My Long List of Amplifiers and My Personal Review of Each!
02-23-2020 5:36pmNice system chazzzy. I think your last post is a nice step to peace. I like your choice of interconnects ( Nordost Tyr 2), and also the Rel sub. SHO 5.@techno__dude In the REL lineup the S5 SHO (recently replaced by the S812 SHO) is the value king. The 12 inch driver is very fast and gets down to about 21-22 hz. What you get is a very transparent (to the main speakers) presentation that adds quite a bit of sonic information that help to re-create subtle spacial queues. RELs can literally transform a 2 channel or home theater’s sonic presentation. The before and after difference is quite noticeable. I absolutely love mine. |
@techno__dude Cool, thanks bud.... TD we all just want the best system possible within our budget. Personally I remember thinking about how bad I wanted to have a dedicated Home theater 20 years ago. I also remember how hard I worked to make it happen. I didnt have the money but I would still go into shops and look at, listen to and dream about systems...lolz Those here who are blessed to have really amazing systems recognize the struggle and just wanna help when and where they can. 🙂 |
maplegrovemusic1,101 posts02-23-2020 12:32pmWhere is your system Chazzy ? Since you asked I thought I'd post it. Click on my username because it's there now. On a broader note I think every single one of us is at a different point in our journey. IMO we all should be posting here in an effort to be constructive towards the greater audio community and to help one another. I know personally a number of you have reached out to me with questions about similar components to mine you were considering and I've been more than happy to help where I can. Personally after finishing up my recent upgrades, Lyngdorf M60, Nordost IC's and Puritan Audio Labs conditioned and PC's I just started thinking about cable routing and organization. So after researching for a week or 2, I purchased the ALTusa L3's sold here on Audiogon about 2 months ago. That after who knows how many years I've been doing this. Lolz I'd definitely recommend them to any of you considering a cable management system. They have 3 separate "grooves" in each unit so you can rout multiple cables at once. In the end I think those of you who constantly complain and whine would be better served by asking questions or reaching out to others for help. Earlier in this thread even @mrdecibel offered his professional services to someone he thought needed help. I personally post here because I get a great deal of enjoyment from my system and I am constantly trying to be better informed. In the end I think that WCSS posts here because he gets lots of enjoyment sharing his journey and helping others with theirs. Maybe some of you should ask yourselves why you post on Audiogon or more specifically on this thread.... Have a great rest of the weekend everyone. 🙂 |
ok sooooooo here is my feedback on the odin 1 vs audiomica consequence: Odin: -clarity in spades -a level of purity that other cables can't seem to match - leaner presentation (for the most part) - it DOES NOT forgive you if you have subpar cables anywhere in your system. It almost feels as if it searches for weak links within your system and brings those front and center - detail retrieval to the nth degree -can sound bright if AND ONLY IF one or more of your components is bright or too forward sounding (meaning it is a revealing cable) -loads and loads of air and sense of spaciousness Audiomica Consequence: -muscular bottom end (more than odin) -musical (very cardas-like) -some detail can get lost at the expense of more bass -excellent highs, BUT it is no nordost odin 1 -beautiful romantic presentation that does not really make you notice what could possibly be missing With that said, Audiomica is built beautifully. I love their power cords to be honest (i bought one for my gryphon amp) and i want to say that for those of you who don't have the budge needed for Odin 1, this is an EXCELLENT option. At the end of the day, FOR ME, i will continue to move forward with Nordost Odin 1, BUT i have now added a 20a pc Audiomica to my arsenal because i REALLY like what this cable does. Up next, i will do a power cord shootout at the end of this month which will consist of : Odin 1 20a vs Audiomica 20a vs Powercord XXX.... What do you all think i am bringing in next? well, i won't tell you all BECAUSE during one of my future videos we will do something more fun; i am going to simply play with 3 different power cords and i will not disclose which one is playing. It will be your job to tell me which presentation you like best and then a few days later i will let you all know WHICH CABLE you selected. This way, there will not be ANY biasing whatsoever and you will be able to shock yourself. Isn't it more fun this way? :) |
