News
Our New Phantom Speaker Cable
Oct
As you might imagine, we frequently get many enquiries about how our speaker cable stands up against its more expensive competitors. Some of these such as the SuperLumina, cost several hundred pounds per meter, others go into the thousands. Our honest answer is usually, that they probably sound better, but are they subjectively worth the extra cost to you?
Some companies seem to try to over-complicate a speaker cable. It’s not difficult. Ultimately it’s just two lengths of wire between two sets of connectors! You’ll hear them back up their product with pseudoscience-marketing that makes them look like they’ve discovered a holy grail, justifying their demand for several thousand for their cable.
At Witch Hat Audio, we like to do things a little different, explaining the simple changes we’ve made to our cables and selling them directly to you to remove the dealer’s high margin. Our Phantom Speaker Cable is no different. Whilst the name might suggest it harbours some illusion, we’ll tell you exactly why it’s step up from our N2.
To give you some basis, (if your not already familiar) the N2 was created out of necessity. Whilst our founder, Mark, (an ex-Senior Test Engineer at Naim) loved the NACA5, but his little London flat did not!To deal with this he simply braided a quality cable matching Naim’s specifications (located in an old manual) with a flexible braid to enable to manoeuvre around corners and neatly tie it up.
Many people loved it and whilst we didn’t intend it to make a sonic difference, some thought it was better than the NACA5. Others didn’t but for half the price, most people were overjoyed by the flexibility. This time we don’t want it to be so close to the NACA5. So we set out to create a cable that intentionally offered sonic improvement.
We do this by simply improving the limited sections of speaker cable. We started by choosing a new base cable. After listening to many of these, we chose one that we thought sounded great and aligned with Naim’s current PRAT. It’s slightly thicker than both the N2 and NACA5, meaning that the lower resistance and stronger current leads to a better sound.
After we picked a cable, we started looking at banana plugs. We’re not big enough to develop our own and didn’t think it was necessary. We found some lightweight, silver banana plugs that offer great conductivity from the amp to the cable and from the cable to the speaker at the other end.
Aside from this, we decided to keep the flexibility and improve the cosmetics. Whilst it won’t offer any sonic improvement, the carbon sleeving we’ve used will not only look great but it helps the cable fade into the background (keeping your partner happy).
If you’re interested in trying the cable out it will be available for pre order the 31st of October and the 5th of November for the limited price of £50 per stereo meter. We’re expecting delivery to be in early December and of course as with all our other cables, you’ll have 30 days (from delivery) to decide if this cable is right for you. If it’s not you’ll be able to get a full refund.
Will this new cable be available with spade connectors for the speaker terminals rather than banana plugs?
Hi Gary, yes that should be possible, we’ll also offer Naim plugs but you should get a better sound from the bananas/spades.
Has this cable been developed for Naim systems only.
It was designed for Naim systems but it will work with any audio brand.
Can you put an F connector at the speaker end also is the cable available in white
Cheers Sean
Hi, when is it going to be available? hopefully soon!
We’re in the process on making up all the orders now, so it won’t too long.
Hi, Have received the cables, many thanks – but which way do they go ? does the arrow end point to the amplifier or the speakers? Thanks
Arrow end points to the speakers, many thanks for email.
Hi, just a note to say very happy with my new Phantom cables & certainly well worth it, many thanks
Superb on my Naim Nova (3.5m). Have ordered a 5 m pair for my Naim 272/250dr set up in my sound room. Well done witch hat
Hi Guys,
There is always talk of better than NAC-A5.
What exactly would be the improvement opting for Phantom over A5?
I am using CDS-3/555, NAC252/S-CAP, S-NAXO/S-CAP, 135 X 4, NAC-A5, SL2’S.
I am interested in your Phantom^^
But as yet I always end going back to NAC-A5, as it just works.
If I can improve on it with Phantom^^ I would be in.
Lumina is just ridiculously priced.
Chord Signature demoed and just does not work period, well not to my ears.
Hi Dave,
I won’t bore you as to why the Phantom is better as I’m sure you’ve read the article. The general consensus was that the improved sound was more open and clear. I wouldn’t take my word for it however, you should check the reviews on our sales page.
http://www.witchhatservicing.co.uk/product/phantom-speaker-cable/#tab-reviews
We also offer a 30 day money back guarantee so you’ll be able to return it if it’s not for you.