These are pretty different cables. Not saying one is better or worse. I use Transparent, I can tell you moving up their line is a big deal. Significant improvements that you can hear.
You need to stick with the MM2 versions like you have...but try a reference or reference XL on your source to pre as a start... |
Another vote for Transparent, I had the Reference then moved up to the Ref XL MM@ and yep, nice improvement! |
No Money - I like Nordost and own the Frey's. There is only 1 dealer near me that has Transparent and MIT and I did not care for them at all. Both seemed to lack dynamics. But that's my opinion.
That being said I had a Nordost demo case (when I bought the Frey's) and to me the red dawns were bright (not harsh) in my system and lacked bass. Nothing terrible but the Heimdall on up is soooo much better. Also Nordost just announced the new series 2 for the Norse line. Baldurs have been dropped but they added Tyr's. My Nordost dealer should be getting his demo case soon so I can try the series 2 in my system. |
Just re-read the post and I was comparing the original Red Dawns not the Leif Series. |
The Red Dawn LS does not lack bass and I would say comes close to the Frey. I have a combination of TYR and Frey and have been using some Red Dawn LS and think they are great. The old RD was thin. |
I would love to try the Transparent Ref stuff. I know each level gets better, I started years ago with "the link"... Unfortunately though, upgrading the Ulra mm2 balanced link alone is a few grand... |
Don't know about the Nordost, but new Shunyatas are amazing....and I don't like the Transparent marketing scheme, IMHO. Very odd to me that people buy into that. |
Get rid of that terrible Transparent stuff! I haven't done a good deed lately so I will take it off your hands for a nominal sum. LOL Don't let it go till they pry it out out of , well you know. |
anyone heard the new Frey 2 or TYR 2? Might be more of a fair fight?
The Red Dawn Leif do make it more "lively" but just don't have the layering and control with a black background that I am hearing with the Tranparent. The Nordost is SE though vs the balanced Transparent. I have been swapping them out between the pre and the amp to try and get a feel for the differences. |
I think thier marketing is great, especially in the early days when the dealer I go to was able to give me 100 percent back on my cable in trade to move up one level at a time. I think it is down to about 70 percent now that you get back, which is a lot easier then having to sell them yourelf used. They are also pretty protective of thier dealers which keeps the value of the cable you bought a little more stable. You won't see them blowing brand new cables out for 50-60 percent off when the new line comes out, which is one thing that I have seen with the Nordost and concerns me. I am going to get some TYR2 to try out in the future though. |
My Nordost dealer didn't receive his demo case yet but when he does and I can snag I will post back |
You won't see them blowing brand new cables out for 50-60 percent off when the new line comes out, which is one thing that I have seen with the Nordost and concerns me. Per my Nordost dealer the company wants to rid themselves of the old stock. I had the same concern. He tells me the Series 2 are so much better/different (more liquid sounding)(he is a salesman who has never steered me wrong) but he knows me to the point where if they are not I won't buy them. My intentions are to compare my Frey's against the Frey2. The winner will go up against the TYR2. That winner will go up against the Valhalla. He said in his opinion the Tyr2 bests the Valhalla's. I wish he had his demo case so I could tell you my opinion. |
Thanks Xti, please keep me posted on your thoughts once you hear them. I have 2 dealers..(man that sounds kinda bad out of context... LOL ) One carries Transparent, the other Nordost so I am lucky, or cursed depending on how you look at it. I asked the Nordost guy to try and get hold of some TYR2 as I think that will be a more fair comparo to the Transparent Ultra line. If they compete with the Valhalla that would be nice indeed. I have heard a lot of praise for that cable.
I could sell the car, ride a bike... and check out some Odin vx Opus? L : ) |
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Both sound crappy with some systems and great with others,like most things in Audio. |
Just heard from my Nordost dealer and I should get the demo case on Saturday. The only confusion on my part is getting his Valhalls's. He is down to 1 pair of SC's but I'm sure we will work something out (we always do). |
Bjesien, I've got BH LS speaker cables and was thinking of moving up the Nordost line. Was told RD LS was a big step up. Now that the old Norse series is available at 50% off would you still go for RD LS or Heimdall/Frey? Differences between the two? Thanks |
What about the original TYR that they are blowing out? worth a listen? |
No_money My Nordost dealer sold his Tyr's too fast. They were gone 2 weeks before his demo case arrived. I need 4m speaker cables. When I bought my Frey's I was at the top of my budget and I did quickly demo the Valhalla's just for grins (his Tyr's were out on demo). 2430/Heimdall vs 3400/Frey vs 7600/Tyr vs 11800/Valhalla MSRP for 4m when I bought mine 2yrs ago. Like I said earlier I had to 'squint' to hear the difference between Heimdall and Frey but no squinting was needed for the Valhalla. Same was true for the ic's. |
PURIST BETTER THEN THEM BOTH. |
Ok I have the series2. First let me say I pestered my dealer to get the demo case so these cables have NOT been burned in on the Vidar. I swapped my Frey with the Frey2 speaker cable. Wow very different. Better bass and high end extension but a much more overall liquid sound. With the Frey2 speaker cable in I then swapped the Frey ic with the Frey2. Another improvement but not as dramatic as the sc. Next I put the Tyr2 sc in. Not much different than the Frey2. Now that being said I have to change some tubes to maybe hear more of a difference. I have only listened for about 2 hrs total so I will need more time for sure. Just wanted to get back with my initial impressions. |
I was able to get a full set of original Tyr IC and SC. I haven't put the SC in yet, just the 2 sets of balanced IC. So far so good! VERY dynamic, more lively but not tiring to my ears... yet LOL.... will run them for a week and see. I will put the speaker cable in this weekend. |
No_money If you can demo the Frey2 against the original Tyr's that may be very interesting. I never heard the original Tyr's but have the Tyr2 Sc in my system now with the Frey2 Ic. Pretty huge difference with the Series 2. I'm planning to leave the Sc in for another day before switching back to the Frey2 Sc. 5K difference in cost between the Frey2 and Try2 Sc's. |
Xti, my dealer only has up to Red Dawn in the new (2) series right now.
