sound smoother and warmer when compared to NAC A5. I suspect most cheap copper cables such as Mogami, Van Damme etc. do this when used with Naim amps.

Similarly I do not appreciate the stiffness of the NAC A5. They came bundled with the used NAC202/NAP200 which I bought about 15 years ago.
 
It pretty much sounds the same to me - “apparently” its exactly the same spec as the NACA5 but more flexible as it does not have the stiff plastic covering.

I understand Naim’s position is that in keeping the wire apart via their special plastic covering alters the sound for the better. I run a 3-way active system and the NACA5 seems a little tighter on the bass. Notwithstanding, I now have the Belden cable mentioned above on the bass.
 
PerF said:
One of the most common questions of today
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For me personally I changed at first to WH N2 then later to Phantoms with my Naim gear NAC82/Hi/180 and Neat speakers. Foremost it was the flexibility or lack of with the A5's and ease to run the N2's that made me change. The N2's were like for like against the NAC A5 for SQ but the Phantoms were an definate improvement on the N2's.
 
Stew B said:
For me personally I changed at first to WH N2 then later to Phantoms with my Naim gear NAC82/Hi/180 and Neat speakers. Foremost it was the flexibility or lack of with the A5's and ease to run the N2's that made me change. The N2's were like for like against the NAC A5 for SQ but the Phantoms were an definate improvement on the N2's.
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That's really helpful! Which Neats were you using, and what improvements in SQ did you notice? I'm looking for a more flexible replacement for A5s to Neat SX1s,
 
Gervais Cote said:
I had the opportunity to compare the Naim NAC A4, NAC A5 and the Linn K20.
They all sound the same and they are more than good enough. Give you all the Naim PRaT without harshness.
Now buying Linn K20 exclusively as it’s the most affordable and flexible of the lot.
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I did the same years ago and moved to NAC A5 at the time. I found them quite notably different
 
Tim Purley said:
That's really helpful! Which Neats were you using, and what improvements in SQ did you notice? I'm looking for a more flexible replacement for A5s to Neat SX1s,
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I have Neat Iota Alpha’s, the Phantoms gave a clarity to the music in mid and treble plus a tighter bass. Instruments were easier to follow. I got mine second hand off PF so well worth the money. They do come up sometimes.
 
Does anyone remember Kelvin Audio Cables of East Kilbride, Scotland? I was reminded of these just the other day when I stumbled upon an ad on here for a pair of their K19 which appeared to be a clone of NAC A5. At least, these looked to have the same number of same thickness stands but within a translucent blue insulation with similar web spacing. Naim's A5 features 19 strands of 0.5 mm copper (4 sq mm) per core.

Kelvin also did a QED 79-Strand knockoff called K80, and a 56-strand cable called K120 (the latter looked similar to NAC A4 and K20 which have 54 strands of 0.3mm copper).

The ad mentioned Kelvin having been just down the road from seller/member @VanDerGraaf.

From Hi-Fi World 'Trade Winds', September, 1993 issue:

"KELVIN'S CABLES
Kelvin Audio Cables have just come up with a new speaker cable at around £2.40 inc. VAT per metre. The K120 uses 56 strands of high-quality copper in an effort to further improve sound quality over their established K80 cable. Aside from their sonic virtues, these cables will be available in both black and white. Kelvin Cables have no connection with Kelvin Labs.
KELVIN AUDIO CABLES, 2a Gardenhall, East Kilbride, G75 8SP. Tel: 03552 26522"​
 
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