Dealer Spotlight: Liquid Sound

  By Bruno de Lorimier

Close to the University of British Columbia and located in West Point Grey, Liquid Sound is a must for those looking for a unique audio and video experience.  Whether you are a local, or are just visiting scenic Vancouver, Liquid Sound is worth the visit.

The store, which opened its doors to the public about six years ago, is owned and operated by debonair gentleman, Daniel Mendes.  Other members of the team are Philip Meyburgh and Lorenzo Sever, who both have a ton of experience and A/V knowledge, each having been in the industry for nearly forty years.

At Liquid Sound, it’s all about the experience.  Daniel and the staff want to make sure you won’t forget your visit at the store. The emphasis is on providing the most efficient environment for proper demonstrations, so that one can fully appreciate the nuances and strengths of all the wonderful products they have to offer. The store has been purposefully laid out to allow easy and unrushed demos of multiple systems, most of which are wired with Nordost.  Clients are encouraged to bring in their own LPs and/or reference CDs. The main goal at Liquid Sound is to provide a musically friendly and relaxed atmosphere to its clientele, combined with true, expert advice. The staff will take the time to get to know you before putting forth any recommendations on equipment.  Tell them what sound you’re looking for and they’ll do their best to make sure you get it!

Liquid Sound is also a great place to shop for Home Theatre, offering dedicated custom fitted home theaters from M&K Atmos Surround for a true movie theater experience one can enjoy in their own home.  Sit down and strap in for a sensory overload in the home theatre demo room, while the team explains and demonstrates what a home theater can, and should be.

As soon as you walk in the store, you can tell these guys are serious about Hi-Fi, with brands like Magico, Lygndorf, Musical Fidelity, Monitor Audio Silver, Rogue, and Anthem, just to name a few. Some include microphone room correction to tweak the sound for your home setup.  But that’s not all they do, they are also smart home (custom install) specialists.

Liquid Sound has been a true believer in Nordost cables and accessories for many years.  In Daniel’s own words “Nordost is by far the best upgrade anyone can do to improve an Audio/Video system.  The results are remarkable!!  We have transformed many of our clients’ systems by simply upgrading power cables, proper grounding solutions, and updating speaker cables.”

For Daniel and the team, it’s still not enough to provide outstanding products and expert advice.  Educational and informative special events are held after hours, and on a regular basis, where industry specialists will come in to entertain and educate customers by doing demos or holding seminars, and even do new product introductions.

Coincidently, such an event is happening today, on Wednesday May 29th at 6:00pm, featuring Nordost.  Liquid Sound and I would love to see you there!

We are very proud to count Liquid Sound as a Nordost team member and wish them continued success!

 

Liquid Sound

4320 West 10th Ave
Vancouver, BC
V6R 2H7

Phone: (778) 891-7750
Email: info@liquidsound.ca
Web: www.liquidsound.ca

Speaker Set-Up — Everything you need to get started

Speaker set-up is an exacting and time-consuming process consisting of endless small, repetitive motions. A centimeter back, a touch of a rotation, a tilt forward— every minute movement making a world of difference in the performance of your system. While some find system set-up to be a fun and interactive process, allowing you to intimately understand your hi-fi system, others find it to be pretty tedious.

Whichever side of the camp you fall on, if you come to this task well-prepared, it is sure to go a lot easier for you, and, hopefully, it will be quicker too! That is why we have come up with a comprehensive list of everything that you’ll need as you tackle speaker placement!

 

1) Masking or “Low-Tack” Painter’s Tape

You’ll be using your masking tape to “grid” the floor and to ensure that you are making uninformed adjustments to both the left and right speakers. You can even use your masking tape to mark the final placement of your speakers, to save you the trouble of redoing the whole process in case your speakers are accidentally moved. If you decide to mark the final placement, you may want to opt for a more discrete colored tape.

 

2) Marker Pen

You can use any type of writing utensil, as long as it allows you to clearly make marks on your painter’s tape.

