Pictures from Nordost Nation!

Nordost is lucky to have such incredibly loyal and enthusiastic customers! One great way that our fans let us know that they are happy with the work that we do is by sending us pictures of their Nordost products in action. Here are a few photos that have been shared with us recently. Feel free to send us pictures of Nordost in your system so that we can continue to share them with the whole Nordost family!

Thanks to Robert Paulsrud for this great shot of the BC Sort Kone!

Thanks to Robert Paulsrud for this great shot of the BC Sort Kone!

"Amazing sound!!!" says Roberto Facchinetti of his Nordost cable collection

“Amazing sound!!!” says Roberto Facchinetti of his Nordost cable collection

Thank you to Oslo Hi-Fi Center for this picture of the new Odin 2 Analog Interconnects!

Thank you to Oslo Hi-Fi Center for this picture of the new Odin 2 Analog Interconnects!

Oliver Stoessel took these shots of his Red Dawn and Blue Heaven Speaker Cables.  - "Amazing !!!!"

Oliver Stoessel took these shots of his Red Dawn and Blue Heaven Speaker Cables. – “Amazing !!!!”

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"That moment you know things are about to get seriously better smile emoticon." - Hanson Audio Video LLC

“That moment you know things are about to get seriously better smile emoticon.” – Hanson Audio Video LLC

"Trying out the new Nordost Cables Heimdall2 upgrade cable for OPPO PM-1 #headphones on the AURALiC Taurus amp."- HiFiGuy 528

“Trying out the new Nordost Cables Heimdall2 upgrade cable for OPPO PM-1 #headphones on the AURALiC Taurus amp.”- HiFiGuy 528

"Our best solution!"- Da Pieve Hi-Fi Srl

“Our best solution!”- Da Pieve Hi-Fi Srl

Nordost cables complete with QRT power products, from Mikael Nordström!

Nordost cables complete with QRT power products, from Mikael Nordström!

"The QX4 has made an unbelievable difference to the sound on my system. Quite extraordinary !" - Nav Garayal

“The QX4 has made an unbelievable difference to the sound on my system. Quite extraordinary !” – Nav Garayal

Nordost's Heimdall 2 Headphone Cable was an integral part of Woo Audio's presentation at CanJamSoCal2015!

Nordost’s Heimdall 2 Headphone Cable was an integral part of Woo Audio’s presentation at CanJamSoCal2015!

"just picked up some wonderful heimdall2 speaker wire. added such a degree of smoothness and warmth that i thought was not possible." - Colleen Connelly Christner

“just picked up some wonderful heimdall2 speaker wire. added such a degree of smoothness and warmth that i thought was not possible.” – Colleen Connelly Christner

 

 

Nordost Playlist – September 2015

Nordost is lucky to have a wonderful team of representatives and product trainers who travel around the world educating and demonstrating the effects of Nordost’s products. As part of these demonstrations, it is our job to find an interesting and diverse selection of music to showcase our cables, power devices, sort system and accessories. Whether at shows, visiting our dealers and distributors or even in our own listening room in our headquarters in Holliston, we are constantly getting asked what music we are playing (or if our audience is not so bold to ask, we can see their Shazams working overtime). So we thought this would be a perfect opportunity to share our favorite songs of the moment. Some may be classics, some may be brand new, some may not even be to your taste, but one thing is for sure …it’s all great music.

Here are some of the songs that we will have on rotation this September.

playlist_september_2015

  1. All The Pretty Girls – Kaleo –All The Pretty Girls
  2. Hide and Seek — Imogen Heap —Speak For Yourself
  3. You Had Quit Me — Wild Child Butler — Sho’ ‘Nuf
  4. Don’t—Ed Sheeran—X (Deluxe Edition)
  5. Leave A Trace — CHVRCHES — Every Open Eye
  6. Say Goodbye— Beck — Morning Phase
  7. Satisfied Mind—Ben Harper, The Blind Boys Of Alabama—There Will Be A Light
  8. Isfahan  — Sophisticated Lady — Sophisticated Lady
  9. Ultraviolet — FKA twigs — EP2
  10. Queen Of Peace  — Florence + The Machine — How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful

The Well Grounded System (or How I Learned to Improve My Sound and Love the Earth)

The Well Grounded System

or

How I Learned to Improve My Sound and Love the Earth.

Significant sound system upgrades often cost thousands, if not tens of thousands, of dollars.  The upgrade I am about to describe costs a fraction of that and delivers a performance improvement that you never thought you could get from your existing components.

It was one of those rare things that happens when you don’t see it coming but floors you when it occurs.  It all started when Nordost introduced a new cable product: The QLINE Ground Wire.  The QLINE is designed to work with the company’s QBASE power strip and take maximum advantage of the focused star grounding feature of this power and ground distribution system by creating a secondary ground for your hifi system. But what real difference could adding a secondary ground make? If you are familiar with Nordost’s foundation theory, you will see that this product perfectly reinforces the importance of a system’s foundational elements and how crucial it is to get this right. This got me wondering just how well my system was grounded.

