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Vintage Naim Mains Power Leads

jusphish

jusphish

Enthralled by Naim
Anyone have a good reference or set of photos for what the power leads and plugs looked like that were included with some of the older Naim kit, for those units where the lead was datachable? Particularly interested in Oliver series late '90s (roughly). Have some acquired some second hand kit where leads were swapped out with cheap cables and looking to get back to standards. Thanks!
 
I don't have any pics but do look out for the ones that used Pirelli cable - I still reckon they were the best of the standard leads.
 
I know it’s not what you asked for but I replaced all these weirdo connectors with good quality IEC to get rid of any flimsy cables and undersized connectors.
 
It was MK plugs for CB and Olive and then Crabtree for Series 5 ( I think)

Last year - and for wont of something better to do during lockdown - I sourced a variety of cheap mains cables to see if they made any difference. These are all sealed units, which would normally be discounted by us audio types...

Merlin Huntsman @ £15 a pop - big 1.5mm wires and quality connectors in the IEC
Stagg IEC cable (sold for £5 for guitar amps) has 1mm wires, good IEC connections and removable plug, so ripe for an upgrade.
Pencon Laptop cables (3 for £5 via eBay) - UK made, 1mm wires. Very well finished for a 'kettle lead'.
Standard Naim Crabtree cable - judging by S/H prices comfortably the most expensive @ £20-30 each

Merlin and Stagg both delivered a more forceful sound, but I felt this came at the expense of musicality and swing. The Naim was good on both counts, or maybe that is just what I was used to hearing. I have a soft spot for the Pencons - very well made and sound v similar to the Naim cable.

main advantage of any of the above is the IEC fits tight into the power socket, which is not something all audiophile cables manage to achieve.
 
1000RPM said:
main advantage of any of the above is the IEC fits tight into the power socket, which is not something all audiophile cables manage to achieve.
Click to expand...
Yes I've noticed that too. Some of these super fancy ones with huge heavy connectors and thick, stiff cables don't seem to play well with the shoebox sockets.
 
Good quality cables with integral -moulded IECs are much the best for what is basically a poor connector; re-wireable IEC plugs, even those usually recommended are horrid in comparison - the spring tension on the iec pin receivers is so low.

I bought a bundle of Volex 2m IEC leads some years ago, and use those / cut-down to length with new mains plug as required to suit whatever is in rotation. Very tight-fitting plugs.

An aside - but '10A' on the standard IEC320 connector is only allowed on such leads less than 2m long; and it' s a bit of a nonsense: it remains only a 6A-rated connector, limited to a 1.5sq.mm /core flex cable, which is 6a rated, but regs allow 10A if overall length is under 2m. All of which is far more than enough for almost any audio device conceivable (and if its not - then the mains connectivity should reflect that, such as using the alternate flatpin 15A rated thingummy!)
 
pocketkitchen said:
Olive Naim used the Crabtree plugs.
Click to expand...
Only when they were factory-supplied. I know, I used to wire them in my spare time for pocket money!

I have found that cables sold for IT servers are extremely well made, have tight connectors, and have very thick gauge cable.
 
MJS said:
Only when they were factory-supplied. I know, I used to wire them in my spare time for pocket money!

I have found that cables sold for IT servers are extremely well made, have tight connectors, and have very thick gauge cable.
Click to expand...
I was only referring to what came in the box if you bought a new one.
 
I guess I should have said 'when the leads supplied by the factory were mandated to have a plug fitted, it was a Crabtree that was supplied'. Previously a cable with bare ends was sent.
 
‘Vintage Mains Power Leads’
My title.

Like many here, we just get on with our mains leads and listen to the music.
Most of my leads are vintage.

Mind you, I did have one with a Crabtree plug so some sort of connection ( sorry...) with Naim.
Why you would have MK plugs for one thing and Crabtree for another I fail to understand.
 
In my salad days I fitted the old plug from my Dual 505 to my shiny new LP12, which for various reasons (mostly end of term) had to be posted to me. On its first visit back to the Audio Counsel it was immediately retrofitted with a proper MK one at no charge. Made no difference whatsoever!

In those days the demo Naim amps either had an MK plug fitted to the mains leads or used a moulded plug volex pencon lead.

A plug is a plug!
 
I recently had delivered an armageddon and in the box is what appears to be the original mains lead with paper safety label still attached.
I don't know how to post photos but if you want to pm me I can email some photos
 
MJS said:
I guess I should have said 'when the leads supplied by the factory were mandated to have a plug fitted, it was a Crabtree that was supplied'. Previously a cable with bare ends was sent.
Click to expand...

And that was a very very long time ago . My 110 came with a bare cable .
 
I saw a few horror plugs in the service department. Think fuses bypassed, badly soldered connectors (in a 13A plug), bare wires nearly shorting etc. I just cut the plugs off and wrote a note to the effect that I couldn't safely plug it in. More recently I went to the effort to correct them if salvageable.

Edit: Saw a few Peter Belt'ed ones too. They were entertaining.
 
MJS said:
I saw a few horror plugs in the service department. Think fuses bypassed, badly soldered connectors (in a 13A plug), bare wires nearly shorting etc. I just cut the plugs off and wrote a note to the effect that I couldn't safely plug it in. More recently I went to the effort to correct them if salvageable.

Edit: Saw a few Peter Belt'ed ones too. They were entertaining.
Click to expand...

Had to look that one up, interesting:

Peter W. Belt (1930-17 February 2017) was a British manufacturer of unusual "treatments" to be applied to hi-fi equipment by audiophile enthusiasts.[1][2] His products, sold through his company PWB Electronics, included the £500 "quantum clip"[3] that consisted of a crocodile clip with a short length of wire attached, and £15 "morphic link paper clips", which were paper clips that Belt stated had been "treated" to give them special properties. Belt claimed that the principles of some of his products derived from morphic resonance, a paranormal concept hypothesized by Rupert Sheldrake.[4]

Belt and his "treatments" made common appearances in hi-fi magazines,[5][6] with opinions varying from the skeptical[1] to the laudatory.[7] Some of Belt's other ideas included freezing compact discs before playing, and using only white cables.[8]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Belt
 
Whatever is said about Peter Belt and his ‘treatments’, the speakers he produced were quite good.
Mainly based on Kef drivers, he also had a self-designed tweeter which was well thought of.

I owned a pair of unusual, possibly a one-off pair, of Fane Bextrene ellipticals and an Audax tweeters
fitted inside a pair of his NS2 cabinets.
They sounded remarkably good.

I contacted PWB Electronics, and Peter’s wife May was very helpful with their provenance.
 
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