Nordost’s new QNET Stand is the perfect accessory for our QNET Network Switch. The QNET Stand allows you to maximize the performance of your QNET by supporting it with our award-winning Sort Kones. While the QNET has been designed to be the quietest Network Switch available on the market (a designation which is supported by the rave reviews it has received), it is still an electrical component. As such, improvements can be made!
Nordost’s Network Switch has a uniquely intricate and sensitive design, comprised of almost 200 components! Each of these components introduce their own micro vibrations which, when combined, have an impact on noise. As audiophiles, we strive for perfection. That’s where Nordost’s QNET Stand comes into play. In combining the QNET, QNET Stand, and Nordost Sort Kones, you will be able to achieve a virtually noiseless digital experience, separating the music from its background.
Over the past two decades, the way in which people listen to music has evolved tremendously. Today, even the most discerning of audiophiles have embraced digital sources into their systems. However, in some cases, this adoption has moved faster than the technology, forcing users to integrate non-audio-grade components into highly specialized systems. This is especially true with standard network switches, designed to be used with TVs or computers, which introduce noise, cross-contamination, and interference into your hifi system.
The QNET is a layer-2, five-port Ethernet switch that has been specifically designed with audio performance in mind.
Compared to other audiophile network switches currently found on the market, which are typically standard switches with a simple upgrade to either the power supply or oscillators, the QNET is completely redesigned from the ground up. Every aspect of this product, from part to placement, was made to perfect the transmission and receival of high-speed audio signals, while achieving extremely low noise operation.
Internally, the QNET uses a high speed, multi-layered, impedance-controlled layout, which optimizes signal routes, minimizing reflections, interference, and crosstalk. It also boasts an extremely low-noise, stable oscillator for the main clock of the device, which allows for minimal jitter and phase noise. It is equipped with six dedicated power supplies, which provide unencumbered current to all parts of the switch, while minimizing noise cross-contamination and ensuring clean, interference-free operation.
Externally, the QNET is manufactured using an extremely durable aluminum housing. This housing not only acts as a heat sink and shield for the device, but also provides physical separation for the five, independent ports, each accommodating an 8P8C (RJ45) connector. The physical separation of each of these ports is a critical and unique design element, ensuring minimal crosstalk and interference within the device.
Each port on the QNET is optimized for its application. Three of the five ports are auto-negotiated 1000BASE-T (1 Gbps) capable, which should be used for the router and other generic network devices. The remaining two ports are fixed to 100BASE-TX (100 Mbps), a speed at which internal noise reduction is possible, making these ports best used for primary audio servers/players or external media sources.
The QNET is provided with its own DC power supply. However, to achieve the best results, the QNET should be powered by Nordost’s QSOURCE Linear Power Supply and connected with Nordost’s award-winning Ethernet Cables.
Whether you stream music and/or video from a local server, a NAS drive, or from the internet, upgrading your digitally-run system with Nordost’s QNET will make all the difference. This premium network switch will deliver enviable dynamic range, extension, and clarity to your system. As a result, the voices and instruments in your music will stand out against a surprisingly black background, giving you the fluid, life-like performance that you are looking for from your digital experience.
Nordost is excited to introduce its innovative, new Supreme Reference range, Odin Gold. Odin Gold achieves the unthinkable, eclipsing Odin 2. While Odin 2 will continue to remain available, as a beacon of audio prowess throughout the industry, Odin Gold is now taking its place at the apex of Nordost offerings, as the new flagship line.
Odin Gold advances the revolutionary technology generated throughout the development of the Odin 2 range, and improves upon its elemental composition. With this new preeminent cable range comes the introduction of a new material to Nordost’s award-winning design philosophy. One whose stability, conductivity, and tolerance yields transformative, never before experienced enhancements to performance. That material is gold.
The Odin Gold range of audio cables includes the most prestigious array of power cords, analog interconnects, tonearm cables, and loudspeaker cables available in the high end consumer audio industry. Each of these state-of-the-art products boasts the highest quality materials on the market, alongside the full breadth of Nordost’s technological advances, innovative manufacturing techniques, and revolutionary, proprietary materials.
Audiophiles familiar with Nordost will recognize these design features from their highly celebrated predecessor, Odin 2 – features such as Dual Mono-Filament technology, mechanically tuned lengths, Total Signal Control, and Holo:Plug® connectors. However, the influence of these design elements, in concert with the audible effects of gold-plated conductors, shielding, and connectors, provides a hyper-realistic audio experience that has to be heard to be truly appreciated.
Nordost’s Odin Gold audio cables are a revelation to the highest echelon of two-channel systems available in the audio world, producing a realism in playback that erases any confounds of an audio system, leaving you, for the first time, enveloped by the music itself.
