Nordost Valhalla 2 Speaker Cable


I bought a Nordost Valhalla 2 Speaker cable from Upscale Audio and waiting for it to be delivered. Upscale asked me to have the cable sent to them to run it through Vidar cable cooker so I agreed. Can't wait to get my hands on it. I always wanted it but did not have the moola before and now that I can afford it, I went for it. Hopefully it's worth it.

What do you guys think? I know there will be posts about negativity, but I do not mind. What the heart wants, and you can afford it, go for it I always say. Thanks for reading my post.

couger4u

Based on my experience, you will be a very happy person.  I’m  pleased with my Nordost Hiemdall 2s, which I still use on my second system.  Choose to move on to  Nordost Tyr. Great move. Sound stage opened up even more for my system. I see you too have Try.  Based on my two experiences I’d move to Valhalla but I’m tapped. 
 

Over the years, I have bought many items from Sean at Upscale.  Excellent pricing and even more he never tried to up sale me. Stayed true to my wants and needs. After multiple transactions I saw him at AXPONA 2023. It was a pleasure to meet.  Introduced me to Kat, who was their vinyl gear guru. 

I think you’ll be pleased. Nordost Valhalla 2 cables, whether they be power cords, interconnects, or speaker cables are very good. Other premium cables may bring some desirable characteristics here or there. But on balance, the V2s offer an appealing blend of resolution, smoothness, and tonal balance. Yes, you can get more (Odin 2 for instance) but it’ll likely cost considerably more, too. V2s are as good as anything else I’ve heard in their price range, and better than many. Of course, there will be vocal critics as they’re not everyone’s cup of tea, but that’s just personal preference/biases coming through in my view. 

Enjoy.

All systems are different. Nordost Valhalla 2 power cords , nor speaker cables sound good in my system. There's something about their cables that literally hurts my wife's ears and gives me listening fatigue. That being said, you may love them in your system.

I find Nordost turns at Valhalla. I have not been impressed with the tiers below. But Valhalla are great and get better at tiers above. Getting them cooked is a good idea. You are likely to be really happy. 

You have some great components. Looking at your system there are some big opportunities for improvement through setup. Assuming the photo is still current. You can get huge improvements in sound quality through setup and acoustic treatment. A friend of mine whom I helped pick out his system has completed a year of experimenting and adding room treatments and I have to say it sounds at least two or three times better. 

I will partially agree with @ricred1 in that Nordost cables are system dependent. I will also suggest they don’t particularly “play well” with other cables. But I think this is true of all cables.

Cable deniers - this is a good spot to move along.

There appears to be a synergy to a loom whereas mixing cables (not all, I’m sure, but for some I’m equally sure) that ends up highlighting certain facets. I tried a top end AQ interconnect in one of my systems and couldn’t take it out fast enough as it sounded grating and unnatural where the Nordost Tyr II and then Valhalla 2 sounded very good - much smoother and far more natural. Why? I’ve no idea. I don’t believe AQ cables to be unnatural sounding overall. But something was shining a spotlight on that interconnect.

I could be wrong, but I suspect the same is true for most cable looms. Take your pick: Transparent, AQ, Siltech, Crystal, etc. 

Similarly, I suspect some of those who don’t like the flavor of certain higher end cables might have tried a piece meal approach and had poor results. I was one of those with that experience.

There are certainly well known sonic characteristics (“flavors”) to the various manufacturers and system synergy is really a thing. If you approach it with the understanding that cables can only subtract, it makes more sense.

What are your sonic goals and what should you make sure I do the least harm to? But don’t be surprised if you find better results by sticking with a single manufacturer. That very notion was a difficult pill for me to swallow. Indeed, I haven’t quite followed that rule as I have a mix in both systems as I’m still building out some things. But direct experience suggests it as a shorter path to system development.