 

 

3) Tape Measure

Your tape measure should be a least two meters long since it will be used throughout this process to take precise measurements of your speakers, as well as their relation to elements of the room. It may also be used to measure and mark increments on your painter’s tape.

 

4) Spirit Level

It is best to use a digital level, but both long and short bubble levels can be useful too. Use your level to make sure that your loudspeakers are on an even plane and to find an even rake and azimuth angle for your speakers. It will also help to ensure that all of your components and equipment are level.

 

5) Laser Pointer

A laser pointer will make it easy to determine if your speakers are set to equal heights. It will also help to identify the sweet spot for your system and allow you to keep track of movements relative to the listening seat.

 

 

6) Speaker-Specific Tools

These tools should have been supplied with the speakers themselves to aid in set up. Some tools may include— a spanner for locking spikes, a pry-bar for adjusting spikes, or chocks.

 

 

7) Air Wedge (optional)

If working alone, an air wedge (typically used to position doors or windows) will help you lift speakers safely, one side at a time. You should also be aware that many speakers are heavy and moving them should be undertaken only with great care and sufficient manpower for the task. Struggling to move a large speaker on your own could result in serious injury! An extra pair of hands (and ears) will make adjustments much easier, more precise, and safer too.

 

Now that you have all the equipment handy, you’re ready to get started! To figure out which set-up method works best for you, and to learn other essential tips, download our Speaker Set-Up Guide!

 


    Download the Nordost Speaker Set-Up Guide


 

Nordost Customer Testimonial

Nordost is always thrilled to receive and share glowing reviews from journalists and experts in the industry. However, when we get testimonials from our devoted and satisfied customers, it means that much more!

Thank you to James from Ontario, Canada for sharing how he became a loyal Nordost convert!


“I am an avid home cinema and audio enthusiast. I have tried many types of cables over the years, large commercial brands, generic brands, and boutique brands. I largely used another big name company’s products, since they were easily accessible in my area, always wanting to try Nordost. A recent amplifier purchase found me at a Nordost dealer a drive away—I could not resist the rare opportunity to try Nordost cables in my system. I figured I would start with a Blue Heaven Power Cable for this amplifier, and it did not disappoint. I have used that same amp with cables costing 10x to 60x more, and they did not have nearly the impact as this Blue Heaven cable did. In fact, the performance immediately drove me to purchase more Nordost Blue Heaven cables. I now have speaker, HDMI, digital and multiple power cables. My streaming system has Purple Flare Power Cables and Blue Heaven Digital Cables. How is it possible that cables in these price points can outshine reference products from another company I asked myself? Needless to say, I have converted most of my cables to Nordost and am working on the remainder. I am extremely pleased with the performance and am now left wanting more, always wondering what I am missing by not moving deeper into the product line. I will not use anything but Nordost moving forward, and look forward to expanding my cable investment in the near future. Even if I need to make a four-hour-long round trip to get them! Hopefully, I will soon be into the Frey 2 or Valhalla 2 product offerings. Potentially upgrading some of the Blue Heaven cables in the system now.”


James is a happy customer of Audio Eden.  His system is wired with Purple Flare and Blue Heaven cables.


Visit our Customer Testimonials page to see what more users like James have to say!

What’s your Nordost story?

 

Introducing the Valhalla 2 Tonearm Cable +

The most precious information being passed through a hifi system is the delicate signal carried from the phono cartridge to the phono stage input. In order to maximize the performance of an analog system, every aspect of your tonearm cable, including the conductor layout, quality of connectors, versatility in termination, and grounding capabilities, must be entirely optimized for its application. Our newly redesigned Valhalla 2 Tonearm Cable + is the only cable on the market to excel at every one of these important design aspects, exceeding the performance requirements that high-quality analog replay requires.

The Nordost Valhalla 2 Tonearm Cable + uses four, silver-plated, solid core 99.999999% OFC conductors, arranged in a twisted pair design to create a left and right channel. Both channels are then individually wrapped in a silver, braided shield, eliminating inter-channel cross-talk. In order to dramatically increase its signal speed, and expand the cable’s bandwidth capabilities, these conductors implement Nordost’s proprietary Dual Mono-Filament technology, reducing insulation contact by 85%. A separately shielded, silver-plated bond wire, wrapped in Micro Mono-Filament, is then incorporated to enhance performance and minimize the noise level.

