We are excited to share our first review featuring our newly released QNET Network Switch. The results are in, and they confirm what we already knew: according to Hi-Fi+, “Nordost’s QNET is very much made of ‘The Right Stuff’”!
At the High End Show in Munich this past May, editor of Hi-Fi+, Alan Sircom, sat down for a QNET demo and was so blown away by its effects that he couldn’t help but write up a full review! Alan was able to try both the QNET alone, and with the QSOURCE as an upgrade, and was very impressed by both results, saying, “…the QNET on its own is a strong product in and of itself. I’d argue that even without the power supply, it is already in the top percentile audio-grade network switches. But as soon as you move from the plug-top power to the QSOURCE, there’s a jump to be had.” Alan praises the QNET for making his music more ‘believable’…more than any other network switch he has come upon, and states that it even caused him to rethink the order in which he recommends people upgrade their home network!
“Thanks to Nordost QNET, network audio just took a leap forward in listenability.” – Alan Sircom, Hi-Fi+
You can now see Alan’s QNET article on the Reviews Page of the Nordost website.
We’ve received some fantastic reviews and awards over the years for our products. When we get new reviews, we do our best to make sure that everyone knows. We spread the word through social media, blogs, emails, and tell anyone willing to listen! However, once the press starts piling up, and new products start to get their time in the spotlight, these amazing reviews can tend to be forgotten.
While you always have access to these great reviews, thanks to the Reviews Page on the Nordost website, we want to make sure that if you are considering an upgrade, or just want to learn more about a specific product, you can do so easily. So… let’s start with power cords!
This blog puts together some of our favorite power cord reviews, so that you can see all of these informative articles at once!
We are pleased to share another great, 5-Star, award-winning review from Hi-Fi Choice! Neville Roberts’ most recent Nordost review is a great example of what you can expect from introducing our Blue Heaven Interconnects into a sound system. As you will see when you read it, you can expect to hear nothing but positive changes!
“This interconnect offers superb detail, a full soundstage and really refined performances.” – Neville Roberts, Hi-Fi Choice
Nordost offers audio cables in multiple product ranges so that customers can find the perfect solution to fit their systems and budgets. “Step-up” reviews, like the series of tonearm cable reviews that StereoNET is conducting, offer a helpful way to better understand the improvements that are gained by moving up through our range of offerings.
In his latest review, StereoNET’s Jay Garrett focused on the Heimdall 2 Tonearm Cable +. Thanks to Jay’s previous review on the Blue Heaven Tonearm Cable +, he was able to make direct comparisons between the two cables and speak to the upgrades found between them.
In his article, Jay describes the Heimdall 2 Tonearm Cable + as “ …a definite step-up from what the Blue Heaven Tonearm Cable+ was capable of. With the Heimdall 2 Tonearm Cable+, the music appeared more immediate and distinctly layered while remaining remarkably cohesive.” Jay was so impressed with our Heimdall 2 Tonearm Cable + that he gave it StereoNETs Applause Award!
You can read Jay’s Heimdall 2 Tonearm + review in its entirety, HERE.
For this, and many more fantastic Nordost reviews, visit the Reviews Page on the Nordost website.
We have recently received two great reviews on our Reference-level, Valhalla 2 Ethernet Cable. The reviewers, Matej Isak from Mono & Stereo and Anthony Kershaw from Audiophilia, were so impressed with this transformative digital cable that BOTH publications presented our Ethernet Cable with awards— the Mono & Stereo Best Buy Award and the Audiophilia Star Component award! Here is what they had to say about this very decorated cable:
“Nordost Valhalla V2 Ethernet offered a different, clearer, and more focused imagery, sounding less like a mechanical pulsating narrative and more like a tenacious non embellished sonic momentum.” – Matej Isak, Mono & Stereo
“My time with all the Valhalla 2 cables was musically intensive, instructive and, at times, mind blowing from their wonderful effect on my system. A glorious set, echoed in the marvelous Nordost Valhalla 2 Ethernet Cable. If you have a musical, revealing setup with room and system synergy in place, I dare you to hear them in your system. Very highly recommended.” – Anthony Kershaw, Audiophilia
If you would like to read these reviews in their entirety, you can do so here:
With so many hifi solutions out there, it’s important to stand out. Historically, this has never been a problem for our Odin 2 Cables, and it looks like we still don’t have anything to worry about! Alan Sircom’s review of our newest Supreme Reference cable, the Odin 2 Tonearm Cable + is here and he was quite clear in his opinion when he wrote, “this is the best damn cable to hook a turntable to a phono stage. Ever”.
We couldn’t say it better ourselves!
