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!!!

128x128lalitk
I don't think the audio industry is dying or growing, it is simply changing to reflect the changing economy.
As the rich get richer, and the poor get poorer, there are products made for all the changing economic scales.
Yes, high end audio prices are spiraling to incredible heights, but also inexpensive brands are thriving, brands like Jolida, Vincent, Adcom, NAD, B&K, Inspire, etc.

The audio industry is simply following the market developed by the changing economy.
i’m w jbomber. inputs to build and mkt the mercedes aren’t comparable in any way to the high end cable business. i love high end cables but realize the pricing is a farce. it simply has to be purchased used to get some of the fluff out. 
im confident that some cable manufacturers are secretly amazed that we audiophiles will pay so much for their magical products. 
well... I don't have Odin's out of my price range right now... but I did buy heimdahl 2's  and the difference to me was shocking. So cables do make a difference and whether those cables are overpriced... hmm.. probably... but people are buying them or they would be out of business

And NO Chord can't make enough products to meet demand .. no idea why anyone would think the industry is dying due to a wait list... that means demand can't meet supply... common sense... 

Well, I'm a late comer to seriously trying the Nordost line. I did hear the Odin setup a few years ago at the Rocky Mountain Audio Show and was duly impressed. I do have a fairly significant investment in my two channel room, so when I happened to find an 'affordable' Odin (one not two) power cable, I dropped it into my system between my power conditioner and the Dac. I powered the system up and sat back to see if could hear any difference... Welllllllll , all I can say is that it was nothing short of a revelation. The cables I have been using are all high pedigree items and yet  just the one Nordost cable (not even in the signal path) has me hearing all kinds of detail in my recordings I never appreciated before. 

So, where to go from here. We'll see, but if I can make it happen, it's going to include more Nordost products. Can't help but wonder what my system might sound like fully connected in let's say Odin 2 cable.

Like the song goes "sweet dreams are made of these, everybody is looking for something...".