The QLINE utilizes Micro Mono-Filament technology, and a 10 AWG, silver-plated 99.9999% OFC stranded conductor, with FEP insulation.  It comes fitted as standard with a spade lug for the inside connection to the QB8 and a type of termination that fits into a standard ground rod connector fitting.

IMG_4933After a quick inspection, I found it would be easy to use an existing intrusion into the house from an incoming cable line that was right behind my Nordost QB8 power strip.  My house is a ranch on a slab foundation, so it was pretty simple to install a ground rod just behind my wall outside.

I went to my local big box hardware store and spent a total of only $15.00 on a copper clad, 8’ ground rod and connector.  After some precarious moments pounding it in from atop a ladder, I was ready.  I was able to use a 2 meter QLINE ground wire to connect my QBASE to the ground rod.

IMG_4972                                  IMG_4971

Let’s back up just a moment first, and explore some of the long-held axioms of a properly grounded system:

“Connect a clean ground to your system and you’ll hear an obvious drop in the noise floor with blacker backgrounds, less grain and more vibrant instrumental and tonal colors.”

“A simple and cost-effective addition to any Hi-Fi installation which leads to a significant reduction in sonic pollution.”

Or maybe:

“The purpose of a good ground is to provide a safe path for the dissipation of static charges, EMI and RFI signals and interference.”

Knowing that all of these things are true did not prepare me for what I heard.  After warming up the system for a few hours, my wife and I were ready to do an A B comparison; both with and without the ground wire connected (I often evaluate new equipment with my wife Stephanie).  After listening to some selections for a time without the ground wire connected I then attached it to the QB8.

Some of our comments from my notes after hooking up the ground wire:

Steph – “Well, that sounds different”

Me – “Better bass”

Steph – “More like live music, less like HiFi”

Steph – “You can hear her singing more easily, understand words better”

Me – “No doubt about it.  Larger soundstage, more depth to the image”

Me – Definitely better stereo separation and dynamics, especially with micro-dynamics in the bass”

Never in my life as an audiophile have I experienced such a profound improvement in system performance – in ways that I did not expect – for so few dollars!

If installing a separate ground rod isn’t practical in your situation, a copper cold water pipe (if it’s copper all the way to the meter) makes an excellent ground as well.  Just make sure you bypass the meter if you are connecting it to the house side.

The use of a dedicated, clean, low impedance connection to ground fits perfectly with the Nordost multi-outlet power distribution units, the QB8 and QB4.  The external ground post tied into the focused star ground topology with the QLINE creates a solid earth connection and minimizes noise and general sonic pollution. It’s an easy solution to achieve solid ground, and it sounds fantastic!

lg-QRT-QLINE Ground Wire

Questions and Answers (September 2015)

Our product specialists receive questions on a daily basis about Nordost products, their application, and hifi in general.  We thought that we would take a minute to share some of our most recent and frequently asked questions here so that everyone can get the answers they are looking for!


QandA2

Q: Is it okay to have multiple Nordost ranges in one line, or is it important to pick one range and stick with it throughout your system? For example, can I have Blue Heaven interconnects with Red Dawn Speaker Cable?

A: You can easily switch between several lines within one system.  Our products are designed to be linear and use the same basic cable philosophy, so that you can go up and down the ranges, and even the cable families. So of course you can have Blue Heaven Interconnects with Red Dawn Speaker Cables (which are both in the same Leif family), or even Frey 2 Speaker Cables (which are in the Norse 2 family) with no issues (although, we would recommend upgrading you interconnects before your speaker cables).


QandA3

Q: Is there a significant difference between your Heimdall 1 and Heimdall 2 XLR interconnects?

A: Yes, there is a huge difference between Heimdall series 1 and Heimdall series 2.   While both models are constructed with 4 conductors, the gauge on the conductors went from 26 to 24, giving Heimdall 2 more body and resolution. We also enhanced the performance of the Heimdall 2 by using Dual Mono-Filament, where Heimdall 1 used Micro Mono-Filament. Lastly, we implemented asymmetrical ground in Heimdall 2 with new connectors in order to lower the noise floor. This gives series 2 more body and resolution.


Q: Please tell me how the cables change the signal from the amplifier to the speakers in order to improve the sound quality.

A: The typical properties of a cable are resistance, inductance, and capacitance. A cable will never add anything to a system, but it can take away from the end result since it has a tendency to act like a filter.  Bad cables can take what your amplifier is sending to the speakers and distort it. Better cables send the signal faster and have less influence on the signal, resulting in better qualities.  They allow more of the unaltered signal to pass. Take impedance for example: the lower the impedance of a cable, the less frequency roll off it causes.


QandA4

Q: Do I need to connect the external ground to my QBASE?

A: No, it is not necessary to connect the external ground to have the QBASE work effectively in your system. However, if it is possible to run a ground wire, like Nordost’s QLINE, to an external ground rod, you will experience a noticeably lower noise floor as a result. You should consult a local electrician to ensure that the improvements you make on your sound system remain to code.