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Naim stock cables, any mileage in changing them?

My Dad has a similar system to the one the OP mentions, and he added a TQ Black between the CDS3 and 252 and there was a significant improvement. He also added MCRU power cables which he felt made some difference, but not quite as much as the interconnect.
 
per flemming said:
I assume investors doesn't like the massive critique lately re. their new Uniti issues, reduced Q inspection, outsourcing of customerservice, silly priced Lumina cables, etc etc.
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yes, funny how Naim's previous advice to "just use the cables we give you in the box" evaporated once they were bought out.
 
joe9407 said:
yes, funny how Naim's previous advice to "just use the cables we give you in the box" evaporated once they were bought out.
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The change in advice happened before the Focal buy-in - Hi-Line and Powerline cables predate the event.
 
Whilst I am no massive fan of Naim's equipment these days, because the sound of them is not to my taste. I do find it funny how people hark on so strongly about what they may have said in previous years, and try to blame so much of on the Focal takeover.

Technology moves on, in the past Naim said to use their stock cables. Then they invested time in developing arguably better and more expensive cables in the Lumina range, which is something other companies have done too.

I just struggle with people bemoaning something that is natural business progression.
 
I think what they meant was - our old kit was impervious to cable changes the new stuff, well it's a bit flaky so it now makes a difference...

;-)
 
...and, well, cables make all the difference... apparently. And if you use your own ears to decide? well, that's just hearsay...
 
pjdowns said:
Yep, the Powerline came out in the late 2000's and the buy-out didn't take place until 2011.
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Correction acknowledged and accepted. I had the Super Lumina cables in mind when I commented, but I forgot that Naim had introduced the other cables prior to the buyout. In this day and age, we can use all the fact-checking we can get.

But otherwise -- as a longstanding Naim fan who appreciated the company's previous, and strongly held, ethos about cables -- I think $3000 interconnects are horseshit and I stand by my whinge.
 
Why do you think they are horse***?, have you heard them before making that assessment?

Again, they are no the only company that make cables in that price range, so I am not sure I see your point.

Remember you are paying a lot of money for the name though.
 
per flemming said:
They definately restricted free speech lately

Mention certain things - any objective critism - and post get pulled, deleted or delayed for moderation, nothing like the good old days

Along with alternative Snaic mentioning, I assume investors doesn't like the massive critique lately re. their new Uniti issues, reduced Q inspection, outsourcing of customerservice, silly priced Lumina cables, etc etc..

Restrict free speech isn't really possible on the internet, at least in the free part of the world, Mr Dane on impossible mission.
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Yes, I was a bit surprised reading the display issues brought up by owners on the Naim forum. Fortunately I chose the old school amps/preamps which do not come with a screen on the front panel.
 
nobeone said:
I swapped to (Flashback) power only cable from Hicap to 72 and cable from 72 to 250 and found both an improvement over the stock Naim cables. Yes cables really do sound different when you stop passing signals through power supplies (in going power only from Hicap to 72) and replacing unscreened mains cable with a proper screened interconnect (in replacing the 72 to 250 cable). I put this down to solid engineering principles in reducing the amount of noise interference on signals. I assume Naim did it to assist upgrade paths, going active etc but to me it seems clearly bonkers by modern standards. Or perhaps noise was less prevalent way back when ...
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I have used Flashback before for source interconnection cables. Very cost effective and never considered them to replace the other interconnects. I use twin TeddyCaps and they come with their own cables. I guess that nobody can compare the Teddy cables with others?
 
Njb said:
I have used Flashback before for source interconnection cables. Very cost effective and never considered them to replace the other interconnects. I use twin TeddyCaps and they come with their own cables. I guess that nobody can compare the Teddy cables with others?
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If the Teddy cables only pass power, I can't see the point, if they replicate the Naim wiring of power and signal in one cable, it has to worth trying ...
 
nobeone said:
If the Teddy cables only pass power, I can't see the point, if they replicate the Naim wiring of power and signal in one cable, it has to worth trying ...
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The topology with Teddy Pardo PSUs is exactly the same as with a HiCap etc. They pass power but also signals as the PSU becomes the link between the Pre and Pwr amplifiers. The Teddy cables are much thinner than the Naim ones, but that does not mean that they are not well shielded and so the relative performance is difficult to assess.
 
I Have just replaced my old original SNAICS, a 5 pin and 2 4 pins, connecting my 32.5, old style HiCap and mono 110's. I was a bit of a cable sceptic, and certainly have no faith in some of the claims made for high end interconnects. I wanted good quality plugs, decent cable and a bit more length over standard. As 4 of my dins had lost their locking tags, and I had previously resoldered at least one, years ago, I priced up DIY, then remembered how nasty they are to solder with 60 year old eyes and hands. Flashback Sales to the rescue, well made quality cables and quick delivery. Price, prabably no more than 2x DIY, and I knew they would be better done than my attempts, from previous experience. I wasnt really expecting to hear any difference, but, on reflection, I do think that there has been an improvement in clarity and detail, especially on instruments/voices well down in level on the mix. +1 for Flashback then, it's a 10 from me.
 
I got the all metal DIN to XLR interconnect from Flashback for my NAP250.2 in place of the stock NAIM metal/plastic interconnect. No difference that I could hear.
 
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