Hi-Fi+ Reviews the QPOINT and QSOURCE

Posted on October 16, 2019 by Nordost

When the QPOINT Resonance Synchronizer and the QSOURCE Linear Power Supply were introduced to the public in Spring of this year, there was already a line of people waiting to get their hands on these innovative new products. The first in line was Alan Sircom. In his review, freshly published in Hi-Fi+, Alan describes his experience integrating both the QPOINT and the QSOURCE into his system. Sircom likens our new QRT products to the “cherry on top” of your system.

“The music sounds more ‘right’ and musicians sound more like they are playing together with QPoints in place…you tend to notice an increased sense of dynamic freedom to the sound.” – Alan Sircom, Hi-Fi+

Alan’s QPOINT and QSOURCE review is now available to read here: Nordost QPOINT harmonisers and QSOURCE power supply

You can find more great Nordost reviews on our Reviews Page.

Trade Shows — Fall 2019

Posted on October 10, 2019 by Nordost

Nordost’s Fall show season is in full-swing! Music lovers and audiophiles alike will have the opportunity to hear Nordost’s wide range of cable offerings, as well as our power products, and resonance control devices on world-class systems. These demonstrations are the best way to understand the dramatic upgrade that introducing a proper foundation can have on your sound system. This season, we will be focusing our presentations on some of the newest products in the Nordost arsenal, our critically acclaimed QPOINT Resonance Synchronizer and QSOURCE Linear Power Supply. We hope to see you at one of these great events around the world!

Autumn Pulse Show – Oslo

Join us at HøstPULS 2019 in Oslo, Norway, where Nordost product specialist Dennis Bonotto will be showcasing our new QPOINT Resonance Synchronizer and QSOURCE Linear Power Supply!

October 11th – 13th

Toronto Audio Fest 2019

Come and see Nordost at the Toronto Audio Fest! Please join us, October 18th – 20th, at The Westin Toronto Airport Hotel. Throughout the show, our sales representatives and product specialists, Bruno de Lorimier and Michael Taylor, will be performing live demonstrations and product comparisons, in the Balmoral room. The Toronto Audio Fest is a perfect opportunity to hear the effect that quality cables can have on a hifi system, and to determine how the caliber of performance is improved as enhancements are made to cable design. Admission is free to the public, so we hope to see you there!

Stereonet Hi-Fi Show 2019

“Australia’s greatest exhibition of Hi-Fi, Home Cinema, Headphones and Home Entertainment will take place in Melbourne, October 18th – 20th, 2019, showcasing both Australian and international hi-fi and home cinema brands in one place, across three great days.”

Join us to hear some great music with our new QPOINT Resonance Synchronizer and QSOURCE Linear Power Supply!

Paris Audio Video Show

Join us at the Paris Audio Video Show, alongside our tremendous French distributor, PPL!

October 19th–20th at the New Cap Event Center / Novotel Paris Tour Eiffel

UK Hi-Fi Show Live

Nordost will be at the UK hi-fi Show Live, supported by our UK Distributor, Renaissance Audio! We’ll be alongside VPI and MOON in rooms 308-310 at the Ascot Racecourse Grandstand. Join us October 26th and 27th.

Capital AudioFest

We will be joining our friends and partners at VPI to take Capital AudioFest by storm! You have never heard vinyl sound so good. If you are in the DC area, November 1-3, there is no better place to discover the latest in hifi and enjoy some fantastic sounding music.

Audio Video Show 2019 – Warsaw

Join us in Warsaw, Poland for the Audio Video Show, November 8th-10th! You can find us alongside our distributor Audio Center at the National Stadium (Stadium Narodowy) in Skybox 212, along with Moon and Monitor Audio. Hope to see you there!

Dealer Spotlight: Quebec Acoustique

Posted on October 9, 2019 by Nordost

By Bruno de Lorimier

Quebec Acoustique’s history goes back to 2001 when the owner, Richard Desjardins, an audio enthusiast with a computer programming background, asked himself, ‘’Why not turn my main hobby into my everyday job?’’ So, with that in mind, out of his own home in Blainville (just north of Montreal), Quebec Acoustique was founded. At the beginning, Richard’s business focus was mainly on Home Theater. He was one of the first to develop an online business selling projectors, AV receivers, speakers, and projector screens across Canada. With its growing success, office space and warehouse capacity became an issue, so the company moved to a larger location with a bigger warehouse in an industrial area. As a result, shipping logistics and efficiency were greatly improved. Furthermore, there was now room for a small showroom as well! Richard would now need some help. Luckily for him, he met Martin Pelletier, who had a strong background in Home Automation— a welcomed attribute in filling the new position. Not long after, William, Richard’s son, having a strong interest in Hi-Fi audio as well, joined the company. With his addition to the team, Quebec Acoustique’s fields of expertise now covered Home Theater, Home Automation, and Hi-Fi stereo systems!