The largest hurdle to overcome in tonearm construction is noise. Providing proper and complete grounding has historically been a challenging feat, given the overwhelming combinations of ground options available between the turntable and phono stages. In order to address this problem, we have designed the most versatile solution on the market, including two, detachable, silver-plated ground whips, complete with Micro Mono-Filament technology. When needed, these ground whips connect to the cable’s shielding, totally eliminating any noise that could be introduced during signal transfer, regardless of the unique construction of the components being used in the sound system.

As with all Valhalla 2 cables, the Tonearm Cable + is cut to mechanically tuned lengths. This technique reduces the internal microphony and high-frequency impedance resonances of the cable. The V2 Tonearm Cable + is then terminated with our proprietary HOLO:PLUG® Straight or 90० low-mass 5-pin Din, RCA, or XLR connectors, which have been specifically designed to accommodate the cable’s unique design.

The Valhalla 2 Tonearm Cable + is handmade in the USA, ensuring the highest level of production quality and precision, which is necessary when manufacturing the most crucial signal cable in a sound system. This reference level tonearm cable delivers these very delicate signals seamlessly, while eliminating noise from the signal chain.


Suggested retail price is $4,999.99 USD for a 1.25 meter length. Additional half meter increments are $625.00 USD.


 

Nordost at High End 2019 in Munich — Recap

High End in Munich was a resounding success for Nordost. This show was the perfect opportunity to impress a captivated audience of distributors, dealers, and end users with three new, innovative products: the QPOINT Resonance Synchronizer, the QSOURCE Linear Power Supply, and the Valhalla 2 Tonearm Cable +.

In addition to the excitement in the Nordost room, we were asked to be a part of eight other first-rate systems throughout the show by some of the most respected manufacturers in the industry. Here is a taste of those systems, each wired with Nordost Cables.


In the Nordost room, Bjorn Bengtsson and the rest of our team gave demonstrations of the new QPOINT and QSOURCE in a system wired with Valhalla 2 cables and featuring VPI’s new HW-40 Direct Drive turntable and YG Acoustics’ Hailey 2.2 loudspeakers.  


dCS, Wilson Audio, and Dan D’Agostino’s incredible system featured our Valhalla 2 cables:


KEF, Hegel, and Arcam’s system was wired with our Frey 2 and Tyr 2 cables: 


Constellation and Magico used our Supereme Reference Odin 2 cables to bring their sound to the highest level:


MOON and Dynaudio’s system was wired with Tyr 2 cables, (and Heimdall 2 Ethernet Cables):


CH Precision, TechDAS, and VIVID Audio wired their amazing system with Odin 2 cables, and grounded it with QKORE!


Audio Physic used our Norse 2 Power Cords and QRT Power Products to round out their system:


Gershman Acoustics, VTL, and The Wand’s system sounded tremendous with our Valhalla 2 cables: 

Introducing the QPOINT Resonance Synchronizer

A complete sound system is the result of several factors working together in harmony to produce a cohesive, pleasing, and authentic representation of sound. As audiophiles, we are accustomed to examining how several factors, including components, cabling, power, vibration control, etc. work together in order to create the “best sound” possible. However, there is an element present in every system that has been chronically neglected until now: electromechanical resonance.

Every component in a sound system has several individually resonating parts within them. When these electromechanical resonances oscillate concurrently, but not in unison, these discordant vibrations become a source of electrical noise, resulting in smeared, muddy sound. At the High End show in Munich, happening now, we are previewing an exciting new product which solves this exact problem.  The QPOINT eliminates this internal electrical noise, enhancing the coherency and timing that is typically lacking in even the most high-end audio systems.

