Twice at shows.....during the hour long Nordost demo.
mindblowing! i was very much amazed at the level of increase in information i heard with the change of one interconnect from Valhalla to Odin (the rest of the system was already Odin).
i've owned Valhalla interconnect for 7 years (as many as 7 sets at once)......and the Odin is quite a bit better.
at some point i want to compare the Odin to my Transparent Opus after i upgrade the Opus to Mk II status (sending it out this next week i hope). |
I have a system with Nordost Valhalla all the way (IC, spkr, AC). 4 weeks ago I upgraded the Interconnect from CD (Burmester 069) to pre (Burmester 077) with Nordost Odin. The improvement was huge! Much more than I ever had expected.
Last week I upgraded to Nordost Odin power cord for the cable that runs from wall outlet to Burmester 948 Power conditioner that I have my front end gear connected to. This was maybe a even bigger improvement.
I agree with Audio Federation who has said in one of their blogs that the IC improves the sound, but the AC cord more improves the music. |
Very good but VERY overpriced!! |
Sorry, but I was not at all impressed with what I heard at shows. I always preferred the Valhalla and I don't like it much. The Stealth Indra was clearly better. |
You got that right Ebm.
Roughly 15K for an interconnect and 20K for a speaker cable.
In your basic CD - Preamp - Amp - Speaker setup you are talking ~ 50K for wire...to include power cables over 75 thousand dollars.
Wow! |
Will the Odins make my sony playstation "come alive"? Sorry guys, I just couldn't resist!!!! |
For a total cable loom cost of over 75K it better include a kitchen and bath re-model along with your playstation "coming to life" ;o)
Will need that included if I was going to sell that stereo upgrade to my wife when I ask to mortgage the house for wires.
Just insane, that a piece of wire costs that much.
But I guess if people are willing to fork out 15K for a cable...
More power to them. |
I had Stealth Indra before. They should be compared to Valhalla. Nordost Odin is in a different league. I have not heard the new Sakras, though. |
Cappuccino, this is, of course, your opinion. I certainly do not share it. |
Tbg have you directly compared odin with indra? What where your findings? |
Argyro, sorry to again have to say no. I only heard the Odin at the 2009 CES as compared with the Valhallas. Any were positively impressed with the Odins in that comparison, which obviously was the demonstrator's intent, but several of us on leaving the room, said that we preferred the Valhallas.
I did have the Valhallas for some time. I did replace them with the Stealth Indras.
I do think cables sound different and that peoples' tastes are largely what sells some and repels others. |
Thanks Tbg. I agree with you, nordost cables do not sound "right" to my ears as well.I used to own Valhalla as well and sold it to buy a much cheaper cable cause it sounded better.
Thanks for info! ;) |
i think that Nordost Valhalla does sound 'right'. however; it is not forgiving and is maybe not the answer for everyone. Odin is even more so.
i use to have 6 sets of Valhalla in my system and am down to one set now (on the Rockport -> Allnic) as i use propriitary BNC cables with my dart pre amd amp and my Playback Designs digital. the only other interconnect i use is the 1.5m rca Opus MM2 between my Allnic phono and dart pre and an 8m pair of Audience AU24 XLR between my Studer A820 and dart pre. so i've not done cable comparisons for a few years.
if one's room is not treated then i would agree Nordost is likely not 'right' and the Indra would likely be a better 'fit'. i know that's a generalization but i do notice a pattern of reaction to Nordost and set-up approach. i'm not assigning right and wrong to either way. we all have our own perspectives. and there is more to cable preference than room interaction, but it's a part of it. |
Mike I don't mean it is annoying in any way, it just has a distinctive sound!! I think that in a blind test I would be able to spot valhallas, anytime! I want my cables to sound as "nothing" as possible! Anyway, maybe I'm wrong, who knows, only time will tell...I guess...lol
Happy Listening,
Mike |
Audiosu as you commented, Nordost Odin is...................
It is truely magic. But which is not to be understood as ''correct'' as far as sonics concerned. However, neither Valhalla, nor Indra is ''correct'' If you are ''Alice in Wonderland'' you will be happy with Odin, Valhalla, Indra. Again they are all ''incorrect''. |
Mert, that may be true in your system but not in someone else's. For instance, I see you use PAD power cord. I could not get PAD cables out of my system fast enough. Slow, plodding, darkly colored. What did I change to? Nordost. :-) Because they do sound correct in my system. |
Haha, Dan same here with PAD! For an equalizer they could be great though! :) |
hey, i thought i will put my subjective point to Odin. I have heard them in nordost presentation here in europe. The systema was Focal Utopias, Ayre electronics (not MX-R, KX-R combo but level below) and esoteric dac+transport.
