HiFi Choice Reviews the Heimdall 2 Headphone Cable

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We are pleased to share that our Heimdall 2 Heaphone Cable was recently named a HiFi Choice Recommended Product!  Neville Roberts gave the Heimdall 2 Headphone Cable a five-star rating, raving about its ability to raise levels of clarity and realism in music. Auditioning this cable with a pair of Sennheiser HD 800 S Headphones, Neville described the improvements for his Hifi Choice readers:

 

“I can hear more instruments playing and the sheer reality of the performance is spectacular; the imaging is noticeably improved and each individual player is more clearly identified. What is particularly interesting is that when I revert back to the Sennheiser cable, the sound from each instrument seems to be more blurred and overlaps into the sound from adjacent instruments.”

 

You can now read Neville’s full review here: Nordost Heimdall 2 Headphone Cable

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

 

Nordost Customer Testimonial

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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 John from Washington for sharing a little about his transformative experience with Nordost!

“I must say I was never a ‘high end’ cable believer. I set up my new system (all tube) first with cheap cables, then replaced them with the Nordost cables (power, all interconnects, speaker) and WOW, what a difference. I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t heard it for myself. Truly amazing. Even my wife was shocked at the difference. Keep up the great work!”

John is a happy customer of Music Direct.  His system is wired with Blue Heaven cables.

What’s your Nordost story?

Nordost Playlist – September 2018

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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 September.

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

  1. These Days—Nico—Chelsea Girl
  2. Loco in Acapulco—Four Tops—Indestructible
  3. What I Wouldn’t Do—A Fine Frenzy—Bomb In A Birdcage
  4. Under The Glow Of Streetlights—Xela—For Frosty Mornings And Summer Nights
  5. Sleepwalker-Demo Version—Emily King—The Switch (Delux Edition)
  6. Up In Hudson—Dirty Projectors—Dirty Projectors
  7. Homesickness—Emahoy Tsegué-Maryam Guébrou—Ethiopiques, vol. 21: Emahoy (Piano Solo)
  8. Holding Hands—The Magic Lantern—Holding Hands
  9. Wood—Rostam—Half-Light
  10. 2009—Mac Miller—Swimming

 

Nordost is headed to Rocky Mountain Audio Fest!

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Nordost has several exciting announcements for the upcoming Rocky Mountain Audio Festival! This year, RMAF will be held October 4-7 at the Denver Marriott Tech Center in Colorado. Nordost will be using the Humboldt Peak Room, as always, to showcase a stellar system, featuring components from CH Precision, DCS, and VPI, as well as YG Acoustic loudspeakers. The whole system will be wired using Nordost’s Supreme Reference range of Odin 2 cables, making it a world class set-up. Throughout the show, Nordost product trainer and sales manager, Mike Marko, will be holding live product demonstrations and cable comparisons, which will highlight our USB cables and QKORE Grounding Units. Nordost will also be hosting Roy Gregory, editor of The Audio Beat, for some turntable-centric seminars (Fri: 3 pm, Sat: noon, Sat: 3 pm, and Sun: noon). In his seminars, Roy will be touching on the importance of tonearm wiring (both internal and external), the use of mono cartridges to play mono discs, and the value of correct replay EQ, as well as looking at cartridge alignment and analog set up. You do not want to miss this invaluable workshop!

In addition to our Humboldt Peak location, Nordost will also be exhibiting at CANJAM with our friends and partners, Woo Audio, allowing show-goers the chance to experience the difference Nordost’s personal hifi cables make.  You can even demo our USB and headphone cables for yourself. Once you have heard the difference with your own ears, a select range of Nordost products will be available for purchase with exclusive show specials, both at CANJAM, as well as at our sales booth in the lobby.

Finally, Nordost is thrilled to announce that we will be sponsoring a truly unique opportunity to enjoy jazz music at its finest. Join us for an exclusive concert, one night only at the Rocky Mountain Audio Festival. Elan Mehler, from Newvelle Records, and his debut group, will be featuring music from the newly released “Piano Noir”, as well as never-before-heard works from prolific trumpeter, Dave Douglas. Elan and his group will be performing two shows only at the Hilton Garden Inn, across from the Denver Marriott Tech Center, on Saturday October 6, at 2 pm and 6:30 pm.

We can’t wait to see you all next month in Denver, for what is sure to be a fabulous show!

Special Event with Magico at Hanson Audio Video

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We’re partnering with Magico for an incredible night of music, demonstrations, and good times at Hanson Audio Video’s state-of-the-art Cincinnati location.  If you’re in the area, come join our very own Mike Marko, along with Peter from Magico, as they provide insight and answer questions about some truly transformative products.  — Thursday August 30th, from 5-9PM.


Thursday August 30th
5-9PM
Hanson Audio Video
10800 Montgomery Rd
Cincinnati OH 45242
(937) 469-1410
Contact – Josh Gwin josh.gwin@hansonav.com


Questions and Answers (August 2018)

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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:  Can I plug my mono amps, their preamp, and a separate integrated amp into one QB8? In other words, there would be two different systems connected to the same QB8 strip.  If yes, where should I plug in the monos vs the integrated?

A:  Theoretically, yes, you could have components from two different configurations plugged into one QB8. However, the QB8 was designed for a single system in terms of ground flow manipulation. If at all possible, you should try to find an alternative solution. Remember, there are current limitations in terms of what the electronics draw so you don’t blow the fuse.  Although pre-amps and source components have low current draw, the amps pull more. If you have three amplifiers plugged into a 15 amp QB8, and each pulls 5 amps, you can’t plug anything else into it.

