Before we started dealing with Naim electronics it all seemed so simple. The justification for high end cabling was huge. It could transform even a basic system and be more transparent to improvements if and when the hardware was upgraded.

Hands - on experience with the brands that we stocked (Densen, Sugden, ATC, Musical Fidelity - even Unison Research and Graaf) and ones that we didn't, such as Meridian, Cyrus, Audiolab, Chord, Naim and (some) Mark Levinson showed us that the 'right' cables could make sense across the board. Cables could, after all, offer performance gains that were simply not attainable any other way. Customers should invest in a really high quality cable 'infrastructure' that would see them through many upgrades of electronics in the future.

And, for us, the 'right' cable choice would inevitably be Nordost.

Once we started dealing with Naim electronics, doubts set in. Initially, it was just some 'hiccups' : whilst a 'serious' interconnect could be justified from the source component to the pre-amp, the links between the amplifier / psu components definitely sounded best staying with standard black 'snaics', and the standard grey snaic for the interconnect took more beating than seemed reasonable. Naim Allaes sounded rubbish on Nordost speaker cable too.

On the other hand, the Arivas worked OK with it, SL2's as well. Sure, the 5 series kit didn't take to the obscenely expensive interconnects as well as the Densen stuff had previously, but it seemed pretty good with the more serious products. Using Valhalla interconnects with the CDS3 still felt worthwhile, if no longer quite essential.

More positively, our premium speakers - the Neat Ultimatum series - really got along famously with it. With high end Nordost mains leads, speaker cables and interconnects from the source (Valhalla, of course) through to the pulsar points under the speakers and some components, the Neats gave us the opportunity for 'party piece' demonstrations of the staggering effectiveness of the Nordost mains cables. Valhalla, Vishnu, sometimes Shiva but, strangely, never Brahma. It therefore became apparent that maybe the 'old' cabling model could still hold.

So why the need to explain all this? Apart from a basic desire to witter on, we feel that we should explain our subsequent apparent drift away from Nordost.

One day we decided to start looking beyond the Neat loudspeakers and, having been impressed with a customer's system (ironically using Nordost cabling with Naim amplification), decided to look into Focal. With the Electra 1027's we had a product with real ability that quite simply did not perform properly, in an all Naim system, with Nordost speaker cables and interconnects.

Whilst the mains ones seemed OK, initially at least, it dawned on us that, if the mains cabling was switched back to Naim's standard issue and the interconnect was, say, the Naim Hi-Line, the NAC-A 5 actually sounded quite persuasive. Far better, in fact, than exotica at maybe ten times the price.

If further proof is required that cabling can be decidedly case-sensitive, we then found that Music-Works new high end Recoil mains leads and Reflex block work brilliantly with the Focal loudspeakers. To add to the intrigue, we have found that this is seemingly regardless of the electronics (valve amps and Meridian kit loved them too). Amazingly, we have yet to find another brand of loudspeaker that gets along with them (with dear old Naim, of course). Oh yes, and while they are great with any Naim power amp up to and including the NAP300, they suddenly seem to be a bad idea with the NAP 500.

So from that we can assume that the Nordost / Naim thing was actually a load of twaddle?

Not at all. A quick re-wind to the Neat Ultimatums and, even with all of our current knowledge, a swap back to Nordost mains cables and, say, Red Dawn loudspeaker cables proves extremely effective.

The customer with the very successful heavily Nordost - loaded Naim system running into Focal Micro Utopias? Well, he was not using Naim sources. A Wadia CD player and Roksan turntable / phono stage combo, in fact. And this gives a clue to the results : break the Naim 'chain' and the whole wiring strategy seems to be up for grabs.

An expensive strategy too, mind you, and this is the rub: if we were comfortable that the investment would be worthwhile with all other combinations of electronics, we would be as strident as ever in recommending these high end cables. Sadly, it is just as likely (in a Naim system) to become a huge limiting factor.

We still keep finding non - Naim cables working with various loudspeakers with the lower end Naim electronics. This possibly explains our initial reluctance to abandon the 'alternative' cable route, since we started with the lower end products. With the Nait 5i, for example, Nordost Flatline Gold, which is not much more expensive than NAC-A5, wins out with quite a few loudspeakers. In other situations, the Chord Rumour does the trick (sometimes Odyssey, although we struggle with that one). Epic, which is actually Odyssey with an outer shield, can be very valid. Occasionally, we get excellent results with the Chord and Nordost mains leads, but the message above is clear : if you upgrade the electronics you need to allow for these purchases becoming redundant.

So now, perhaps, when you read wildly contradictory views on the Pinkfish or the Naim forums, you can see why the contributors could all, in their way, be correct.

It's all down to context. To find the best balance, you need to engage with your dealer ( if that happens to be us, then so much the better!) and trust your own ears.

As an 'and finally' I should add that the Nordost tone-arm leads are working magnificently with turntables connected to fully Naim - wired Naim systems.