Nordost reference jumpers vs second set of cables

@zpatenaude37 

Good call on Zavfino! Please let us know your impressions once cable is fully broken-in…please allow 250-400 hours before forming any opinion. 

OP,

I have all Audio Research gear. I find it is very synergistic. While I have experimented with different tubes on other equipment, I have never done so on ARC stuff… because first and formost the company has very carefully chosen every component to achieve a very specific sound. They have been working for decades to get this exact sound. Also, they use mostly contemporary made for “High End Audio” tubes… many not produced long ago.

Just for fun I called up a vintage tube fanatic… he berated Audio Research for the crap they made, and how terrible todays tubes are, and he was to call me back and give me some options. He never called back. This lunatic is highly regarded by tube aficionados. I spoke to a couple dealers that called him a raving lunatic.

That does not at all mean you shouldn’t play with tubes… go for it. I’d be very interested in hearing what you find out.

I ordered a cable for $700, so not too bad. When I did the test, I played Glen Gould, Bach: the Goldberg Variations. He hums when he plays. Using the stock jumpers, I could hear it, but the separation sucked. When I used both speaker cables, the timbre and separation was definitely noticeable in comparison. 

I am sure that Synergistic Research will be happy to sell you a cryo-ed Rhodium-plated pair of jumpers for $500!

Why do many here think that two or three inches of metal have an effect upon the sound of a speaker? 

If you are a high roller get another set of Heimdall's. Otherwise the cheap B&W jumpers will do just fine! And save you thousands!

Thanks for the suggestions. I did order the zavfino to try them out. They have pretty good reviews for their price point. I'm hopefully going to trade in my old amps for new power cords for the BHK's. And my room treatment is pretty good already. I may start experimenting with different tubes for the ARC Ref 6 preamp and BHK's.

Great question. @jl35 +1

I would do the jumpers and use the difference to upgrade something else… direct lines if you don’t have them, or upgrade your amp power cord, or room acoustics.

A double run will sound better...though cost much more...but you should at least get matching jumpers,  and it will sound much better than with the stock ones...

Thanks for the suggestion, I may try them out! Your system looks awesome in your pics.

Instead of jumper cables, I recommend picking up Nova or Prima for LF posts and use your Heimdall 2 on HF posts. I am in similar situation and currently using Nova on LF posts.

https://zavfinousa.com/collections/speaker-cables