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NAC A5 Speaker Cable

scottc

pfm Member
Was wondering if any Naimee's had changed from NACA5 to someting else? I have read that changing can possibly damage the system? If anyone has changed how does the A5 compare?
Cheers
 
I was left with some meters of Chord Campana after dismantling my AV system; it's a tiny, unobtrusive speaker cable. I tried it between Nait5 and n-Sats, it's perfectly ok, it stayed.
 
Was wondering if any Naimee's had changed from NACA5 to someting else? I have read that changing can possibly damage the system? If anyone has changed how does the A5 compare?
Cheers

I changed to Avondales Black link.better in all areas to my ears
Will not be going back to 4 ,or 5,
the black link is very flexible not like the naim cable .
Avondale do a money back if not satisfied .
You have nothing to loose ,
the Black link creats no problems to my naim amps ,


Give the lads at Avondale a buzz , they are very helpfull ,
and would welcome your call on the subject
 
Loads of people use cables other than NACA5 & are happy with them
Not getting into the old cable debate on what sounds better, but IMO it really is hard to beat NACA5 in a Naim system, some might sound different & more pleasing to your ears in your system in your room. But overall to me it is hard to beat, especially considering the price.

But yes, some cables - I did say some - are BAD with Naim.
Naim amps - especially the old models & a lesser extent the latest models - need specific cable properties to load the amp output with correct inductance & capacitance. NACA5 is designed with this specific high inductance & low capacitance - hence the wide conductor spacing & the need to have a minimum of 3.5m of NACA5.

But getting cable specifications is not easy - try getting it from most all the manufacturers - so the customer is in a bad place to get it right for a Naim system.
Fortunately I have the tools to measure this kinda stuff.
BTW - Naim forum gives the NACA5 specs in FAQ - 1uH/m & 16pF/m

I use Chord Odyssey-2 on the SuperNait. It has 6m per channel that gives about the eq inductance of 3.5m NACA5.
Reason I use Chord was because I need to get one channel through a conduit under a fireplace & NACA5 is just too stiff to get round the bends.
My Nait-2 has 4m of Linn K20 which is a very close match for NACA5.

What does the "wrong" cable do ??
I once borrowed Kimber PR8 (which has very low inductance but very high capacitance) as a temporary hook up to the Nait-2 & it ran hot even when not running. I took it off PDQ. But it runs & sounds fine on my buddies Audiolab system.
 
Changed back to NACA5 after using Blacklink for some time. The timing seemed to get better and the central image was more pronounced. Blacklink very good but eventually sold it on. In a Naim system NACA5 was just better,apart from being a pain to work with.
 
Built my own 5m cables out of lengths of 0.5mm solid silver each in its own loose fitting Teflon tube (14 lengths per speaker, 7 +ve & 7 -ve). Very low capacitance (+ve and -ve are in separate cables) but not sure about inductance and amp seems quite happy. Still own the NACA5 but it has been loan to a friend for a couple of years. I probably should get it back.

Steve
 


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