2. cables
  3. 129185-10135

Best "laid-back" speaker cable & interconnects for all Naim system?

Looking for suggestions on speaker cable and interconnects that are both laid-back and warm, but have excellent low bass response, depth and punch.

Just got a used Nait 5i (with NACA5’s) and have been listening over the past week. Rest of my gear is a Naim CD3.5 and Vandersteen 2C’s.

OMG, are these NACA5’s harsh and flat or what! Anyone else experience this? I think I have all mids and nothing in the highs and lows. No don’t get me wrong, there is some bass punch, but not like my previous Creek 5350SE and 4330SE.

To balance everything out, I either need to resell the Nait and get an integrated that is more laid-back with excellent low bass response and punch (like the 4330SE... yes, I miss her) or try and find the equivalent in speaker cables and interconnects? If that is even possible? 
jsbach1685
sfall
346 posts
 
" To balance everything out, I either need to resell the Nait and get an integrated that is more laid-back with excellent low bass response and punch (like the 4330SE... yes, I miss her) or try and find the equivalent in speaker cables and interconnects? If that is even possible? "

I had the 5350SE and the 5i. Also have Vandersteen Models 1, 2 and 3's. The problem is the 5i. Its just not good enough for Vandersteen's. It doesn't produce clean power. Your Creek was a much better amp.

For now, if you back off on the tweeter 1db and run 2 sets of identical speaker cables and double biwire, that should make it more listenable. It doesn't have to be anything expensive, a small spool of Monster or AQ should be fine. Eventually, it would probably be best to switch to higher quality solid core cables, but not now because cables won't overcome the Naim's weaknesses.
lowrider57's avatar
lowrider57
5,412 posts
 
If sfall is correct about the Nait amp, then adding cables is the wrong approach. The Nait produces 50wpc, but it may not have the current required to drive the Vandersteen's. That means it's not a good match for these speakers.
Care to weigh in,  sfall?
jsbach1685 OP
145 posts
 
I don't think wattage is the problem. The 4330SE I had prior was 50wpc too and it was plenty for the Vandys. The 5i is plenty loud and clean... the problem is that it doesn't balance right (to my ears) with the rest of my gear. 
auxinput
2,920 posts
 

What interconnects and power cable are you using. Based on internal pics of your equipment, the Nait5 might be a higher-resolution device, where the Creek might be slower/warmer. I cannot state that for sure since I haven’t heard either equipment, but it’s an assumption based on the circuit designs (Nait5 appears to use a lot of SMD type bipolar devices, which are faster and quicker with higher resolution).

As far as NACA5 is concerned, it appears to be stranded copper speaker wire. The strands are large gauge and the speaker wire is very stiff. Not sure if you will be able to get warmer/softer, but fine stranded 12awg (like monster) may help.

As far as interconnect, the Wire World Eclipse 7 will probably do what you want (unless you already have something similar). The Eclipse is somewhat on the soft side, but it has all the bass/midbass impact and all the details are there. System synergy can be a factor here as well.

But sfall is probably right as he has direct experience with all related equipment.

fstein's avatar
fstein
199 posts
 
NAIM is synonymous with toe-tapping "in your face" presentation.
More to discover