@WCSS "Exciting new component".....hey wait a minute. Several of us participated in your 'cable shootout' and gave our opinions on what we heard (through our computers etc...). I have a funny feeling that you didn't come to the same conclusion we did. Of course we understand we didn't get the full impact of being in your room and hearing what the two cable systems can really do....but we gave it our best shot. Were you planning on telling us what you heard and which cable (you thought) was a better match for your current setup? Pluses and minuses of the two cables brands interacting with your room, components and speakers? |
So here's a guy on Agon selling some Odin series 1 speaker cable for a cool 14k ! https://www.audiogon.com/listings/lis9eh8h-nordost-odin-3m-banana-to-banana-speaker So WC are you using which version of Odin cables and what's the retail of them vs Audiomica? (Not that price should have anything to do with SQ) |
Hey everyone. Why don’t some of you post pics of your system? Since many of you have lots of suggestions I’m sure lots of us would love to see how you do it. Be sure to post several photos of the backnof your system (preamp view) showing how you rout cables there since that area tends to be the messiest spot in most systems. Thanks... 👍 |
The Audiomica will sound way faster, more open, dynamic and more holographic when lifted off the rug. But, it is too hard to do (10 minutes time and zero dollars), so we will never get to hear what it can do. It really is too bad it is so expensive and time consuming to try this. Is your mind closed? Do you really want to experience what is possible? Life is an infinite beautiful dance. But if you keep doing the same things over and over you will only have the same experiences (results). Try something new! Try cable lifters. Open your mind. It is fun! Learning never ends. Infinite...is what we are.....don’t get caught in the "limited, this is the way I am" game. BTW, Synergistic Research has some new cable lifters with built in enhancers......there is a video online of them removing/replacing them in a demo and you can hear the difference through your computer speakers. |
Hello WC, I have listened to both videos of the AudioMica / Odin comparison on my main rig. With the premise that it is a little difficult to gage equipment on tracks that feature relatively narrow ranfges of audio frequencies, here are my quick observations... The Audiomica appears to have a pronounced hump in the upper bass and lower midrange... Thaat in itself may account for the overall warmth of the presentation, but also in the king of "pillowness" in the first heavily processed comparison. On the other hand, AudioMica seems to yield restricted low level detal, and less information in the upper and lower regions. I noted that in AudioMica there is also less ambient information than in Odin (e.g. crowd noise", and the soloist in the second piece seems to have less larigularization or "voice-frie" than on Odin. Playing back the recordings on my rig, Odin shows greater extension and information at both end of the spectrum, much more even linearity -- as in no hump in lower midrange and upper bass, greater low level detail, and... more of the natural "voice-frie" of the male soloist... Ah yes... Much greaater presence o exposed harmonics in the guitar. It would be interesting if you could in future find some purely acoust tracks with broader frequency distribution, tonal colors, and greater dynamic swings. Saluti, G.
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So I saw were a guy on one of your YouTube videos asked his significant other to listen and see what she heard. Great idea so I asked my wife who loves music but could care less about my obsession. (Lol). Well going back and forth she says she can hear some things clearer (it was the Odin cables) but she felt the other cables had overall more emotion and weight although not her exact words. Now I didn't tell her it was cables we were listening to that made the difference but when I did she said I was just crazy (she called me some things I can't post...hahaha). |
Considering the Odin 2 powercord has a much fuller sound than the Odin 1 which is a bit lean, the shootout should be made using a Odin 2. The Odin 1 is an older model, resale value is going down each day that passes. A good thing for deal hunters, not so for the audiophile that wants the best fuller Nordost sound that competes with Shunyata and Cardas. |
Listening to both videos through my class A tube setup: 1. The drums in the audio mica come more to the forefront but are missing the details and air of the Nordost presentation. Focusing on the drums through the Nordost (on video 1) you can hear the space in which the drums are recorded. Subtle details that you completely miss on Audiomica are nicely picked up through the Nordost. 2. The overall presentation of the Nordost on both videos is more detailed and nuanced which is what one should expect as they move up the speaker cable/interconnect ladder. Thank you for the comparison videos WCSS! |
