We Nordost users like this pricey, cool looking brand for various reasons.
Odin II is known as the "final stop" for ultra setups. It is now 2nd tier to the latest. I've tried it in my system. Everyone should demo it if they get the chance.
I guess when you can roll big...YOU ROLL BIG! For some reason, this brings to mind Eastern Bloc track suit guy that annoyingly revs his Koenigsegg at a stoplight, as the target demographic?
Makes my Heimdall/Frey setup seem like the supplied cables you leave in the box.
Some products are made for marketing to catch attention. Clearly they got yours.
Also there are more people than you think globally that are financially at a point where money is no longer thought of as a limited resource. Once you hit $20M whats 200k? Going out in the evening and spending $5k on nice wine, its like a $100 meal for you or me.
Nordost certainly didn't catch my attention at MSRP. Even the "regular" lineup is priced more than I would ever pay.
"Also there are more people than you think globally that are financially at a point where money is no longer thought of as a limited resource." Clearly, this stuff is for those who can afford it.
Gold is less conductive than silver, essentially just good for corrosion resistance. Perhaps Nordost also determined it has a desired sound signature? I can't see what the performance gain would be with this move.
Likely, it just to get market share from the .1% percent or whatever it is that will buy it.
Whatever it is, there will be buyers. I live in SoCal, minutes away from areas that do have those kind of consumers.
I guess the place where the rollout occurred says a lot. But in my opinion, gold plated cable is really nothing more than a marketing gimmick. I have a few friends who went with Odin and Odin 2, opened their wallet wide and now regret it. Not that the Odin line is bad, as the SQ is top level, BUT here's the thing...there are cables available that can compete with it for a fraction of the price! These guys realized this and would not buy into the hype and 'upgadeitis' again. Not to say that Nordost won't sell a bunch of this gold Odin into their target market, they will...due to what tom2015 pointed out. However, to the more sophisticated and experienced hobbyist...I'm not so sure.
I've listen to Odin II, We matched the quality for around 400.00 with ribbons and weaves. The only thing missing other than our ribbon cables looked different was the wooden weight blocks with a name burnt in. We didn't use CHEAP gold plated connection, or shrink tube with Odin II printed on it.
We used silver plated red copper terminal ends.. The one thing that drove the cost up. Much better terminal ends and they were a cold welded.
@tablejockey Now that's some bling!!! I would imagine that some lucky lad has convinced his better half that these need to be in his listening room, overlooking his garage full of Ferrari's and Lambo's.
If I am in the market for cables that not only sound great (subjective) but look exquisite, my money would go to Kimber Naked Series. https://www.kimber.com/products/naked
A closer inspection will tell you, the Naked series is built with lot of pride and passion. And they are not ridiculously expensive as Nordost Odin II Gold :-)
1M pair of IC's @$12K-BARGAIN! Nice looking too. A used pair of Valhalla MAYBE Odin(older) can also be had for the same cost. Kimber appears to have done their spin on what Nordost does for "air dielectric".
I ordered two pairs for bi-amping. For that price, worth a shot. I can just give them away to friends and family, or keep them as substitute, in-between speaker cables, if they are trash. We'll see
thyname, that cable you bought is one I haven't used. The one I bought didn't have collars and I swapped rhodium spades for silver over copper spades. I told you where to get the spades. That's the third source and the only one with pure silver 68 conductor PTFE ribbon. Maybe twice a year. I don't know what the deal is either..
This is a cable I've used over and over with a spade swap
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