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Naim cables ,Upgradable?

mole0937

mole0937

pfm Member
Have just set up my first Naim system with PMC speakers,in the past I have always changed interconnects sometimes for the better mostly not,anyway could someone out there tell me if the naim interconnects are upgradeable or dosen't Naim recognise this,all I have seen are snaic 5 pin black / 4 pin grey is this it?
Cheers
 
Yes they are upgradable - question is is it a cost-only upgrade or is it a real SQ improvement

SNAIC's (as you have mentioned them) These are the IC's between the pre & power sections.
There is a 5-pin that carries signal & power, the plug has its pins set at 240 degrees (the source IC has a 180 degree plug)
The 4-pin carries signal only.
The old Naim SNAIC was grey, the newer & better cable is black.
A few people make alternatives but TBH the difference is very questionable. The pre-out signal is at a higher level than from a source & as such the changes another cable makes is zero to next to nothing or maybe worse.
If you have a grey SNAIC I would consider changing it for a black; the Naim cable is a bit expensive, but FlashBack Sales make a nice lower cost (same as Naim PREH plugs) that is as good as the Naim black.

The IC's that link source to pre-amp are not called SNAIC, just interconnects (IC)
They are all 180 degree 5-pin
Naim make a HighLine upgrade that is about £600, & there are 100's of other makes ranging from £10 to well over £1000 & on into very silly money territory.
This & other forums are full of wonderment that new cables can do - suggest you go search & do a lot of reading & treat most claims with a small pinch of salt.
 
Try AR Sound cables.

I just sold my ar sound lunar to someone who owns a ndx/ndac/555ps/552/500. He was using a Naim Hi Line and did a comparison with the lunar. He is selling the Hi Line ;)

I sold the Hi Line after getting the lunar too. :)
 
Back in my Naim-owning days, I found the AR leads (yellow, green & Skylink were the ones I used) to be a definite step up from the stock Naim leads & preferred AR to the Naim hi-line as well. I'm guessing others will disagree with me on that, but thats personal choice for you.
Flashback also do great products with equally great service & are cheaper than AR. I found their leads to be at least as good & arguably better sounding than the Naim stock leads.
Whenever I need to buy another lead, these are my 2 first points of call.
Matt.
 
I've used Flashback before and highly recommend them. The quality of finish was exemplary and quick delivery too.

Ally
 
Mike-B, the SNAIC4 has a single 24v in standard Naim setups, its the alternative Avondale wiring that is signal only.

The grey SNAICS are now surpassed by Flashback in both sound quality and VFM.
If you can find a 2nd hand Naim Black for sensible money (£40-60) I thought it slightly better than Flashback , make your own mind about VFM.

Thats as far as my purchased cable has gone, you'll find the service with Dave (flashback) universally excellent, plus a 30 day return on cables so if your unsure , it'll cost you postage to try.

Mark
 
divedeepdog said:
Mike-B, the SNAIC4 has a single 24v in standard Naim setups, its the alternative Avondale wiring that is signal only.Mark
Click to expand...

I stand corrected, I'm obliged Mark

True w.r.t. the 4-pin SNAIC cable when connecting Naim power amps to pre-amps. The power amp supplies 24v to the pre-amp on this wire.
And yes - agreed - this is how SNAIC-4 was originally designed.

What I had in mind (brain fade) was the 24v wire is not in circuit with a PSU - HiCap & same for Teddy PSU.
The brain fade was bought on as I have just finished making a new cable for my SN + TC-III.
I made it as short as possible in a "V" config (same idea as the FBS "Y")
Using Mogami 2549 - 2-pair cable with heavy spiral wire screen
2 pair TC to Pre-Amp (power)
2 pair Pre-Amp to Power-Amp (signal)
The screen is a common 0ve & shield throughout
 
One has to be very careful when using the Naim Hiline. It is rather fragile. And if any of the rings breaks, it means that you have to send it back to Naim for repair. And for oversea users, the shipping cost will be really expensive! And not forgetting the downtime! :mad:

And its much easier to install the lunar properly as compared to the Naim Hiline.
 
I tried AR cables a few years ago and they blew me away. I wrote pages about how good they were; to the point where some people thought I was in some way connected to the company. I am not by the way. I upgraded to the Lunar and have never looked back. IMHO it is the best cable that I have ever heard.
 
I've had a Lunar DIN > RCA cable arrive today to go between my NDX and Berning. Sounds very good ( I normally have a Hiline) but the bloody things not long enough so i'll need to talk to AR cables about a custom length version if I decide to keep it.

James
 
coupe-sport said:
I've had a Lunar DIN > RCA cable arrive today to go between my NDX and Berning. Sounds very good ( I normally have a Hiline) but the bloody things not long enough so i'll need to talk to AR cables about a custom length version if I decide to keep it.

James
Click to expand...

The AR sound lunar comes in different length. You can choose the length from the ordering option when you are placing the order online :)
 
Yes I realise that but need longer than 1m which is the max length you can order online. I'd assumed my Hi-line was 1m when it's actually 1.2m and only realised my mistake once the cable was in transit :-(. Still AR cables offer a good return policy so if they can make me a longer cable then I'll return this one.
 
This is an interesting thread, I appreciate all the contributions.

I might try out the AR cable for my newly acquired HICAP.

:)
 
Cables - plural
You need both SNAIC-5 (240 degree pins) & SNAIC-4
The signal from pre-amp is via the SNAIC-5 then thru internal links wire in the HC, then to the power amp via the SNAIC-4.

But please note all the claims about AR cables are the source to pre signal level cables.
The signal that HiCap pass thru is at a higher level & its debatable what effect the low C & dielectric do for this level of signal.
 
Mike-B said:
Cables - plural
You need both SNAIC-5 (240 degree pins) & SNAIC-4
The signal from pre-amp is via the SNAIC-5 then thru internal links wire in the HC, then to the power amp via the SNAIC-4.

But please note all the claims about AR cables are the source to pre signal level cables.
The signal that HiCap pass thru is at a higher level & its debatable what effect the low C & dielectric do for this level of signal.
Click to expand...

Actually I have an AR Lunar SNAIC-4 between pre and power (connected using the Avondale method, so not going form the power supply)and it is a big improvement over both the stock Naim cable and a AR Green I was previously using.
Also remember that the pre-out level is NOT actually that high and is volume dependent so I would disagree that it is any less sensitive than a source cable, assuming that the source is digital.
 
I am thinking of getting a custom lunar interconnect from AR Sound. But custom interconnect has completely no resale value at all :(
 
Mike-B said:
But please note all the claims about AR cables are the source to pre signal level cables.
The signal that HiCap pass thru is at a higher level & its debatable what effect the low C & dielectric do for this level of signal.
Click to expand...

Many thanks for this, I will acquire the 4 PIN initially.

:)
 
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