Naim plugs at speaker end.

[Lowdenbill]

New Neat Motive sx2s, new Naim NAC A5 cables with Naim plugs on each end and attached to an xs2. Loving the music!

Question is, has anyone tried other banana plugs instead of Naim plugs at the speaker end? I'm too lazy and my soldering skills too poor to faff about myself.

Any thoughts?

 

[Woodface]

New Neat Motive sx2s, new Naim NAC A5 cables with Naim plugs on each end and attached to an xs2. Loving the music!

Question is, has anyone tried other banana plugs instead of Naim plugs at the speaker end? I'm too lazy and my soldering skills too poor to faff about myself.

Any thoughts?

I doubt you will notice any difference, naim plugs were solely designed to allow naim speakers to sit very close to wall.

I did have normal banana plugs at one end back in the day & they are a little easier to use at the amp end in some circumstances.

As long as they fit Ok I would leave alone.

 

[djftw]

Almost anything else that it is easy to solder on to NACA5 is at least as cumbersome, and no better. Sometimes worse, NACA5 is stiff and heavy, I have heard of it (and probably less than careful handling) breaking lesser plugs! I have actually had it break the plastic panel a speaker’s binding posts were mounted to myself, but TBF that was probably as much the fault of age and poor quality plastic. I have sometimes separated the pins or configured them upside down etc for ease of connection but with NACA5 I don’t really see the point of using anything else

 

[Olsen]

If they fit into speakers I'd use them
They avoid any accident shortening amp

 

[djftw]

If they fit into speakers I'd use them
They avoid any accident shortening amp

I reckon you could use the Naim pins and fashion your own plugs with the required centres from whatever suitably robust non-conductive material you have kicking about, a drill and a few bits, and a screw or too in a few minutes!

 

[Caledon1297]

I doubt you will notice any difference, naim plugs were solely designed to allow naim speakers to sit very close to wall.

I did have normal banana plugs at one end back in the day & they are a little easier to use at the amp end in some circumstances.

As long as they fit Ok I would leave alone.

According to the instruction manuals, they're designed for connections at the amp end.

 

[Suffolk Tony]

To make the NACA5 a bit more flexible at the plugs, split the cable down for a few cm.

 

[Woodface]

According to the instruction manuals, they're designed for connections at the amp end.

Fair enough but my point about their speakers is still valid

 

[Caledon1297]

Fair enough but my point about their speakers is still valid

I was about to edit my post to add that they work well at both ends, of course, if your speakers have suitable connections.

 

[Woodface]

I was about to edit my post to add that they work well at both ends, of course, if your speakers have suitable connections.

Worth pointing out that not all amps will have a uniform space between terminals. Some may use nac5 with non naim amps, probably not many but...

 

[Mr Pig]

Has anyone tried other banana plugs instead of Naim plugs..

Yip. There is absolutely zero special about Naim speaker plugs. They are essentially the same as many other plugs except for the cool plastic body.

Years ago I noticed that Nordort and several others were selling expensive speaker cables terminated with odd looking plugs. The plug bodies varied but they all used the same 4mm pins, and I recognized the pins from the RS catalog! They are 4mm stacking bananas for test equipment. I popped into RS and bought a bag, soldered them onto the NAC-A5 and sure enough, much better than the Naim plugs. Really cheap too, I always have a bag of them in the house now.

Here you go: LINK.

 

[Suffolk Tony]

The Naim plug pins are nickel plated, to match their speaker sockets. The idea is to help prevent corrosion through electrolytic action between dissimilar metals.

 

[Mr Pig]

The Naim plug pins are nickel plated, to match their speaker sockets. The idea is to help prevent corrosion through electrolytic action between dissimilar metals.

I've used the gold plugs above in Naim amps and others for decades with no problems at all. In fact the Naim plugs tarnish up nicely over time. The gold ones don't.

 

[Paul_Quigley_ie]

The Naim plugs clean with a push in and out of a Naim amp or speakers. If the speakers have gold plated sockets gold plate plugs work well.

 

[Suffolk Tony]

I've used the gold plugs above in Naim amps and others for decades with no problems at all. In fact the Naim plugs tarnish up nicely over time. The gold ones don't.

If only they were solid gold...Can't say I've had any problems with any type of speaker plug, but it's not a bad idea to occasionally push 'em in & out to clean the contacts.

 

[Mr Pig]

Can't say I've had any problems with any type of speaker plug..

Neither have I, but what constitutes a problem? Isn't having to pull Naim plugs in and out to clean them a problem? Isn't the fact they sound worse than the plugs I linked to a problem? Plugs which are a lot cheaper and I don't have to pull in and out to clean.

Basically, it doesn't really matter what the shortcomings of a Naim product are. Naim fans will rationalize these faults as merits and defend their use.

 

[Suffolk Tony]

Neither have I, but what constitutes a problem? Isn't having to pull Naim plugs in and out to clean them a problem? Isn't the fact they sound worse than the plugs I linked to a problem? Plugs which are a lot cheaper and I don't have to pull in and out to clean.

Basically, it doesn't really matter what the shortcomings of a Naim product are. Naim fans will rationalize these faults as merits and defend their use.

I'm intrigued by the idea that these plugs of yours are so much better than the Naim ones. I've got something similar in my parts drawers, can't say they sound any better when I've used them. How did you establish that I wonder? And no, you don't have to pull plugs in and out, it's just a wise thing to do.

PS, does using Naim speaker plugs qualify someone as a Naim "Fan Boy"? I did not know that.

 

[tiggers]

I'm intrigued by the idea that these plugs of yours are so much better than the Naim ones.

They're not, I suspect there is another agenda at play here.

If anything mixing metals is going to be ultimately detrimental and the construction of the those gold ones doesn't bode well for a long term good connection. Apart from anything if the complaint is the nickel plated pins from Naim's connectors tarnish then the sockets will do the same so unless they are being changed for 'gold' ones the whole idea is nonsense.

 

[Mr Pig]

I'm intrigued by the idea that these plugs of yours are so much better than the Naim ones. I've got something similar in my parts drawers, can't say they sound any better when I've used them.

Similar or the same? I have also used quite a few different plugs but there is a reason Nortost, Soundcraft, Chord and countless others use these exact ones. A plug which was never designed for Hi-Fi. And when I say countless it's not that big an exaggeration. Google 'Hi-Fi banana plug' and look at the results.

But the bottom line is that I don't care. If you want to dismiss the idea that plugs can make a difference that makes zero difference to my life. If you want to try them, super. Either way, I don't care.

 

[Suffolk Tony]

So I Googled “Hi-Fi banana plug”, 3,990,000 Hits. Lots of different types. I use cheap Amazon Fisual gold-plated ones, just two-screw fixing but that makes it easier to take them off if I need to thread the cable though anywhere. Not that I do, mind...