@nyev Really interested in your impression of Dragon vs. Omega after all are broken in. Maybe using a cord extender to connect to 5 fridge would help. What characteristics do you hear from the Omega QR that is so much above the AQ, and how does it compared to the Nordost sound?
Nordost Valhalla 2 Speaker Cables
A few years back I had tested a bunch of top speaker cables with my Gryphon Diablo 300 and B&W 803 D2’s (Top cables from Nordost, AudioQuest and Transparent, and due to cost, I didn’t purchase the winners (Valhalla 2’s) at the time.
Well, I finally took the plunge and paid extra to have them broken in using a Nordost machine. I had forgotten how stunning these are. These are exactly the sound I’m after. I’ve often been frustrated by HiFi systems not having that same crisp quickness of detail that a decent pair of headphones offer. These cables finally give me that. With loads of high frequency detail, but somehow, there is nothing fatiguing or bright about the excellent, sweet treble, with lots of bass warmth that is also lighting quick.
I’ve been considering a speaker upgrade lately and was thinking that I would like speakers with more detail, more precise imaging, faster response and better dynamics. Well, these cables do all that! I’m not one to get carried away but switching out my excellent Clarus Crimson biwires for these was like upgrading my speakers. I’ve half a mind not to bother looking for new speakers now!
Seems silly that cables can make you want to listen to music late into the night but that’s just what happened…. When people upgrade amps or speakers I often hear “I hear new details I’ve never heard in tracks I’ve been listening to for decades” and that also happened with the Valhalla 2’s.
I’m the first to be cautious of people going overboard using superlatives to describe their experience with new gear, but the only time I’ve ever fallen into that, aside from this example, is when I got my Gryphon. Three years later I’m every bit as enthused with my Gryphon. In fact it’s the only expensive thing I’ve bought that I ended up truly enjoying. 99% certain I will continue to feel this way about the Valhalla 2’s, as silly as that seems (it’s a cable!!!).
Stupidly expensive to an absurd degree for a cable, but worth every penny.
I guess my only cautions would be that for some, the rapid fire leading-edge detail may not be to everyone’s liking (I equate it to the fast crisp detail on a good set of headphones). Also, if you are trying to compensate for bright electronics maybe this level of detail would only make things worse? Not sure. In my system, I now have pinpoint imaging, loads of detail, very crisp timing, sweet and well controlled treble, lots of well controlled bass and warmth through all frequencies, lots of dynamic impact, and best of all, it just sounds right and allows you to really get into the music. Even if you play blaring hard rock with distorted guitars (usually a nemesis of hifi systems) it sounds fantastic.
I’m sure I’ve lost credibility for being so effusive; my only defense is that with all of my upgrades, I’ve only ever been this enthusiastic with my Gryphon integrated….
In HiFi people often gravitate towards getting ultimate transparency and detail, OR they gravitate to a more musically engaging but less authentic presentation. To me the Valhalla 2’s offer both the HiFi detail experience AND musical engagement.
Showing 3 responses by divertiti
@nyev You are 100% not alone in the recognition that Nordost is absolutely amazing and deserving of their prestige. I say this as someone who was once thought Nordost was bright, bleached and over priced. Now when I have a system that's properly balanced throughout, Nordost is absolutely phenomenal.
I'm currently listening to an Odin 2 power cord and Valhalla 2 XLRs , and I don't ever want to take them out. When the Odin 2 power cord was used on my streamer, it sounded I have a new streamer and a new amp. It was very confusing how a power cord can all of a sudden imbue the presentation with so much percussive force and delicate purity at the same time. Then I put it in my DAC that also acts as a pre, that felt like my entire system leveled up 2 levels. The Nordost is such a transparent window it makes other cables seems like you are looking through glass that has imperfections, slightly distort the light as it passthrough.
There is so much air and information, the treble seems endless yet completely non-fatiguing. The mids and bass are in not only present, it somehow balances sounding full bodied with laser precise separation and definition. The lower registers are damn subterranean with the Femto 33 clock on the MSB Reference. The previous generation of Nordost cables might have rightfully had the reputation of being a little thin and bright, but that has absolutely been corrected in this generation and then some, particularly the Odin 2. At the highest level, Nordost cables are paradoxes that somehow encompass all the seemingly contradictory audiophile qualities all at once. Congrats on your V2 speaker cables. |
@nyev I have heard Nordost power cords are better on sources and pres than amps, but I wouldn't know first hand. As I wrote above I am auditioning an Odin 2 PC on my Dac/Pre, which fixes any shortcoming V2 has, incredibly fast yet full bodied, the bass digs down into the center of the earth. Don't audition one, it might ruin things. |