As a recent convert to the virtues of meticulous attention to; supports, equipment positioing and cable dressing, I spent a couple of hours trying to optimise my system.

Using two stacks of five layers, with power supplies in one stack and amplifiers/sources in the other. relevant power supplies and its component placed on adjacent racks so that the Burndys/snaics run parallel to the floor and don't cross.

Placed the power supply rack closest to the speakers and source rack away from them. Thus pre-amp controls, Headline and TT are nearest to my sitting position.

Nearly finished when AAAARG! the channel one 4 pin DIN/XLR lead to the NAP300 has no chance of reaching the NAC252's SuperCap socket. Experimentation shows that the 300 has to be positioned to the left of or directly below the preamp's Supercap. Any arrangement with the sources on the right is impossible.

Why has no-one else complained about this? surely you are as obsessional as me?

Decided to invoke the wrath of Naim God rather than compromise on my stacking order, so soldered up some longer XLR/4 pin DIN leads. My ears/imagination now tell me it doesn't sound as good as the shorter leads, but my brain tells me that an extra 50 cm of wire makes no difference. I'll give it a day to warm up.

I had a similar problem, I put my 300 thru the wall into my bedroom but had to position them as direct as possible, every CM counted. Now several years later I'm thinking of just getting longer leads made up. I think a soldered lead would be a problem but let us know how it warms up.

The Naim leads are just basic 3 core UK mains cable with standard soldered RS locking DINs and cheapo plastic XLR plugs. The walls of the XLR plugs have to be quite thin to fit the 300 (and other Naim power amps)sockets, but otherwise hard to get it wrong.
Seems odd that naim don't have a cable length option, 3 way active systems must be a nightmare, perhaps length is important.

quote:

Originally posted by mudwolf:
I put my 300 thru the wall

I have never thrown a piece of my equipment, I think it would get damaged.

Just kidding. I would not do any soldering myself, but there are many threads of proper placement and stacking order that will help place your system optimally and where the cables reach. Proper power supplies and pre-amps can be stacked accordingly to get the best sound.

Side by side....keep the power supply away from the boards. But I am sure you know that already.

Scott

quote:

Originally posted by rega1:

Side by side....keep the power supply away from the boards. But I am sure you know that already.

Scott

Yes, but my point is that the power supplies have to be on the right for the cables to reach a correctly placed pre-amp Supercap. This is quite restricting.

An idea from long, long ago that could still work given the right amount of brains and free time at Naim HQ

A very good idea. A "configurator" on the website for example.

I would have thought that given XLR sockets were being used anyway, the pre-power connection could have been balanced to suit longer cable runs. But I know little about amplifier designing.

The 300 heads unit needs to be on the left stack for this to work. If the supercap is on the right and one level up from the 300PS it will all be OK. That's what I found when I had a 300.

Nigel

Correct, so what happens if your system is in a small room and against the right-hand wall as you sit facing the speakers? The vibration sensitive bits have to be closer to the speakers. Not good, hence the make-shift wires.

quote:

Originally posted by Rockingdoc:
The Naim leads are just basic 3 core UK mains cable with standard soldered RS locking DINs and cheapo plastic XLR plugs. The walls of the XLR plugs have to be quite thin to fit the 300 (and other Naim power amps)sockets, but otherwise hard to get it wrong.
Seems odd that naim don't have a cable length option, 3 way active systems must be a nightmare, perhaps length is important.

My heart sinks whenever I hear this. Something like 3 core it may be, but not any old 3 core. This cable was chosen after trying out all kinds and it just happened to work best, so that's what was used. I've tried all kinds of alternatives myself, some very expensive indeed, and every time I preferred the stock cable.

As for the "cheapo plastic" XLR/Cannon plug. It's not very cheap, rather expensive in fact, and made for Naim. Again, somehow it sounds better than heavier XLR connectors, whether by virtue of the lack of metal or being less microphonic, I don't know...

Anyway, as for the length of the leads, yes, this is critical. The supplied length is optimum and provides the exact required electrical characteristics. Any longer and that optimum is lost. If too long instability can be an issue.

Naim can do longer leads to order but only on the caveat that they are not officially approved by Roy and the R&D team and that performance will be compromised.

Don't worry though, we've all done that with the power amps; spent hours getting everything right, with painstaking set-up, only to find the leads won't quite reach for the power amp because it's on the wrong side of the preamp power supply. As our yellow headed friend might say.... DOH!

I don't deny it may be the best sounding cable, but it is a bit dubious to suggest that it is anything other than a stock low-power UK 3-core mains cable.
Thanks for the info on cable length though.

No such suggestion made, just some reasoning behind the choice. Mad as it may seem, it works. In fact it's damn hard to find anything that improves on it musically.

I like that because it shows integrity; i.e. Go with what sounds best rather than what may seem to be best from a marketing perspective or from looks and perceived expectations of value.

I had a similar problem and had two 1.2m leads made up by Naim.

Sounds ok to me.

quote:

Originally posted by Rockingdoc:
My ears/imagination now tell me it doesn't sound as good as the shorter leads, but my brain tells me that an extra 50 cm of wire makes no difference.

Tell your ears not to listen to your brain.

quote:

Originally posted by Rockingdoc:
I don't deny it may be the best sounding cable, but it is a bit dubious to suggest that it is anything other than a stock low-power UK 3-core mains cable.

Once again.....

He can't help it.

We need a scientific proof with the correct measurements to back up what Naim is claiming.

quote:

Originally posted by kuma:
He can't help it.

We need a scientific proof with the correct measurements to back up what Naim is claiming.

Ashley is that you? if so what have you done with our Kuma.


BRING BACK KUMA



Dean..

I have been brainwashed and reprogrammed.

as long as your name isn't Carrie........

quote:

We need a scientific proof with the correct measurements to back up what Naim is claiming.

Kuma, I sense you may just have been listening to Melvyn Bragg's In Our Time on BBC Radio Four, this week on Logical Positivism.

Best, Chris

quote:

Originally posted by kuma:
I have been brainwashed and reprogrammed.

You need to stop reading a certain other forum m'lady its not healthy



Dean...