A couple of years later, Quebec Acoustique’s team moved again into another new space, still in Blainville, with a much larger warehouse for stocking a large quantity of home automation gear. Thanks to this move, Quebec Acoustique is now able to offer multiple sound rooms that can offer more diverse demo possibilities. Today, Quebec Acoustique is composed of a team of seven awesome guys and consummate sales and installation professionals, whose dedication is to offer the best possible personal experience, customer service, and satisfaction.

Over the past 3 to 4 years, Quebec Acoustique has brought in many well-known audio and video brands including Nordost, Naim, Rega, Dynaudio, NAD Master, Monitor Audio, SVS and many more, offering a wide price range for their customers to choose from. The staff is conscious that every home theater, home automation, and hi-fi system requires good cabling. Before adding Nordost to their offerings, I was told that everyone on the Quebec Acoustique team was familiar with Nordost’s great reputation around the world, and was excited at the prospect of carrying such a prestigious brand of cables and accessories.

Here’s what Richard, the owner said: ‘’We believe that great business comes from both the dealer and the manufacturer, and with Nordost’s incredible professionalism and knowledge, we can’t wait to introduce their products to our beloved customers! We’re looking forward on having a great relationship with Nordost!’’ … And the feeling is mutual!

The whole team at Nordost is very pleased to welcome Quebec Acoustique to the family, and we look forward to a long-lasting relationship.

High Fidelity Reviews the QPOINT

Posted on October 3, 2019 by Nordost

Some reviews stand above the rest. That is exactly the case with Wojciech Pacuta’s article on the QPOINT in this month’s edition of High Fidelity magazine. In his review, he says that the QPOINT may be “one of the most valuable improvements to [a] system”. In reading this piece, you’ll get a detailed description of just what our Resonance Synchronizers bring to a system— including a deeper and more nuanced sound, and a treble that becomes fluid and better articulated.

“I treat the QPoint as a fully fledged device, as valuable as anti-vibration feet, a power strip, platforms, etc. These are not ‘additions’, but as important elements of the audio system as any other ones… it will appear that life is not possible without it. I have got used to it and to what it does to the sound of my player so fast and so strongly that I experienced physical pain when I was putting the device back into the box.” – Wojciech Pacuta, High Fidelity

It’s no wonder that Wojciech awarded the QPOINT the REDFingerprint Award!

You can now read Wojciech’s full review here: Nordost QPOINT — Resonance Synchronizer

You can find this review and more great Nordost reviews on our Reviews Page.

Nordost Playlist – October 2019

Posted on October 1, 2019 by Nordost

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 October.

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

Stay High—Brittany Howard—Jaime
Lean On Me—José James—Lean On Me
Nameless—Dominique Fils-Aimé—Nameless
I Used to Be Somebody—June Carter Cash—Press On
Holy Terrain—FKA twigs, Future—Holy Terrain
Walking in Memphis—Marc Cohn—Marc Cohn
New Favorite—Alison Krauss & Union Station—New Favorite
Honey and Smoke—Neko Case, k.d. lang, Laura Veirs—case/lang/veirs
Crazy—Bill Frisell—East/West
The Pure and the Damned—Oneohtrix Point Never, Iggy Pop—Good Time

Upcoming Dealer Events – Fall 2019

Posted on September 30, 2019 by Nordost

Nordost has a busy Fall ahead of us! We hope to see you at some of these great events.

Holm Audio Event

Holm Audio, just outside of Chicago, is the perfect place to spend an evening learning about your favorite hifi components and listening to great music. Don’t miss this special event at the Holm Audio showroom in Woodridge, October 3^rd from 4 to 9pm. Nordost will be there all night, performing demonstrations of our fantastic products, including the NEW QPOINT Resonance Synchronizer and QSOURCE Linear Power Supply.

