PCs - Differences between Valhalla and Dream?

Hi Howard,

I have owned both of these cords. As you probably know, I preffered the Dream. IMHO it was one of the fastest power cords on the market, yet always seemed to sound musical.

My experience with the Nordost Valhalla power cords was two-fold. My initial impressions were stunning, I felt that it blew away every cord I'd ever heard, by a large margin. However, I noticed after several months that I was listening less and less as listener fatigue was setting in earlier and earlier. Too much information if you will. I tended to listen to the glasses clinking in the background, and all of the other details I'd never heard before, and stopped listening to the music......and yes, I would say that after a couple of months, I could hear the 'thinness' that has been the knock on the Valhalla. I suppose the in a darker system the Valhalla may beat the Dream.

If I had to choose a cord to demo my system for others, I'd choose the Valhalla, it will definitely impress. If I had to choose one to live with long term, I'd go with the Dream. Maybe you could trade your Preamp Dream with someone whose on the other side of the fence as you, and using a Power Dream on his preamp.

I am curious though Howard, after such a good review on the Fusion Enchanter, which is alledgedly a high current power cord, why not put the Enchanter on your amp and the preamp Dream on your preamp?
Never mind, I just checked your system and I see that you do not own a preamp. Still you may be able to trade your Preamp Dream for a Power Dream.

Cheers,
John

John,

Thanks for your note! The other reason I'm not yet moving in the Enchanter direction is the acquisition of the Ayon Audio CD-2. It's a 6H30-based tube player and might not be as good a fit as the Enchanter was on the Cary 303/300, which I used exclusively through the solid state output stage. I could be wrong. The Enchanter is one heck of a power cord.

I'm a little puzzled by some of the sonic characteristics of the CD-2, so perhaps I should wait to see where I finally come down on the unit. I think whatever characteristic the CD-2 is going to ultimately display will tell me whether to stick with what I have or nudge me toward either the Enchanter or try the Valhalla. The player has sounded very different based on speaker placement. It may have needed some burn in time as well, but it's hard to tell, for reasons too detailed to explain here.

To compound the issue, I have not been able to listen to my reference interconnects (the Silkworms you put me on to - thanks!) because an XLR jack on the Ayon was damaged in shipping to me. I just purchased a set of GG Raptures to try as well, but despite generous cooking by Gary the cable probably isn't burned in enough to form opinions there, either.

The Ayon is going back for repair, so I have a few weeks to gather thoughts before listening to the Raptures and Silkworms and playing with speaker positioning some more. I'm looking forward to many, many hours of experimentation in late March and April. :-D

Best,
Howard

Howard,

It will take you a while to sort things out for sure. I've always found it difficult to make so many changes at once, as it's tough to say which change affected the sound the most, for better, worse, or just different. I think you'll find the Rapture's more powerful and lively than the Silkworms though.

Let me know what you think if you try the Valhalla cord vs. the Stealth Dream. I know I preffered the Dream, but system synergy and personal tastes mean so much here that I'm sure others will prefer the Valhalla.

Cheers,
John