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Nordost Quattro Fil is still good

Close to a year ago I bought a turntable and changed my entire loom to Nordost Heimdall. Before, I was using Red Dawn rev. 2 SC and Quattro Fil XLR from my DAC to amp. Big improvement on overall sound, especially up top, in the treble region.

Fast forward to yesterday. I had the Quattro Fil collecting dust so I purchased some WBT 0152cu RCA plugs and converted them to RCA so I could use them with my new headphone amp. They are significantly stiffer than the Heimdalls so I swapped them. Heimdall on headphone amp and QF on phono stage.

I must say I was pleasantly impressed by what I heard. I don't recall hearing that big a difference between Heimdall XLR and the QF XLR, but on RCA's, the QF were better.

I spun a few albums, but Rush-Hemispheres really stands out. I'd never heard the low end so clear. The QF dug a little deeper, but also separated bass drum/tom tom whacks and the bass line. Compared to the QF, the Heimdall's sounded a bit congested in the bass region. The treble was about the same with just a bit more air with the QF.

Overall, the QF's sounded more refined. I hope they retain this character after a few more hours of break in.

Regarding the plugs, the WBT0152cu are full metal body unlike the WBT0110cu Nordost uses. Maybe cleaning the connectors also contributed to the better sound of the QF.
gherrera1
audioman58's avatar
audioman58
3,900 posts
 
Hello if you want resolution and detail very similar but a bit more warmth
The Analysis plus Solo Crystal Copper loudspeaker cables ,with matching interconnects,or if you want a bit more sparkle their top In- connect Silver over a Copper, excellent cables and much more of a $$ bargain then Nordost with -0
Drop off in quality or sonics. I had Synergistic Copper, Acoustic zen silver ref, 2 which is close, and MIT -36 interconnects,solo Copper Loudspeaker cables.
Look them up in older reviews ,redesigned in 2012 now even more open and a bit faster.
kiwi_1282001
312 posts
 
Or another recent alternative comes from Ansuz Acoustics. I recently changed out Nordost Heimdall and Valhalla cables for Ansuz. I wrote about it HERE. Similar in character but blacker and more musical.
zkidd
101 posts
 
Just in case anyone is reading this thread for information on the Nordost Quattro Fil (and they should as this is still a very, very good cable and still better than a lot of current Nordost and other cables out there) I am responding to what audioman58 posted. I have had the complete opposite experienced with Analysis Plus cables and I have tried all of their models. I use mostly tubed electronics (preamp, monoblock amps) and I could never get AA cables to sound like anything other than "soft", rolled off and just too "warm". Perhaps the AA cables would be better with a bright sounding solid state system but again, with tubes, and in MY SYSTEM, the AA cables were just too "mushy". The Nordost cables I am using have brought a better synergy to what I use, and I get detail, a much more expansive soundstage, both in width and depth, and there is a more "real" feel to the music. 
It is always amazing how some cables in some systems can work magic, while in other systems they are an anathema. Always better to listen if you can, but with more and more brick and mortar stores closing up I certainly understand why people have to rely more on reviews and forums. Sad thing is on forums and the like, there is more opinion and not a true in depth review, and we all know the saying about opinions...
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