Interesting thread. I am a total believer that cables make a big difference. However, here’s an interesting story that i posted on another forum...I have a good a’phile friend who just acquired a $50K preamp. This preamp is well known and it sounds great! My friend tells me that this preamp is not worth anything near what he paid for it..no way, no how! The parts, the design, the R&D and the whole affair dont add up to a small fraction of what he paid, in his opinion. The reason for the price is the huge dealer margin, the fact that few of this product are sold ( probably due to the price?), the number of middle men involved and the hype attached to the piece. Why did my friend buy this??...because in his words it was a justifiable but not pleasant expense. ( he probably makes more than most folks do in a year, but in a day!) How does this apply to the Odin vs Valhalla discussion? I think because folks who buy these cables are not concerned about ’value for money’, but more about the ’bragging rights’ , the potential for sonic upswing ( which I think is there) and lastly for those who have to have the ’best’ at any price. The manufacturers are aware of this, and so they take advantage of it...same goes for most luxury items.
Nordost Odin or Valhalla 2
Folks,
Do you feel Nordost cables are worth it's asking price? What's the proportionate amount one should spent on cables?
After hearing them at RMAF 2015 and few other brands of cables, I decided to look into the upgrade cost. I own a decent HT setup and invested over $125K in my pursuit of audio nirvana.
So I contacted a Nordost dealer to get an estimate on my setup. The dealer came back with an estimate of $110K on Valhalla 2. Needless to say, I didn't even bothered to ask the cost of Odin in my setup.
No offense to the dealers, but I started to wonder the profit markups on high end cables. I do hear stories about some unscrupulous dealers who sell high end products to get spiffs from big manufacturers in shape of exotic vacations, free products and so forth if they sell more widgets. Isn't this corporate hi-fi that only seeks to show returns for shareholders. To me its pure business, where is the passion for audio?If they are only focusing on providing expensive audio jewelry and targeting individuals with deep pockets then I say, mission accomplished.
I have much better experience with smaller companies who are dedicated and committed to providing 'magical' listening experience without taking a second mortgage on your home. I thought the whole idea of audio art is to create aural magic.
IMO most cables regardless of price point, will get you 80% of the performance of super expensive cables. So is it really worth spending thousands of dollars more to achieve that 20% or 10% of performance?
I would like to hear from folks who owns Odin or Valhalla 2 or other comparable brand of cables, what was decided factor in their choice, what other cables did you compare before settling with Odin or Valhalla 2.
I don't have any hidden agenda or personal vendetta against high priced cables or dealers engaged in selling high end products. The idea here is to gauge performance vs. cost of super expensive cables.
Happy Listening!!!
Do you feel Nordost cables are worth it's asking price? What's the proportionate amount one should spent on cables?
After hearing them at RMAF 2015 and few other brands of cables, I decided to look into the upgrade cost. I own a decent HT setup and invested over $125K in my pursuit of audio nirvana.
So I contacted a Nordost dealer to get an estimate on my setup. The dealer came back with an estimate of $110K on Valhalla 2. Needless to say, I didn't even bothered to ask the cost of Odin in my setup.
No offense to the dealers, but I started to wonder the profit markups on high end cables. I do hear stories about some unscrupulous dealers who sell high end products to get spiffs from big manufacturers in shape of exotic vacations, free products and so forth if they sell more widgets. Isn't this corporate hi-fi that only seeks to show returns for shareholders. To me its pure business, where is the passion for audio?If they are only focusing on providing expensive audio jewelry and targeting individuals with deep pockets then I say, mission accomplished.
I have much better experience with smaller companies who are dedicated and committed to providing 'magical' listening experience without taking a second mortgage on your home. I thought the whole idea of audio art is to create aural magic.
IMO most cables regardless of price point, will get you 80% of the performance of super expensive cables. So is it really worth spending thousands of dollars more to achieve that 20% or 10% of performance?
I would like to hear from folks who owns Odin or Valhalla 2 or other comparable brand of cables, what was decided factor in their choice, what other cables did you compare before settling with Odin or Valhalla 2.
I don't have any hidden agenda or personal vendetta against high priced cables or dealers engaged in selling high end products. The idea here is to gauge performance vs. cost of super expensive cables.
Happy Listening!!!