Holm Audio

October 3^rd

4pm to 9pm

2050 West 75^th St Woodridge, IL

RSVP: (630) 663-1298 / info@holmaudio.com

JS Audio Event

Come and join us for a night of demonstrations, comparisons, and great music! JS Audio, in Bethesda, MD, is hosting an event Thursday, October 10th, from 5 to 9pm. Nordost will be there to present some amazing products and perform demonstrations of our new QPOINT and QSOURCE. These demos were recognized as the best demonstrations at this year’s Rocky Mountain Audio Fest by The Absolute Sound! We hope that everyone in the DC area will be there to join in for this fantastic opportunity to hear these products at their best!

JS Audio

October 10^th

5pm to 9om

4919 St. Elmo Ave Bethesda, MD 20814

RSVP: (301) 656-7020

Excel Audio Event

Excel Audio welcomes everyone in the Newport Beach area to a special hifi event, at their showroom on October 13th from 2-5pm. Join us for an afternoon of cable comparisons and product demonstrations, as Nordost’s Mike Marko, takes you through Nordost’s product line. Event attendees may even walk away with a free giveaway!

Excel Audio

October 13th

2pm to 5pm

4678 Campus Drive, Newport Beach, CA 92660

RSVP: (949) 933-1599 / mrose@excelaudio.us

Trek or Treat

Get into the holiday spirit with AV Therapy! We will be celebrating the best way we know how: great sounding music! Come and join us for a night of demonstrations, cable comparisons, and costumes at the AV Therapy showroom in Nashua, NH on October 25^th from 6:30 to 9:30pm. Since it’s Halloween, if you come to the event dressed to impress, Star Trek-themed or otherwise, you get a prize!

AV Therapy

October 25^th

6:30 to 9:30

216 Daniel Webster Highway Nashua, NH 03060

RSVP: (508) 888-9777

Absolute AV Fall Open House

We can’t wait to see you at Absolute AV’s Fall Open House, November 1^st and 2^nd in Calgary! This fantastic event will feature B&W’s Formation suite of products as well as Nordost’s new QRT products, the QPOINT Resonance Synchronizer and QSOURCE Linear Power Supply. Representatives from both B&W and Nordost will be in attendance throughout both days of the event, from 2pm to 8pm, to demonstrate this amazing gear for you. If you are in the Calgary area, make sure you take advantage of this exciting hifi event!

Absolute AV

November 1^st-2^nd

2 to 8pm

Unit #100 6303 Bowness Rd NW Calgary, AB T3B 0E6

Holm Audio Fall Event

Holm Audio is putting on another fabulous event at their showroom in Woodridge, IL. Come and join us on Tuesday, November 5th to hear how a first-rate system can transform the music you love! You don’t want to miss out on this opportunity to learn what our products have to offer your home audio system. A Nordost representative and product specialist will be on hand, performing demonstrations and answering questions throughout the night!

Holm Audio

November 5^th

4pm to 9pm

2050 West 75^th St Woodridge, IL

RSVP: (630) 663-1298 / info@holmaudio.com

3mA Presents Nordost, Audio Research, and Bowers & Wilkins

Get ready for a musical evening featuring your favorite brands! 3mA Audio is inviting you to an excellent event featuring components from Audio Research, Bowers & Wilkins, and, of course, Nordost. Join us for a night filled with new products, informative demonstrations, and music played at its best! If you are a hifi-enthusiast in the Houston area, this is an event you won’t want to miss.

3mA Audio

November 14^th

5pm to 9pm

1431 W. Alabama St. Houston, TX 77007

RSVP: (832) 530-4716 / sales@3maaudio.com

Soundings Event

Come and join us for a night of demonstrations, comparisons and great music! Soundings, in Denver, CO, is hosting a Nordost event November 14th, from 5-8pm. Nordost sales representative, Mike Marko, will be in attendance, giving guests an introduction to our line of hifi audio cables and power products, including our new QPOINT Resonance Synchronizer and QSOURCE Linear Power Supply. We hope that everyone in the area will be able to visit us to hear, firsthand, what our transformative products have to offer your home audio system.