Attendees of The Hong Kong High End Audio Visual Show were the first to preview Odin Gold. The show served as the start of a year-long rollout period, during which this exceptional product will be introduced to audiophiles around the world. To experience your reference audio system as it has never been heard before, elite customers will soon be invited to schedule personalized Odin Gold auditions led by Nordost’s most exclusive Supreme Reference dealers.
Nordost’s new QRT Stand Mount is the perfect accessory for our QBASE Mark II AC Distribution Unit and QSOURCE Linear Power Supply, offering several stable new ways to place your QRT products for both sonic improvements as well as convenience! With the QRT Stand Mount, you will be able to easily support your device with Sort Kones (draining it of vibration with greater stability than ever before), mount it to the wall, or simply lift it, providing extra stability. The Stand Mount was designed with your ease in mind, and can be integrated into any system that already uses our QBASE Mark II or QSOURCE.
Audiophiles who have an appreciation for classic, two-channel systems understand the importance of a high-end tonearm cable. The tonearm cable is the most critical and sensitive cable in any vinyl-sourced system. This is especially true in revealing reference systems. The delicate signals carried from the phono cartridge to the phono stage demand that every aspect of the cable’s design, material, and construction be entirely optimized for its application. The newly released Odin 2 Tonearm Cable + is the perfect solution for such critical demands.
Nordost’s Odin 2 Tonearm Cable + consists of four, silver-plated, solid core 99.999999% OFC conductors, wrapped in a patented Dual Mono-Filament suspension. This innovative and proprietary design element dramatically increases signal speed and reduces insulation contact by 85%. The conductors are then individually shielded using Nordost’s unique Total Signal Control (TSC) technology, allowing for 100% coverage and protection from external pollution (such as RFI and EFI) and crosstalk.
The largest hurdle to overcome in tonearm construction is noise. Providing proper and complete grounding has historically been a challenging feat. Nordost’s O2 Tonearm Cable + easily tackles this problem with a two-prong approach. Firstly, Nordost’s new tonearm cable runs a fully isolated bond ground throughout the cable. When needed, this bond ground connects the chassis of the turntable and phono-stage, creating a secure, low noise connection between the two components. The second method is a versatile solution, ensuring that Nordost’s tonearm cable will be able to address any grounding need, regardless of the unique construction of the components in the sound system. Each Odin 2 Tonearm Cable + will include two, detachable, silver-plated ground whips, complete with Dual Mono-Filament technology and TSC shielding. When needed, these ground whips connect to the shielding of the tonearm cable, totally eliminating any noise that could be introduced during signal transfer.
As with all cables in our Supreme Reference Range, the Odin 2 Tonearm Cable + is measured to precise mechanically tuned lengths, a technique that reduces internal microphony and high-frequency impedance resonances. The O2 Tonearm Cable + is then terminated with Nordost’s proprietary HOLO:PLUG® Straight or 90º low-mass 5-pin Din, RCA, or XLR connectors, which have been specifically designed to accommodate the cable’s unique design.
The Odin 2 Tonearm Cable + is handmade in the USA, offering the highest level of production quality and precision, which is necessary when manufacturing the most crucial signal cable in a sound system. Nordost’s Supreme Reference-level tonearm cable eliminates noise and provides the low levels of capacitance needed to maintain the integrity of such fragile signals, ensuring a truly sublime vinyl listening experience.
SPECIFICATIONS:
Insulation: High purity extruded Fluorinated Ethylene Propylene (FEP)
Conductors: 4 x 23 AWG
Construction: Mechanically tuned lay, length and Dual Mono-Filament, TSC design
Termination: HOLO:PLUG® gold-plated Straight or 90० low-mass 5-pin Din, RCA, or XLR connectors. Whips and bond wire terminated with gold-plated 5mm spades.
High end, two-channel audio systems have gone through a major transformation over the past decade. Systems that were once driven exclusively by vinyl and CDs are now largely run by content stored on NAS drives and servers. In order to ensure that audiophiles can enjoy the ease of streaming music without having to concede the fidelity that they deserve, it is necessary to employ an Ethernet cable worthy of facilitating that transfer. Nordost’s Valhalla 2 Ethernet Cable allows music lovers to fully incorporate digital music storage and streaming into their reference audio systems, while maintaining, and even improving upon, their musical performance.
In order to meet the increasing demand for high speed data and increased bandwidth, the Valhalla 2 Ethernet Cable has the advantage of eight, 23 AWG, solid core conductors wrapped in a high density polymer insulation. These annealed conductors are arranged into four twisted pairs before being triple-shielded. Each of these design aspects minimizes skin effect, eliminates crosstalk and EMI (electromagnetic interference), and ensures a high performance network cable, offering far more bandwidth than is needed for the typical data demands of today.