The QPOINT is the latest development in QRT technology. The QPOINT Resonance Synchronizer emits a subtle field which manipulates all electromechanical resonances within its immediate proximity so that they resonate in unison with each other. In order to accommodate its effects to all of the various electronics in the industry, including but not limited to solid state or tube amplifiers, digital or analog source components, traditional line stages or modern digital processors, and even to tailor results to the personal preferences of the user, the QPOINT has been designed with two modes. Mode I and II each generate unique resonances, which emphasize different musical characteristics as they lower the noise floor. Users can switch from Mode I to Mode II instantaneously to evaluate which sonic properties fit the needs of each unique electronic device in their hi-fi system.

Nordost’s QPOINT Resonance Synchronizer ensures your electronics are all working in concert, in order to enhance the coherency, articulation, and musical structure of your system.

The QPOINT will be available at select Nordost dealers, worldwide, this summer.


Suggested retail price: $749.99 USD


 

Industry Advocate: Eleanor McEvoy

For more than a quarter of a century, Nordost has been renowned for the quality of our products, and the effect that they have on music reproduction. Using Nordost allows listeners to experience music the way it was intended – unrestrained, unfiltered, true.  So it should be no surprise that when high fidelity is the goal, Nordost is who you come to for your cabling needs. For professionals in the audio industry, this is no different. Over the years, Nordost has worked with innovative manufacturers, talented artists, and celebrated recording engineers, who all trust Nordost to bring their finished products to the next level.


A longtime Nordost advocate is Eleanor McEvoy. Eleanor is an award winning, Dublin-based singer/songwriter. She got her start at a young age, as both a pianist and violinist. Graduating from Trinity College with an Honors Degree in music, she was accepted into the RTÉ National Symphony where she concentrated on songwriting. Her break-out hit was the highly celebrated, lead single, and title-track off of “Only a Woman’s Heart”, the top-selling Irish album of all time. Eleanor McEvoy is very well regarded in the hifi community, and is recognized as releasing the world’s first ever SACD single, “Did I Hurt You” from the album “Yola”, which is regarded as the industry standard and is used to test high end products. Eleanor’s list of work includes: What’s Following Me?, Snapshots, Yola, Early Hours, Out There, Love Must Be Tough, Singled Out, I’d Rather Go Blonde, Alone, If You Leave, STUFF, and Naked Music. She is currently working on a new project, which will be an in-studio, live album, recorded using Nordost cables.

What does Eleanor have to say about Nordost?

“I love the clarity of sound I get with Nordost. As a singer songwriter, it’s so important to me that listeners can hear my song lyrics clearly. Capturing the best vocal possible is my highest priority in the studio. Hearing back vocals that I’ve recorded on Nordost cables I know I’m getting the highest possible sound quality.

My partner is a sound designer, so he’s particularly meticulous about sound quality. He’s constantly re-wiring the various systems in the house. It’s a good opportunity to try out different leads, amps, etc. Again and again we come back to Nordost on all the systems.”


Eleanor is a proud user of several Nordost products including Heimdall 2, Blue Heaven, Ax Angel, and QRT.

For more information about Eleanor, where to buy her albums, and to learn about her upcoming tour dates, visit www.eleanormcevoy.com

Nordost Playlist – May 2019


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.


You can now listen to our monthly playlist here:  TIDAL  |  SPOTIFY


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


  1. Cellophane—FKA twigs—Cellophane
  2. I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free—Wynton Marsalis Septet, Susan Tedeschi, Derek Truc, I Wish I Knew How It Was To Be Free
  3. Fancy Man—Devendra Banhart—Ape in Pink Marble
  4. Miss Simone—Sara Bareilles—Amidst the Chaos
  5. Nothing Sacred/All Things Wild—Kevin Morby—Oh My God
  6. Lights—SOHN—Tremors
  7. Walden Pond—Atta Boy—Out of Sorts
  8. Northwest Passage—Stan Rogers—Northwest Passage
  9. Top of the World—Kimbra—Primal Heart
  10. Oh My Love—Riz Ortolani, Katyna Ranieri—Oh My Love