Soundings

November 14^th

5pm to 8pm

8101 E. Belleview Ave Suite X-1 Denver, CO

RSVP: (303) 759-5505 / jess@soundingshifi.com

The Sound Environment Grand Opening – Kansas City

We are honored to join The Sound Environment at the Grand Opening of their new store in Kansas City! Come and see music done right in their incredible new showroom. To help celebrate, Nordost sales representative, Mike Marko, will be in attendance, giving guests an opportunity to see how our products can transform an audio system. Stop by on November 21^st between 11am and 8pm, for what is sure to be an exciting day!

The Sound Environment

November 21^st

11am to 8 pm

1611 Oak St. Kansas City, Mo

RSVP (402) 391-3842 / dane@soundenvironment.com

JS Audio Event

If you’re in the DC area, be sure to stop by JS Audio, Saturday, December 7th, for what is sure to be an amazing evening! Nordost’s representative and product specialist, Steve Greene, will be on hand performing demonstrations and answering questions. Take advantage of this opportunity to hear, first-hand, what providing a proper foundation to your sound system can do!

JS Audio

December 7^th

5pm to 9pm

4919 St. Elmo Ave. Bethesda, MD 20814

RSVP: (301) 656-7020

Industry Advocate: Raidho

Posted on September 25, 2019 by Nordost

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.

Raidho Acoustics’ loudspeakers push the boundaries of what is expected from hifi sound. Both the aesthetics and the sound of these exceptional speakers are meant to “wow” their listeners. For years, Raidho and Nordost have worked alongside each other at hifi shows around the world in order to produce award-winning sound, and show music lovers what genuine music reproduction can be. Now, that synergy is being taken to a new level! All of Raidho’s X/XT, C, and TD-Series speakers are made with Nordost’s Micro Mono-Filament Internal Wiring. In addition, all TD-Series loudspeakers have the option of being upgraded by wiring these models with our Dual Mono-Filament wiring.

We have collaborated with Nordost on numerous occasions, and when we were looking to optimize our new speakers even more, it was only natural for us to look further into strengthening that relationship.

We have auditioned numerous cables from a lot of other great manufacturers of cables in the process, and it all came out to Nordost being the optimal choice in our design. We wanted a presentation that was as open and transparent as possible without any compromise on dynamics or musicality, and we were impressed with the results we achieved.

– Ronni Pederson, Sales & Product Manager at Raidho Acoustics

Raidho uses:
Micro Mono-Filament Internal Wiring in the X/XT-Series, C-Series, and TD-Series
Dual Mono-Filament Internal Wiring option in the TD-series

www.raidho.dk

QSOURCE Linear Power Supply – Available Now!

Posted on September 23, 2019 by Nordost

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.

Nordost is Headed to the Toronto Audio Fest!

Posted on September 17, 2019 by Nordost

Come and see Nordost at the Toronto Audio Fest! Please join us, October 18th – 20th, at The Westin Toronto Airport Hotel. Throughout the show, our sales representatives and product specialists, Bruno de Lorimier and Michael Taylor, will be performing live demonstrations featuring our newest products, the QPOINT Resonance Synchronizer and the QSOURCE Linear Power Supply, in the Balmoral room. The Toronto Audio Fest is a perfect opportunity to hear the effect that quality cables can have on a hifi system, and to determine how the caliber of performance is improved as enhancements are made to cable design. Admission is free to the public, so we hope to see you there!

Toronto Audio Fest

October 18^th– 20^st

The Westin Toronto Airport Hotel

Toronto, Canada

www.torontoaudiofest.org

HIFI CRITIC Reviews Valhalla 2

Posted on September 12, 2019 by Nordost

Over the years, our Valhalla 2 range has captured the attention and praise of reviewers from the most highly respected publications in our field. Now, six years after its release, audiophiles are still shocked at the improvements V2 brings to their systems. In the most recent HIFI CRITIC issue, reviewer Andrew Harrison shares the transformation he experienced in upgrading his system from Valhalla to Valhalla 2 cabling:

“Valhalla 2 cables bring an extraordinary upgrade, addictively communicating the essence of music. The essential speed and transparency of Valhalla has been preserved, but with a more dynamic and tonally authentic sound in V2. It’s more colourful where required, and darker when not…” – Andrew Harrison.

Andrew was so impressed with our Valhalla 2 cables that he honored the range with the HIFI CRITIC Audio Excellence Award!

You can now read Andrew’s full review here: Nordost Valhalla V2