I like how the IC's are sounding. I didn't like the SC as much as the Transparent Ultra SC.. which is good news for me financially LOL.
Now for the bad financial news... I am going to compare to Transparent Ref next. |
No_money - I wish I had a better experience with Transparent but the cables I listened to a few years ago just didn't have any dynamics (great tonality though) and 2 other people I know had the same impression. I do believe the dealer had them set up wrong!?! BTW at the time they were the top of the line cables (about 25k for sc). I was demoing B&W 802d on a Classe Omega system. My brother in law heard the same when demoing Bryston Classe and Ayre. So it had to be something with the dealers configuration. That dealer said the lack of dymanics was due to my amp having too much 'overhang'. Anyhow enough with my experience with Transparent.
As far the series2 I have the Tyr2 ic with the Frey2 sc. For the money I like that combo the best so far. Anyhow if your dealer is planning on getting the series2 I do suggest you give them a shot. Again they are very different sounding from the originals. Warmer more liquid sounding IMO. To me the originals have more detail but are thin in the bass dept (yes I have a sub). They series2 won't be for everyone but then again neither are the originals. Me I just prefer the Nordost :)
Good Luck with whatever you decide |
I'm more excited about the new power cords with proprietary technology than any other cables. I have a few Frey pc's on order and can say I agree with Xti so far on the interconnects and speaker cables.
Not better but different. |
I haven't tried the PC yet. It sure is colorful to look at:-) |
Stop chasing your tails and get MIT for realistic music reproduction. Check out their website tutorial. Try some on loan. Notice they actually have patents for their technology and not VOODOO! |
Ended up with 2 sets of Tyr. Breaking them in now. Thanks for all the advice along the way! |
No money,
Congratulations on the new cables! Hope you enjoy them.
best,
Tom |
Whatever you do, DO NOT get a pair of MIT Matrix HD60 speaker cables for trial...you will be SOOOOO disappointed with anything else:O) They move music reproduction in the home so close to reality that you will need a box of Depends...but don't worry, what you don't know won't bother you. Right? |
I would need Depends when the bill came due for the MIT.
: ) |
Not when you know who to get them from:O) |
No_money, how are you liking your Tyr IC's and SC's? |
RHmmmmm, I ended up with 2 pairs of IC (balanced). Didn't pick up the SC, There just wasn't enough of a difference to justify the $$$
The IC's are working out great though. Very happy with the change. |
Replaced all old Nordost cables with new series 2. Crazy difference all for the good.
Replaced Frey for 2 series and tyr for tyr2 series. Still have some valhalla mixed in.
Sound is smoother without any loss of detail on either end. Dynamics increased. 3d layering is better.
Compared the Frey2 pc to the brahma over the month and the frey2 is close to my valhalla pc. Very close but not as good. VH still has that patented energy but they are closer than brahma. |
My cables were 1) VdH Jubilee XLR, Renaissance Silver
2) Audioquest King Cobra, Renaissance Silver
are now VdH Jubilee, Transparent Music Wave Super, with
Audia flight CD2, flight 2 and Sonus Faber Concertino Home Rossa.
The Transparent brings dramatic improvement to soundstage, dynamics and power to sound, best at the lower end. However, program matching may be evident or emphasized so need to match cable to your system carefully. Enjoy! |
Not sure if it's a matter of which cable is better, but rather one's preferences and system synergy make all the difference. |
I've listen to both cables, since using Nordost cables for the past year and selling them for that matter, whehter its been from tube or solid state, I've always felt Nordost has the upper hand in overall performance. When using the Red Dawn series, the sound tends to brighten up and expand the sound so the timing and accuracy is more there. Unless you like a cable that will give you pure bass, it won't be there cable for you. However, when it comes to precise hits on midrage and upper bass its very smooth and accuarte. The highs move very freely so its more of the depth you are hearing than much so of the width. |
Stick with Transparent...you will regret it if you give them up:) |
I agree with Dave_b. I moved over to TA Ref my system has never sounded better. |
Mo money-
keep working your way up the Transparent MM2 cable/cord chain and you are sure to be rewarded. |
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I have owned Valhalla and sold Nordost a lot for over 8 years. Difference between Transparent and Nordost is quite big. Transparent works well wenn you are looking for more involvement in your set. Nordost is less complete compared to Transparent. Nordost you miss depth and you will loose individual focus. And the mid's are less musical. But Transparent is less fast and less gives less resolution. Read my review of th Audioquest Redwood. Audioquest is better in speed and in black compared to Transparent. Individual focus is cause of this superior compared to Transparent. |
Thanks! for sharing Bo1972. |
Try entry or mid grade JPS or Audience AU-24 and you'll never buy another set of either. I used to use multiple grades of each as an example of what coloration does compared to neutral. Both can be bought with money back guarantees, what's to lose? There are high end reviewers who have switched to AU-24 from Valhalla in extreme systems. Get out of the expensive rut you've found yourself in. |
