Nordost break in expectations

It gets more open and smooth. Your dealer should have burned it in on a Nordost cable cooker. If you did not buy from a dealer some offer this service for a price. The burn in is highly recommended.

Another +vote for a burn-in of the cabling.

crud. didn't get it done. using Ayre white noise track. this cable is really good out of the box. 

It will take a long time to reach the burn in level of a Nordost Vidar. See below from the Nordost website:

Why is the VIDAR better for breaking in cables?

The VIDAR is designed to put a very wide band signal of varying amplitude through the cables connected to it. In the normal course of use, cables such as tone arm and analog interconnects never get a high level of signal. This means it can take a long time for them to break in fully. The VIDAR speeds up this process by the combination of frequencies it puts through the cable. The results from the VIDAR will always be better than any other break- in method used.

Cables such as tonearms and analog interconnects are normally never exposed to high signal levels, so it takes an extra long time for them to break in. When a cable is connected to the VIDAR it is subjected to a wide band signal of varying amplitude. The combination of frequencies put through the cable speed up the break in process. Results from the VIDAR will always be better than any other break in method used.

You may want to look at the Nordost web site for additional information.

I have the entire FREY array (shotgunned speaker cables, matched shotgunned jumpers, and XLR ICs)

I did not get them cooked by the dealer but rather let them open up within my system.

good news:

(1) as highlighted above, the improvements open up BUT in stages... it was not a constant steady flow. It was more series of higher steps in an ad hoc timeframe.
(2) vocal sibilance and harsh edginess (if any) in the CD and digital reproduction was slowly tamed.

bad news:

(3) it took in excess of 350+ hours (lost count) before that get-to-the-pinnacle curve started to flatten out.

(4) As the cables finally settled in, their superior resolution capabilities also now graphically highlighted all the weaknesses and warts in the listening room arena itself. To keep up with the cables performance satisfaction, a series of sequential audio improvement via room treatment exercises were commenced in a Series of tweaks.

(5) During the speaker cable baking process, my buddy and I did a lengthy multi events myriad of alternate IC swap-in / swap-out of alternate brand ICs. Our experience was that the FREY speaker cables (and overall audio performance) performed better as all-FREY array .... there was a special synergy there.

My experience: the road to audio excellence in the Emerald City in OZ was not a straight-line falling-off-a-log exercise, BUT well worth it in the end. Your patience may be tested in the break-in marathon. At their pricepoint --in my system -- they have bested all contenders and pretenders.

FWIW....

thanks for the input. weird I guess but my Frey sounds very good 'fresh' so I have more to look forward to. the bright and edgy nordost tale not applicable to my set. 

Keep us posted- 4425.

will do. very much liking what i hear already. 

4425,

Thanks for the update and happy that you like what you are hearing.

I also started with Nordost speaker cables, and now have all Nordost cables. My experience, like that of AKG_CA, is that there is a synergistic effect with Nordost cable.

what about the power cables? nordost actually says to start there. not intuitive to me.

If possible you should attend a Nordost demo.

They did one with power cables at RMAF, and the difference between stock (black standard power cord) and the Nordost cables was easily discernable. The difference between the stock cord and the various Nordost cables as you moved up the Nordost line was also easily heard by me, and other attendees of the demo.

I was not a believer until the demo, but hearing is believing.

Do your ears a favor and get a Heimdall2 or Frey 2 power cord.
Demo models get listed here regularly.

Over time, I put H2/F2 from the wall to speaker(and everything in between)for considerably less than retail$$$.
There are othe brands on the same level or "better"(subjective),
but you can be endlessly buying/selling AND LOSING money in your quest for
sonic nirvana.

You may even hear the difference with your own Nordost demo.Switching just the power cord and keeping everything else the same, all other cables swaps within the chain may be extremely subtle. YMMV, naturally.