To further distinguish the V2 Ethernet Cable from its competitors, Nordost has implemented its unique mechanical tuning process. By meticulously cutting each conductor at calculated and equal lengths, Nordost reduces internal microphony and high frequency resonance. The precise cut of each conductor, at a length which is determined by the cable’s geometry, material, and application, guarantees the uniform arrival of all signals, dramatically reducing timing errors.
To complete this reference design, the Valhalla 2 Cable is terminated with a completely specialized, gold-plated 8P8C/RJ45 connector, designed to resist ESD (electrostatic discharge) and optimized for mechanical reliability. The resulting cable supports frequencies and transmission speeds that easily meet Category 8 requirements.
The Valhalla 2 Ethernet Cable is designed, manufactured, and terminated in the USA. Each cable is constructed with precision, consistency, and quality fabrication, providing a massive improvement over standard issue, mass-produced, low precision Ethernet cables.
SPECIFICATIONS
• 8 X 23 AWG Solid Core Conductors • Twisted Pair Design • Triple-shielded: Screen foil and Dual Braid • Mechanically tuned lengths • High density polymer insulation • Specialized EMI and ESD resistant gold-plated 8P8C/RJ45 connectors • Extremely high bandwidth
Nordost’s QKORE Wire is the final piece to the grounding puzzle when it comes to Nordost’s comprehensive parallel grounding system, the QKORE. Originally introduced alongside the QKORE in 2017, the complementary QKORE Wire provides the path of least resistance to ground for the stray, high-frequency, low-voltage potentials that negatively impact the performance of your sound system.
While one of the design directives of the QKORE Wire was
to facilitate the transfer of extremely low voltages from
electronics to the Ground Unit, another highly important
(and an often overlooked) aspect that this component
brings to the grounding system is mechanical benefits. In
order to even further advance the already staggering
enhancements that the QKORE brings to two-channel hifi
systems, Nordost has decided to introduce the Premium
QKORE Wire.
Nordost’s new Premium QKORE Wire is a mechanically tuned cable that utilizes Nordost’s patented Micro Mono-Filament technology, combined with extruded FEP insulation, and constructed with a 14 AWG, silver-plated OFC, solid core conductor. The augmentation made in its design allows for increased functionality of the QKORE grounding system, with an even quieter background, and therefore the ability to deliver a more full and realistic soundstage.
In order to accommodate the vast majority of components
that could exist in any one hifi system, the QKORE Wire is
available with the following termination options: spade,
banana, male-XLR, female-XLR, BNC, RCA, USB-A, USB-B,
and RJ45.
Nordost’s QKORE ground units are transformative,
imparting a quietness to your system’s background that
allows them to increase the transparency and detail of the
music. Now, with the Premium QKORE Wire, you are not
only completing the QKORE ground system, but giving it a
meaningful upgrade that brings a whole new level of
vivacity and veracity to every performance.
When Nordost first released its QSOURCE Linear Power Supply, an innovative solution designed to optimize the performance of DC-powered audio components, its complementary QSOURCE DC Cable was released simultaneously. This DC power cord makes the connection between the QSOURCE and DC-run audio components, completing the transmission chain and delivering them stable, clean power. While using the QSOURCE to power audio components such as switches, routers, servers, phono stages, DACs, and NAS drives already makes a substantial sonic improvement to sound systems, there is one final upgrade that will even further elevate the performance of DC-powered components: The Premium QSOURCE DC Cable.
Nordost has always maintained that power cords are the most important cables, and most common choke-point, in high-end audio systems. The music enjoyed from your hi-fi system is little more than the transfer of raw electricity to components which, in turn, reproduce sound. In order to incrementally improve upon this musical reproduction, Nordost offers a wide range of AC power cords. However, AC power is not the only current that demands attention.
Whether running on AC or DC power, the caliber of power cord used with components directly determines their performance level.
Nordost’s Premium DC cable uses 2 x 18 AWG, silver-plated, solid core OFC conductors, which have been arranged in a twisted pair construction. This geometry helps to eliminate noise within the cable. However, to further safeguard from RFI and EMI, the conductors are protected by a braided shield. Additionally, the Premium QSOURCE DC Cable, uses Nordost’s Micro Mono-Filament technology in order to increase signal speeds by introducing an air-dielectric to the cable design.
The Premium QSOURCE DC Cable is available with several termination options. It can be constructed with LEMO connectors on both ends, for use with the QPOINT Resonance Synchronizer. It can also be terminated from LEMO to either “5.5mm x 2.1mm” or “5.5mm x 2.5mm” DC connectors, in order to accommodate any other DC-run components in a system. The Premium QSOURCE DC Cable is the perfect upgrade to enhance DC-powered audio components, unleashing your equipment’s full potential.