The Nordost guy, wanted us see whats the difference between one valhalla wire in all odin loop, and all-odin.
Anyway, straigth to the point. While showing these extraordinary cables Nordost also introduced other stuff, like Thor, QX, Eco3 fluid.
The biggest step in sound quality, was not valhalla swithed to odin, or QX turned on, or Thor. We were all impressed, by this cheap, bottle of fluid called Eco3.It did amazing things. Everytime the test (CD without and with Eco treatment) was reapeated, attendents went crazy. Myself as well. The harsh from top octaves was removed, the mucis just flowed. Eco3 was like ten time more effective compared to switching valhalla to odin, but compare the price!
Note that demos at dealers place are not the same as tests performed at well-known homes systems, in well-envoriment, so no final conclusions here. But that night during Nordost presentation, Eco3 did the things to remember. |
I use to have one of these fluids, when using CDs or Nordost cables! And it worked! |
And how about differences between Odin vs. Valhalla? |
01-27-10: Argyro
Mike I don't mean it is annoying in any way, it just has a distinctive sound!! I think that in a blind test I would be able to spot valhallas, anytime! I agree in terms of spectral balance and timbre. They also have, shall we say, unique imaging and soundstaging characteristics. |
Odin does everything better than Valhalla does. After having heard Odin, you can't live with Valhalla anylonger...That's why I sold mine and bought dcs Puccini and send back the Odin where it came. However, the sound of Odin, if desired, could be attained by other tricks.(I will not mention here :)) |
I was totally impressed with Odin power cords.
Speaker cables sounds not really neutral for my taste.
Interconnects good, but not for that price.
But power cords was incredible! Can't live without them now and searching for used:) |
I know well the sound of the combo 077 & 069. Really superb. Even if I still prefer the combo 808 MK5 with the 069. My system is a full Burmester.
With best regards,
Rocco |
I have a friend who has a complete Odin cable system, with Burmester and Focal Utopia3. Yes, is is nirvana at it's highest plane. But, I cannot get over the idea of having one's cables cost just as much as the gear. |
A friend bought them over sounded great. We than compared them to STELTH DREAM V10. STELTH much more open faster better stage deeper wider faster bass STELTH V10 is a wonderful cable i now own them. They do take over 400 hrs to break in. |
Considering cost of cables, I well remember reading about a set of cables costing £1000, in a UK mag 10 years ago. I thought, what sort of idiot spends £1000 on a piece of wire. Well a few years later, I was looking at the idiot in the bathroom mirror every morning. It is all relative, but now I think the same about $20000 cables and no, I am absolutely sure he wo'nt appear in my mirror anytime soon.
I just wonder if the guys at Nordost, Stealth etc, sit down one morning and say " Well we got away with $20000, lets see if anyone is silly enough to pay$40000 , for a cable"
Do'nt get me wrong, it's your money and as long as you did'nt rob a bank to get it, or hit a little old lady over the head, it is absolutly your right to spend it just how you want. Be honest though, do none of you Odin/indra owners not wake up in a cold sweat and think " Did I really spend $...... on a single cable"? Tell us all the truth, go on. |
Hey Eb...Sergei called me last night and asked me to let you know that there's an "A" stuck somewhere in the middle of the name of his cables. |
I suppose such cables should be used in systems costing 10 times the cables. That would be reasonable. maybe...Dont get me wrong Ive also had expensive cables but thats just...very expensive. Don't know... |
SORRY its STEALTH DREAM V10 my mistake. Its up to a person to spend on cables the amount he wants after hearing STEALTH DREAM in my system i upgraded to STEALTH DREAM V10. |
STEALTH DOES MAKE CABLES FOR $1000.00 and many more expensive as well. REMEMBER ITS YOUR DIME!! |
Hey David12, psst, did you not hear that some people actually pay over $1 million for a house? I wonder if they wake up in the dead of night in a sweat? Naw, I don't think so. |
David12,
My Valhallas cost me a total 50% of my system. And am not regretting every morning i look at my smiling self in the bathroom mirror
Need to work harder to replace kids college fund, though :-) |
I have heard them. A friend owned them. Very nice. However, I recommend the Master Built (by Delphi Aerospace). They are amazing and the most musical cables I have ever heard (power cords, interconnects and speaker cables). |
Thankful,
I like your nickname. Soothing to read. I agree that choice of cables is very subjective.
Am glad youve found your 'best' cable. Your best is your best, dont listen to anybody else but your ear.
Enjoy your music ;-) |