Q: I have a Nordost Heimdall 2 digital RCA to RCA cable. Can I use it as an analog interconnect if I add one more of the same cable? Will this combination sonically be equal to a pair of Heimdall 2 Analog Interconnects?

A: If you need to, yes, a digital cable will pass an analog signal (although an analog cable will not pass a digital signal!). While the performance level would be close, in this application, an actual analog cable will sound better.

Q: Does Nordost offer a 3.0 USB cable? I noticed that the whole USB line is configured for USB 2.0.

A: Yes, our Frey 2 USB Cable is 3.0 compatible, and can be ordered with 3.0 terminations.

Q: What is the difference between the original Frey and the Frey 2 Analog Interconnect?

A: There are quite a lot of differences between Frey 1 and Frey 2. The conductor gauge went from 26 to 24, which by itself gives more “weight” or “body” to the sound.  The Frey 2 cables also went from using Mono-Filament to Dual Mono-filament technology which surrounds the conductor with even more air. The connectors went from WBT to Neutrik MoonGlo, which has far better emphasis on grounding. Lastly, we changed the conductors to an asymmetrical configuration.

 

Industry Advocate: Marc Urselli

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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.

Marc Urselli was introduced to Nordost through his work with jazz record label, Newvelle Records, and has been using Nordost cables ever since.  Marc is a 5-time nominated, 3-time Grammy Award winning sound engineer/producer based in New York City. While Marc is a freelancer who works at many studios across the world, when he is in New York, he operates primarily out of EastSide Sound studios, one of the oldest recording studios in the city, established in 1972 by Lou Holtzman and run today by Fran Cathcart. Marc has recorded and/or mixed a wide array of prominent artists including U2, the Foo Fighters, Lou Reed, Mike Patton, Nick Cave, Laurie Anderson, Sting, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, John Patitucci, Jack DeJohnette, Esperanza Spalding, Keith Richards, Buddy Guy, John Zorn and many others.

What does Marc have to say about Nordost?

“I was introduced to Nordost in 2017 through Newvelle Records, a high fidelity vinyl only record label for which I record and mix every album. I was initially skeptical about the fact that an audio cable might be able to make more than just a subtle difference in sound. When I got to test these cables I was blown away by how big the difference actually was. It wasn’t just a subtle thing that only an audio engineer or an audiophile would hear, but a clear improvement in the overall frequency response of the signal that EVERYONE can hear! Sound comes through without restriction, in its full, bold, rich and wide original state! More low end, more high end and more of EVERYTHING! I am not impressed easily but I was impressed that I could be that impressed! I now use Nordost cables at EastSide Sound for all of my projects.”

Mark chooses to use Nordost’s Pro Audio line, Ax Angel for all of his recordings.

For more information about Marc Urselli, visit www.marcurselli.com

 

The Evolution of HiFi: The Shearer Horn

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The audio industry is always evolving. To better appreciate the technology that we enjoy today, we are going to take a look at that evolution, and dive into a few of the influential products that have helped shape the hi-fi universe into what we know today.

The Shearer Horn

In the late 1920s, most theaters used oversized snail horns that would create a rough but functional sound for theatergoers. There was an obvious need for advancement with these aging speaker systems, and in the early 1930s audio aficionados got one: the Shearer Horn.

In 1933 John Hilliard, an acoustic engineer at MGM, started to collaborate with Jim Lansing of Lansing Manufacturing to design a speaker system that would change how people experienced audio. Douglas Shearer, the head of sound at MGM, caught wind of the project and put it into production immediately. The Shearer Horn was designed to be a new type of theater speaker which would replace the wide range speaker systems used in most movie theaters at the time. Due to their unique design properties, these speakers were revolutionary to the industry. Unlike big snail horns, which were used on wide range speakers, the Shearer Horn was built with a compression driver and a multicellular horn. Coupled with 15 inch cone speakers on either baffle, the overall efficiency of the Shearer Horn was staggering when compared to its predecessors.

The horn was first tested in the 5,000-seat Capitol Theater on Broadway.  After its stellar performance, the speaker system was then installed in twelve more theaters. Theater loudspeaker manufacturers soon adopted the Shearer Horn as the industry standard. In 1936 the Shearer Horn received a technical achievement award, which celebrates the accomplishments that contribute to the progress of the motion picture industry, from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.  The Shearer Horn started a new wave of thinking when it came to speakers, and surely the loudspeaker industry would not be where it is today without its development.

The Lansing Iconic high fidelity loudspeaker (1937) using the multicellular horn that was the form of the Shearer Horn.

 

Nordost Playlist – August 2018

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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 August.

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

  1. I’m Confessin’ (That I Love You)—Thelonious Monk—Solo Monk
  2. Trick Of The Light—The Raah Project—Score
  3. Hold On – Remastered 2010—John Lennon—Plastic Ono Band
  4. Miles Away—Phil Cook—People Are My Drug
  5. I Dream a Highway—Elan Mehler—The After Suite
  6. Kounkoun—Ounou Sangaré—Mogoya
  7. Cool Cat – Remastered 2011—Queen—Hot Space (2011 Remaster)
  8. Turn Your Lights On—Emanative, Ahu—Time
  9. Glue—Bernice—Puff: In The Air Without A Shape
  10. La Di Da—The Internet—Hive Mind