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if i were spending $5000 for 1 meter of cable, i'd be silent too if someone asked me if they actually made a single bit of difference.
Nordost's Bruno de Lorimier catches me and warns: "I just want you to know we've only had the system going for about ten minutes, in case you're listening critically."
A crushing blow, this is to me, because the album sounds infinitely better than it ever has in my own home.
Bruno then offers a demonstration of the Nordost interconnect family. Associated equipment includes the Simaudio P-7 preamp and Andromeda CD player. Nordost's philosophy, Bruno explains, is that cables are not to be thought of as accessories. Instead, they are very important components, without which, of course, a system could not make music. And, a cable's job is to remove as many filters as possible from the sound, without imparting a sonic signature of its own, thus opening a transparent window onto the recording.
We begin by listening to Roxy Music's "Avalon" through the Nordost Blue Heaven interconnect ($230/1m pair). This is followed by the same track played through the Red Dawn interconnect ($400/1m pair). Next, we switch to Haley Sales, a Canadian singer/songwriter/surfer, and we go from the Red Dawn to the $700/1m pair Heimdall. Finally, we listen to a singer/songwriter named Mika, starting with the Heimdall and ending with the Valhalla ($5000/1m pair).
The change from Blue Heaven to Red Dawn resulted in subtle differences in volume (increased) and transient response (faster). Moving from Red Dawn to Heimdall, I noted a much more obvious change: Bass impact and quality were improved, percussive speed was again increased, and the sound was more immediate overall. Finally, the change from Heimdall to Valhalla was profound: I noted much more air around all of the instruments, Mika's voice was startlingly present, and there was a heartwarming body and truth to the violins that had been previously neglected altogether.
I now, more than ever, believe that cables do make a difference. Great.
The thing that is remarkable to me is that Nordost cables are so consistent. Every step up the line is a bigger piece of the same pie. Most cable lines are all over the place. Nordost is also one of the few cable companies to put real specs on the package. I think those two things are related.
> Hello, was this a blind listening or were you aware that the cables were changed? Is there any measurement data to support this article?From the deafening silence I'd say that the tests weren't blinded, and, bias is therefor expected.