Nordost Valhalla 2 Speaker Cables

@milpai, thanks and no worries, I don’t mind being judged online by strangers! People can make use of my experience or make judgements, that’s just the internet so it’s all good!

To shut down all who assume I may be biased having spent the cash, please reference my review of the Valhalla 2’s FROM 2019, where my review was just as enthusiastic as my experience after having bought the cables. In 2019, since I am not a millionaire made of money, I did not purchase them until now in 2022. That’s how much of an impact these cables made on me - my experience with them in 2019 was so positive it led me to commit to a purchase over 3 years!

I also totally get how some may not like this particular sound, and also, how systems that may be on the bright side may not be served well by these cables.

But like it or not, what these cables bring to my system is nothing short of what a speaker or amp upgrade can bring. I’ve tested other very pricey cables that did not have the same effect, so it is NOT just a function of pricing bias, as much as people would love to believe that. I will also say that in my 2019 review, I found that the Valhalla 2 power cord was lacking in bass. Despite the fact that it costs way too much!

What I do agree with is the fact that these companies are charging far more than they need to. The trouble is, the sound quality improvements are flat-out obvious to me!

Resume judging :)

nyev- 

Good for you, finding what works for your ears. 

The cable forum is the WORST place to make declarations about anything audiophool-particularly Nordost! Polarizing, contentious and down right wacky to even the "normal" audio fans here.

My $etup is FAR below what someone uses with Valhalla or Odin. Heimdall 2 wall to speaker does the deed.

I've had a good laugh demoing Odin II from the wall to Valhalla II into the speakers.$60K+ of cable plumbing powering  a $20K system TOTAL.

If my setup were uber status, Odin would be my go to.

I don't hear what many say as "thinning" of the lower frequencies with Nordost. I do believe in the Nordost philosophy of "power cord first."

Nordost like every other "high end" cable isn't for everyone's ears, or wallet.

@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.

Prior to my Valhalla 2 cables, it’s taken me 27 years of searching to arrive at a fairly simple system where finally I don’t hear a blaring brightness, edginess, or sluggish warm tone. I’ve tested so many speakers, power amps, pre-amps, including home demos, including some respected and some less respected amps, including from McIntosh, Moon, Bryston, Arcam, Musical Fidelity, Rotel, and many others. I almost gave up on my lifelong quest to to find a hi-fi system I liked, thinking that I couldn’t find a system that didn’t absolutely ruin a good portion of my favourite tunes such that it became un-listenable.

Then I came across the Gryphon Diablo300 integrated, with the internal DAC module. It really was the holy grail for me after searching for so long, and it makes all material I like sound awesome. I know you can do better with more cash, but with the gear available from dealers near or semi-near me, there was nothing even at double the price of the Diablo 300 that to my ears was even acceptable to me, regardless of the cost.

I am the opposite of the type of audiophile who says "above a certain price almost everything sounds amazing". I find 99.9% to sound good but have some flaw to my ears that ruins absolutely everything.

It’s been a very, very long road to getting to a happy place with hifi for me. Prior to the point where I got my Diablo 300 in 2019, my journey was filled with a lot of disappointment and compromise. There were many times where I felt, screw this I’ll just stick to my $500 headphones which sound great.

All that to say, once I found that the Diablo 300 could finally tame my relatively modest B&W 803 D2 speakers (I’ve tried many other speakers at that level through the decades too), I felt I could finally focus on cables without feeling the need to compensate for something I didn’t like about my system, and the Valhalla 2’s did the trick! Nothing thin at all about them. BUT - I DID find the Valhalla 2 power cord to be "thin", if by thin we mean lacking in low-frequency (bass) energy. It’s very possible it simply isn’t compatible with my Gryphon, especially considering that my Nordost dealer actually admitted that another Gryphon owner told him precisely the same thing about the Valhalla 2 power cord.  He said he even reported it to Nordost since two Gryphon owners had the same experience.

Currently I’m testing a demo Audioquest Dragon High-Current power cord, and also a Shunyata Omega QR-BB cord. Currently the Shunyata is kicking Audioquest’s ass (but the Dragon is nevertheless great), however, I just received the Dragon and it is not broken in, and as such it’s not fair to compare just yet. Also, concerning, the Shunyata seems to form a loose connection with my amp, even when you use the included plastic shim to help with this. The slightest wiggle can lose a connection. Might be a showstopper for me, despite how stunning the sound is.

@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?