Count me as a Nordost fan but not a fanboy. What that means is I have tried Nordost products and passed them over for other brands but other products have happily stayed in my system.
missioncoonery wrote: "IMO you have to go pretty far up the line to avoid thin." That is the opinion I formed after testing the Red Dawn and Heimdall II speaker cables. They were thin and punchy in my mid-fi solid state system. The Heimdall did have one outstanding characteristic, though: amazing transparency and detail. I could hear things I'd never even heard before on old CDs in stunning clarity. But the downside was a lack of soundstage depth, width and tonal balance, with highs too prominent (but extremely well extended) and bass lacking definition and body (but very strong and dynamic). The Red Dawn sounded veiled and punchy.
On the other hand, I loved the Heimdall II interconnect and decided to spend the extra dollars to get a Tyr 2 analogue interconnect that remains in my system. The Norse interconnects have warmth, richness and nuance, exactly the kinds of qualities I wanted in my system. The Tyr adds a little more body, atmosphere and detail over the Heimdall but the difference in a modest system is not night and day. Still, I'm glad I sprang for the upgrade because I have no compulsion at all to ever upgrade that cable.
Also, I have QRT Qk1 and Qv2 power products and they made a significant difference, especially noticeable with lyrics because I can understand words in favorite old songs for the first time ever.
The other Nordost product I own is a recently acquired Silver Shadow coax cable that I ran between my CD player and Arcam SA20 integrated amp to test the SA20's Sabre DAC. I noticed an immediate improvement in clarity, detail and soundstage with the digital interconnect and the upgraded DAC. However, after recently moving to a new home I'm back to the Tyr 2 analogue interconnect. I need to do some experimenting to find out why the analogue cable suddenly sounds sweeter and more refined. It must have something to do with room acoustics because that is the only significant change for this system.
My educated guess is that Nordost speaker cables won't work for me until the Tyr 2 level because Heimdall 2 was such a letdown. From what I've read about Frey 2, it also can be a little forward and accentuated and I very much value tonal balance. A Tyr 2 speaker cable at $7,000 would be a very imbalanced purchase versus the cost of my other components, and that is my big hesitation, but I would consider it after a careful home demo...something I am not yet ready to do. The other main speaker cable I aim to demo is the Kimber 6063, an upgrade from my current Monocle XLs. The Monocles almost hit the sweet spot but I find them a little hard-edged and unresolved despite moments of brilliance. Drums and solo vocals are perfection but I'm still suffering from too much astringency and edge in some recordings.
Nordost to me is like Porsche: a luxury brand with a unique, somewhat accidental engineering history that is loved for its unique qualities and high quality standards. And there traditionally have been some major flaws. Like Porsche, if you're buying into the lower, more entry levels you might always be left wanting more and that is part of their brilliant marketing. The value proposition isn't necessarily there, but as you move farther up the line it can become a very compelling product line.
missioncoonery wrote: "IMO you have to go pretty far up the line to avoid thin." That is the opinion I formed after testing the Red Dawn and Heimdall II speaker cables. They were thin and punchy in my mid-fi solid state system. The Heimdall did have one outstanding characteristic, though: amazing transparency and detail. I could hear things I'd never even heard before on old CDs in stunning clarity. But the downside was a lack of soundstage depth, width and tonal balance, with highs too prominent (but extremely well extended) and bass lacking definition and body (but very strong and dynamic). The Red Dawn sounded veiled and punchy.
On the other hand, I loved the Heimdall II interconnect and decided to spend the extra dollars to get a Tyr 2 analogue interconnect that remains in my system. The Norse interconnects have warmth, richness and nuance, exactly the kinds of qualities I wanted in my system. The Tyr adds a little more body, atmosphere and detail over the Heimdall but the difference in a modest system is not night and day. Still, I'm glad I sprang for the upgrade because I have no compulsion at all to ever upgrade that cable.
Also, I have QRT Qk1 and Qv2 power products and they made a significant difference, especially noticeable with lyrics because I can understand words in favorite old songs for the first time ever.
The other Nordost product I own is a recently acquired Silver Shadow coax cable that I ran between my CD player and Arcam SA20 integrated amp to test the SA20's Sabre DAC. I noticed an immediate improvement in clarity, detail and soundstage with the digital interconnect and the upgraded DAC. However, after recently moving to a new home I'm back to the Tyr 2 analogue interconnect. I need to do some experimenting to find out why the analogue cable suddenly sounds sweeter and more refined. It must have something to do with room acoustics because that is the only significant change for this system.
My educated guess is that Nordost speaker cables won't work for me until the Tyr 2 level because Heimdall 2 was such a letdown. From what I've read about Frey 2, it also can be a little forward and accentuated and I very much value tonal balance. A Tyr 2 speaker cable at $7,000 would be a very imbalanced purchase versus the cost of my other components, and that is my big hesitation, but I would consider it after a careful home demo...something I am not yet ready to do. The other main speaker cable I aim to demo is the Kimber 6063, an upgrade from my current Monocle XLs. The Monocles almost hit the sweet spot but I find them a little hard-edged and unresolved despite moments of brilliance. Drums and solo vocals are perfection but I'm still suffering from too much astringency and edge in some recordings.
Nordost to me is like Porsche: a luxury brand with a unique, somewhat accidental engineering history that is loved for its unique qualities and high quality standards. And there traditionally have been some major flaws. Like Porsche, if you're buying into the lower, more entry levels you might always be left wanting more and that is part of their brilliant marketing. The value proposition isn't necessarily there, but as you move farther up the line it can become a very compelling product line.