It is no industry secret that, when it comes to hi-fi, proper system set-up is nearly as important as the components in the system itself. One of the most integral elements of system set-up is speaker placement. However, once your loudspeakers are perfectly placed, that rarely means your set-up days are gone for good. A hi-fi system is an interconnected entity. Every change that you make to it, whether you upgrade amps, your rack, cables, or any other component, affects the sound, and as a result, adjustments to speaker placement must be made.

At Nordost we are in the business of making your sound system perform its absolute best. As a way of accomplishing that, for years we offered a system tuning and set-up disc.  Recently, we launched the System Solution. This revamped, two-disc set-up tool both improves and expands upon our initial product, offering more content and features, including a unique mix of diagnostic tracks, calibration tools, and system conditioning aids to help with every aspect of system set-up. As a supplement to our original set-up disc, we provided a wildly popular, and helpful “Speaker Placement Guide”. However, when we introduced the System Solution: Set-Up & Tuning Discs, we thought that an update to the guide was also in order!  

If you are familiar with Nordost’s original “Speaker Placement Guide”, you already know that it provides readers with instructions to execute several speaker placement methods widely-used by hi-fi dealers, professional audio installers, and manufacturers. Now, in the newly expanded “Speaker Set-Up Guide”, we have taken loudspeaker set-up even further — sharing our 6-Axis Approach to optimizing speaker positioning. This approach addresses the minor tweaks in fore and aft, sideways, and vertical positioning as well as toe-in, rake, and azimuth angles, which are crucial to accomplishing the ever-important finishing touches in speaker placement.

Whether you are setting up your system for the first time, need to re-tweak your speaker placement after making upgrades over the years, or simply want to fine-tune what you have, our new “Speaker Set-Up Guide” serves as the perfect manual to optimize your sound system.

Download the NEW Nordost Speaker Set-Up Guide today!

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!

Q: Do the new Set-Up discs include tracks for some sort of test tone or songs that help with subwoofer set up?

A: Yes, our newly upgraded, set-up and tuning discs offer a unique mix of diagnostic tracks, calibration tools, and system conditioning aids to help with every aspect of system set-up. In fact, there are a whole suite of sweeps and discrete tones to specifically address subwoofer set-up. You can find out more about the System Solution Set-Up & Tuning Discs on the Nordost website.

Q: I know that Nordost always stresses the importance of cable burn-in, but how many hours of break-in does the QK1 need to achieve its best performance?

A: Unlike cables, our QK1 and  QV2’s don’t need a lot of break-in time. Although, since the QK1 is a mechanical device, it does need a little more time than the QV2, which is an electronic device. While you can hear immediate audible changes as soon as they are plugged in, in general, these products need to be plugged in for about a week to achieve their intended performance levels.

Q: Which Nordost speaker cables are available in bi-wire?

A: Typically, Nordost speaker cables are not available in bi-wire. We recommend that you use our Norse Bi-Wire Jumpers for the speaker cables in our Norse and Leif ranges and our Reference Bi-Wire Jumpers for cables in our Reference and Supreme Reference Ranges. We also have customized Bi-Wire Jumpers in both our Valhalla 2 and Odin 2 ranges which are essentially extensions of the speaker cables, in order to ensure that there is an identical sonic signature running throughout your entire system. However, we do offer a bi-wire option in our 4-Flat and SuperFlatline Leifstyle cables.

Q: In the FAQ section it states that the QX2 and QX4 each have a “different focus”. So, is it possible to combine both products in one system?

A: Yes, in most systems you would start with a QX4 between the wall and the power distribution/QBASE (it’s ideal to use a QX4 unit in that position because it is stronger). Then you would add other units, either QX2s or QX4s, between the distribution block and the actual components.