I tried some Naim gear a few years ago and got the opposite results. Going from the Naim cables with the DIN connection to my Audioquest with RCA's was a huge improvement. Not only that, some of my experimenting was done with my dealer in his store and when he heard my AQ cables on the Naim gear, he picked up the line. I suspect the differences we heard had much more to do with the AQ being a much better cable than just the DIN vs RCA. If you don't want to use stock Naim cables but still use the DIN connection, Nordost will make them for you. That seems like a good option because there should be some advantages using the DIN cables. You wont have to make them yourself.
Naim - to DIN or not to DIN
To cut a long story short I've just added DIN connectors to one end of my interconnects that go to my Naim 5i mkII. The other end has Eichmann Silver Bullet RCA's to connect to my sources.
The results
- much improved dynamics
- much improved spatial imaging and clarity
My first kick at the cat was Eichmanns on both ends of the interconnect, which proved beneficial, but adding the DIN proved to be the icing on the cake.
The DIN connectors were nothing special - metal jacket with silver plated brass pins - cost about $7 each from EBAY. Much less than the Eichmans at $140 for a set of 4
If you own any Naim gear you would be missing out if you are using standard RCA interconnects
Do yourself a favour and get into some DIN connectors ASAP
I would imagine similar results would be attainable from XLR/Eichman hybrid interconnects also.
BTW - my interconnects are solid silver twisted pair conductors with no shield, which makes the task of connecting both the Eichmann's and the DIN very easy. I'm not sure I'd attempt this with shielded cable.
Simply amazing!
The results
- much improved dynamics
- much improved spatial imaging and clarity
My first kick at the cat was Eichmanns on both ends of the interconnect, which proved beneficial, but adding the DIN proved to be the icing on the cake.
The DIN connectors were nothing special - metal jacket with silver plated brass pins - cost about $7 each from EBAY. Much less than the Eichmans at $140 for a set of 4
If you own any Naim gear you would be missing out if you are using standard RCA interconnects
Do yourself a favour and get into some DIN connectors ASAP
I would imagine similar results would be attainable from XLR/Eichman hybrid interconnects also.
BTW - my interconnects are solid silver twisted pair conductors with no shield, which makes the task of connecting both the Eichmann's and the DIN very easy. I'm not sure I'd attempt this with shielded cable.
Simply amazing!
5 responses Add your response