The tonearm cable is the most critical and sensitive cable in any vinyl-sourced hifi system. The delicate signals generated by pick-up cartridges in these systems demand purpose-built, low-capacitance cables, in order to protect from signal loss and image smearing. However, to truly get the most from a tonearm cable, proper attention must be paid to grounding as well. Without proper grounding, the noise that could be picked up could render a system virtually unlistenable. To combat this, Nordost’s new Tonearm Cable + redesign optimizes every aspect of tonearm cable construction, from conductor layout and shielding to grounding capability, in order to ensure the fidelity of signal transfer and reveal subtle musical nuances, while completely eliminating noise from the signal chain. Nordost’s Blue Heaven, Heimdall 2, Frey 2, and Tyr 2 Tonearm Cable + provide the best analog connection for every system, no matter the price-point.
The design for Nordost’s new line of tonearm cables comes directly from the recent Valahalla 2 tonearm cable redesign. As with the V2 Tonearm Cable +, which was released in the summer of 2019, Nordost’s new tonearm cables are constructed using four, silver-plated, solid core OFC conductors, arranged in a twisted pair design. Using a twisted pair design on its own naturally helps to minimize noise. However, Nordost now goes the extra mile, separately wrapping the left and right channels with silver, braided shielding, in order to completely eliminate inter-channel cross-talk.
One signature trait that all Nordost cables share is extremely fast signal transfer speed. We achieve this, in part, by implementing our patented Mono-Filament technology. This technology is found in our new Tonearm Cable + designs, starting with the Heimdall 2 Tonearm Cable +. This requires each conductor to be intricately and uniformly wrapped in either a single “Micro” strand or two twisted “Dual” strands of FEP Mono-Filament, before being encased in an extruded layer of high-quality FEP. By using this technology, insulation contact with the conductors is reduced by 80% or 85%, respectively.
The most exciting feature found in all of Nordost’s new tonearm cables comes in the form of a new, comprehensive grounding solution. This two-part design is guaranteed to provide proper and complete grounding, offering a solution for every combination of components and connections found between all the different turntables and phono stages on the market. Part one is a completely isolated, silver-plated bond wire. This bond wire is wrapped in Micro Mono-Filament before being extruded in FEP insulation and separately shielded within the cable jacket. Part two consists of two, detachable, silver-plated ground whips, complete with Micro Mono-Filament technology, which are included with each cable. When needed, these ground whips connect to the cable’s shielding, totally eliminating any noise that could be introduced during signal transfer.
Each Tonearm Cable + is available with straight or 90० low-mass MoonGlo® 5-pin Din, RCA, or XLR terminations. All ground whips and bond wires are terminated with gold-plated 5mm spades. Like all Nordost cables, the Blue Heaven, Heimdall 2, Frey 2, and Tyr 2 Tonearm Cable + are handmade in the USA, ensuring a superior level of production quality and precision– all necessary requirements when manufacturing the most crucial signal cables in a sound system.
After its sneak peek at HIGH END in Munich this past spring, we are happy to announce the official launch of the highly anticipated QSOURCE Linear Power Supply, now available at Nordost dealers, worldwide.
External switch-mode power supplies have become a standard within the audio industry, provided with products ranging from music servers and Network switches to DC DACs and phono stages, and everything in between. While these power supplies may be efficient and convenient, they are unquestionably lacking in terms of audio fidelity. Generic power supplies regulate output voltage through a pulse width modulation (PWM) switching process, which generates high noise output levels that inevitably find their way into the audio reproduction chain. Nordost’s new QSOURCE is the first Linear Power Supply designed specifically for hi-fi audio applications, guaranteed to enhance the audio imagery of a sound system by improving sonic articulation, heightening dynamics, and expanding the sound stage.
The QSOURCE is a fanless Linear Power Supply that provides a stable, clean output of DC power at select voltages while maintaining extremely low noise levels. The QSOURCE uses a top-of-the-line transformer with a unique circuit design to convert AC to DC power while an internal QRT module removes electrical anomalies and noise artifacts from the line and smooths out the DC output, so that audio components are running on the highest quality DC power possible. From a sonic perspective, this clean power makes all the difference, providing excellent regulation, very low ripple, and outstanding transient response, allowing your components to achieve their peak performance.
While the QSOURCE was designed to enhance and power as many as four of Nordost’s new QPOINT Resonance Synchronizers, which subtly manipulate all electromechanical resonances in order to enhance the coherency and timing of components, it was conceived with versatility in mind. In addition to the four, 5V outputs designated for QPOINTs, the QSOURCE provides two outlets that can supply 9V, 12V, or 19V and 12V, 19V, or 24V respectively, which can be chosen to match the requirements of your electronics. To complete the transmission chain, Nordost has designed purpose-built QSOURCE DC Cables to fit the QPOINT and any other DC-run components in your system.
Whether using it in conjunction with the QPOINT, or as a standalone power supply for DC-dependent audio components, Nordost’s QSOURCE Linear Power Supply will bring new dimension to your sound system, allowing you to enjoy richer and more nuanced musical performances.
