Naim Theory on Cableing

Naim recommends their speaker wire for good reason; their amps need the capacitance from the Naim wire to stabilize the amp. They recommend a minimum of 3.5 meters per side to achieve this end. I was told this by a long-time Naim dealer. The same dealer said that there would be no positive gain from a different company's interconnect, but I've experimented with the Nordost Blue Heaven and I like them better than the stock ones. Heresy perhaps, but a friend who is also of the Naim flock had a similar experience with the Blue Heaven i-c. We both noticed tighter bass and slightly better definition. That being said, the Naim interconnects sound fine, so if one were to try a different i-c it would need to be of substantial quality to produce a positive result. (IMHO.) However, now that I've tried the Blue Heaven and liked it I would like to get an even better interconnect to see if the improvement continues.

I believe naim power amps do not have an inductor in the output signal path to prevent high frequency oscillations (above the audio band). They think this improves the sound.

However, this requires that the speaker cables be HIGH INDUCTANCE (not capacitance!!) and low capacitance in order to prevent damaging oscillation in the amplifier.

Since hyperlitz, high-capacitance, speaker cables have become quite trendy of late it's important to pick your cables very carefully in a NAIM system in order to prevent amplifier damage.

Note that Naim are not the only manufacturers with this type of requirement.

No....the capacitance does not stabilise the amp. It is of a low enough value to keep the amp from oscillating.

Inductance and capacitance in cables are inversely proportional to each other. Raise one, and the other goes down. Lower one, the other goes up.

You can not lower both. Yeah, I know.......some cable mongers will say they can on their cables. Don't believe them.

I rolled out my Outlaw IC's today and put in a pair of Nordost Blue Heaven DIN to RCA IC's. I've always been in the school that said cables made little if any difference, but after being into this hobby for over 30 years I learned different this morning.

There was a major diffence in the sound. With the Nordost I have a much more pronouned and detailed midrange. Maybe even to the point of being a bit annoying. When I listen to music I'm accustomed to and at the same levels I'm accustomed to, the Nordost causes my ears to ring. The Outlaw does not.

Much more siblance on the vocals, schreech of the finger sliding along the guitar strings are much more pronounced, better seperation between instruments with more air. The bass in not as extended and the mid-bass is quite reserved compared to the Outlaws, but the bass is also more detailed. A leaner and more etched sound. More detail for sure.

Which is better, I'm not sure right now. When I rolled the Outlaw back in I found myself missing some of the things the Nordost did. I also have a Chord Cobra cable that I bought at the same time as the Nordost cable and I rolled it in as well. It sounds very much like the Outlaw and I'm going to have to do some serious comparisonsto see if I can tell any differnce at all. They are very close, but both sound completely different from the Nordost.

I'll report back when as I continue my experiment. BTW, I'm only rolling the cable between my source CDP (Naim CD5i) and pre-amp. Pre to power is still the Outlaw and I have Monster M1s' for my speakers.

Not too familiar with Naim products...although they have an excellent reputation...my only concern is their use of special connectors(din?) that limited the use of other cables(was shopping for an intergrated) ...granted one could use adaptors...which seems counterproductive and a disservice to customers...at any rate...Naim must have seen the light...they now include RCA connections on most of their products I believe...I believe Linn has also followed suit...to be fair...the Naim cables are fairly priced and have been favorably reviewed...