I've been re-listening to the video and I can hear what others are saying BUT it is my opinion that the Odin cabled are not a universal cable especially since WC changes so many pieces whether it's amps, speakers or some new digital piece. WC you need to have a variety of cables for evaluation with other gear. Just keeping the Odin's or just Audiomica is not the way to go but hey it's your journey but more important it's your $$$. Keep the journey going! |
Odin 1 seems a little clearer and to my liking, Audiomica is fuller but not as clear to me on the video of course I would have to be there to make a final decision. Has mentioned by me a few pages back and now by a couple others "get those cables off the carpet and get at least a block of marble, granite or block of wood to put the Gryphon on with the new spikes. Between the cable lifters and a base under the Gryphon w spike your system will sound noticeably better. Still sounds great but’ |
There ´s a reason why Nordost made the Odin 2 PC. Because that Odin 1 pc was getting it’s ... kicked by the competition in the midrange fullness area. Whatsbestforum users corroborate this. Goners here on this thread corroborate this. WC latest video corroborate this. Ask him, here, we trust what we ear and experience...not what is written by the brands. So zprr, you only have what Nordost says.... And it’s pretty amusing...the Odin 1 is not a 1 , but there ´s a Odin 2 ... so if there ´s a 2 that means there ´s a 1 ... and it’s flawed. |
As there seems to be confusion/ misinformation about ‘series 1’ vs ‘series 2’ Nordost, I thought I’d share my exchange with Nordost when I was deciding between V2 and O1. As you will see, Nordost does not consider Odin 1 as part of ‘series 1’ as it is being referred to above. Me: Which would you recommend and is there anything the V2 interconnect is better at than the O1? Nordost: No, O1 is better in all areas and should be. It’s Supreme Reference compared to Reference. Me: I am leaning toward to the O1 but am a bit concerned I may lose the warmth and richness of the 2 series.Nordost: Not in the least, O1 is still the best cable we produce outside of O2. O1 will outperform V2 in each category but still maintains the same characteristics or sonic signature. Me: Got it. In part I ask as series 1 has been described as 'lean' and Odin 1 has been around since 2007 and is part of series 1... So I did not know if that 'lean' sonic signature would be part of the Odin 1 as well versus the series 2. Does that make sense? It sounds like this is not the case... Nordost: You are correct, when we talk about series 1 we are referring back to Norse series 1 and Valhalla series 1. Odin has never a series 1 in the same context due to individual conductor gauge. |
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ewert Very nice example. The guy uses a pair of microphones, and each one is aimed at a single speaker. It’s a pity WC don’t take the time and ressources to do this the right way. Odin 1 pc is first generation Nordost, it will always sound leaner compared to others in it’s class...like Shunyata or Cardas, etc. You have to step up to the second gen. Odin 2 or Valhalla 2 to get the new fuller Nordost sound. We don’t need copyright blocked youtube videos to know this. We already said so a couple weeks ago. |
Again, make some cable risers out of cardboard....will probably blow your mind.....so much faster and more open the sound will be....especially for the round cable that is sitting right on the rug. The Odin is sitting on its edge so most of the cable is away from the rug. Just try it....takes 10 minutes. All cables need to be off the floor....whether its rugs or wood or whatever. Serious improvement for practically nothing. I will not mention this again. You can lead a horse to water......well, you know the rest. |
@chazzzy007 For what it is worth, I just listened to BOTH videos. I clicked on chazzzy's link to video 2, watched the video and when the video ended it started the much longer first video. My findings using a laptop speaker: Audiomica = Thicker with maybe a little more meat on the bones. Odin 1 = very nuanced. All frequencies seem well balanced, in other words no highlighted frequencies. Holographic. Audience sounds very real. Overall realistic feel. For me, with emphasis on the fact I'm using a laptop speaker, I like the Odin 1 much better. It brings all the little details that the Audiomica seems to gloss over or leave out like air, ambience, high-level details that are included in the ambiance, a better sense of realness. You just get more with Odin 1. I'm not sure that is for everyone, but it is for me. This is what really makes listening fun for me. Addressing the laptop speaker variable. If you can hear differences between the two cables on a cheap laptop speaker, imagine how much more so when in person. If you can hear a difference (fairly easy for me to hear), then you can to some point extrapolate the difference for yourself. And I'd imagine that with my conservative assessment, I might be under playing the difference between the two brands. @whitecamaross Thanks for taking the time to do this for us. I think it is a learning experience for us all. |