Throughout his time auditioning this stellar tonearm lead, Alan was taken with the detail, dynamics and bass articulation that our Odin 2 Tonearm Cable + brought to his system, saying:
“By rights, this veteran format should have long since faded from view, but Odin 2 Tonearm Cable + reminds us why that simply never happens, because despite its on-paper inferiority to digital, when listening to an album now, it has a sense of dynamic shading and time-sensitivity that makes all digital seem a lifeless affair. There is verve and lust for musical life in those grooves, and Odin 2 Tonearm Cable + will dig it out!”
When we were contacted by Kermit Heartsong of AudioKey Reviews to audition our Sort Kones, we were thrilled to hear that after receiving our three Sort Kone models (AC, BC, and TC), Kermit decided that they were all so impressive that each one merited its own article! The first in this series of reviews is a fervent testimonial of the impact of our AC Sort Kones. In it, Heartsong insists that our Sort Kones be considered a new subcategory of audio component, akin to audio racks, that makes music more enjoyable and involving, and promotes a whole lot of “chair-dancing”.
Heartsong writes:
“The Nordost AC Sort Kones are far more than a tweak, and that to even consider them tweaks denies their stunning music-freeing abilities. We very highly recommend the Nordost Sort Kones as an amazing, stand-alone, portable rack system, that will allow one’s music to sing at a level above.”
At the end of his review, Heartsong dares readers to incorporate Sort Kones into their systems and then remove them, calling such an act impossible. To solidify his praise, Kermit has given our AC Sort Kones the AudioKey Reviews “High Nines” Award for exceptional price to performance ratio, mentioning that the Sort Kones represent the first ‘tweak’ to have ever received one of their awards!
We’re delighted to share a recent review which is especially helpful, since it looks at the QSOURCE as a product in its own right, and not just as an upgrade for the QPOINT (or QNET for that matter)!
In his review, Marshall Nack from Positive Feedback, describes the improvements in imaging, soundstaging, and presence that he experienced when connecting the QSOURCE to his network switch. He was impressed that the QSOURCE was able to “couple deep resolution, transparency, and relaxation”.
“To introduce intangibles like atmosphere and timbral finesse, along with tangibles like deep resolution and transparency out to the corners, you might consider the Nordost QSOURCE… the level of refinement the QSOURCE LPS brought exceeded my expectations; my quest for a Hi-End LPS ends here.” – Marshall Nack, Positive Feedback
Even though it’s a new year, we still have some great reviews to share with you from 2021! This articles spends some time on an often overlooked, but important upgrade. Marshall Nack takes readers through the process of trading up their QKOREs by swapping out our original QKORE Wire for the Premium QKORE Wire. According to Nack, the improvements were immediate and impressive.
“The major impact of the Premium QKORE wires is purity of the high frequencies. Secondary effects include increased image mass, a boost in dynamics, and dialing in focus. On the subjective side, there’s more drama and impact… If you’ve already invested in the Nordost QKORE solution, this one’s a no-brainer.” – Marshall Nack, Positive Feedback.
As another crazy year comes to a close, we can’t help but celebrate the success that we have enjoyed throughout 2021. We are very happy to share that over the past year, Nordost has been presented with awards from publications spanning the hifi industry in categories that include Best Products, Most Recommended, Star Components, Innovation Awards, and more!
As a company, Nordost strives to provide hifi enthusiasts with the means to bring life into an audio system in order to truly enjoy music as it was intended. We take a lot of pride in the audio cables, power products, and audio enhancers that we produce, so we are always honored to be recognized by reviewers, industry leaders, and prominent publications for our work. We thought that you might like to celebrate with us!
“The Blue Heaven certainly lives up to its manufacturer’s claims of offering accurate signal transfer at a relatively affordable price… with especially impressive detail and sound staging. Value-wise it punches well above its weight, so it is well worth auditioning.” – StereoNET
“The Norse 2 [Bi-Wire Jumper]…matches its task very well, offering all the refinement you would expect from a set of high-end cables and so is a sensible upgrade to the metal links fitted to so many speakers.” – Hi-Fi Choice
“The timing, transparency and resolution of the cables are astounding. So, while everything in the orchestra is laid clearly before you, the sheen and tactile effects from the V2’s design, construction and materials make every musical choice a delicious event. This is playback way beyond technique.” – Audiophilia
“For the last 30 years, Nordost has been at the zenith of cable design and development, and throughout that time it has stayed true to its core; producing low-mass cables with optimal signal transfer speed and ideal impedance matching.” – Hi-Fi+
“So, transparency, precision, purity, depth, texture, openness, expansiveness… Nordost’s Tyr 2 loom brings all of this and more to the listening experience. Yet as I wrap up these thoughts another word now pops to mind that perhaps best sums up my analogy between wine and audio: transformative.” – StereoNET
“The Nordost AC SORT KONES are far more than a tweak, and that to even consider them tweaks denies their stunning music-freeing abilities. ” – AudioKey Reviews
