The consumer electronics market is constantly evolving thanks to the development of new technologies as well as the shifting whims of customers. In the past five years the push towards personal audio has been overwhelming. What started out as an offshoot based on convenience, has morphed into an industry that has become a preference for many people. Audiophiles have launched into headfi with a great deal of fervor. These enthusiasts take the same care in customizing their personal audio set-up as they do their listening rooms. As music enthusiasts begin to amass personal audio gear, it is important to remember that whether sound is distributed by speaker or headphone, the fundamentals remain the same—foundation is paramount.

The Heimdall 2 Headphone Cable consists of 32 AWG 7/40 conductors which have been individually insulated and twisted using Litz construction. Litz construction increases the pliability, as well as eliminates triboelectric noise within the cable and improves upon mechanical damping. In order to accommodate the added durability demanded from headphone cables, Nordost has included an Aramid fiber strength member to the construction of this cable. Integrating Aramid fibers into the cable design not only ensures its mechanical integrity, transferring the strain away from the cable’s conductors and to the fibers themselves, but the resonating properties of aramid fibers also enhance sound quality.

To take things to the next level, the Heimdall 2 Headphone Cable employs Nordost’s proprietary Micro Mono-Filament technology with extruded FEP insulation around the conductors, as well as mechanically tuned lengths, which reduce internal microphony and high-frequency impedance resonance. As a result, the Heimdall 2 Headphone Cable acts as the ideal conduit to transfer an amazingly realistic reproduction of sound from your system to your hifi headphones.

The Heimdall 2 Headphone Cable is available with a variety of termination options that are compatible with all major players in the headphone market.  (Click HERE for a list of available terminations and their corresponding headphones.) Each cable is 2M and is terminated with a 4 pin balanced XLR male connector on the source end and also includes two adapters which are comprised of identical construction and technology as the headphone cable itself, and have also been cut to specific, mechanically tuned lengths. Both adaptors are terminated with a 4 pin balanced XLR female connector on one end and either a 3.5mm stereo mini or a 1/4in stereo phono on the opposite end.

Personal audio has revolutionized the world of hifi and allowed audiophiles to appreciate music in a whole new way. The advances made by leading headphone manufacturers as well manufacturers of amps, DACs and music players have made it possible to make hifi portable—so why disparage those gains with substandard headphone cables? Nordost’s Heimdall 2 Headphone Cable now enables you to enjoy the hi-fidelity sound quality that you have been craving from the personal audio market.

In today’s society it is of the utmost importance that our technology be completely mobile. Along with the rest of the tech industry, music has also been “mobilized”. However, many audiophiles are unwilling to sacrifice quality for the convenience that portable audio provides. But with the launch of Nordost’s new iKables, there are no more concessions—the LS Blue Heaven and Heimdall 2 iKables finally make it possible to enjoy hifi quality sound from all of your portable audio devices.

At their core, both the LS Blue Heaven and Heimdall 2 iKables are constructed from 4 silver plated solid-core 24 AWG OFC conductors and employ Nordost’s innovative precision FEP extrusion technology. This process greatly reduces the dielectric properties in the cables in order to increase signal speed and accuracy in signal transfer. This on its own makes a significant improvement upon the standard interconnects used with portable audio devices.

However, the Heimdall 2 version takes it a step forward. The Heimdall 2 iKable uses Nordost’s proprietary Dual Mono-Filament technology, suspending the conductors in a virtual air-dielectric which decreases the resistance and signal loss even further than what is possible with the Blue Heaven. Additionally, the Heimdall 2 iKable utilizes mechanically tuned lengths which are proven to reduce internal microphony and high frequency impedance resonance.

Nordost iKables are the perfect solution for today’s modern hifi enthusiast. They are made specifically for auxiliary inputs in aftermarket radios, car and home audio stereos, and are compatible with all portable audio devices. With the LS Blue Heaven and Heimdall 2 iKables you will never have to suffer through substandard sound again, regardless of your location.

LS Blue Heaven iKable     Heimdall 2 iKable

Nordost has always maintained that the single most important cable in a hifi system is the one coming out of the wall. The power cord is responsible for the AC current that is running your whole system. In other words, without your power cord, you are without sound. Likewise, with a poor quality power cord, you have equally poor quality sound.

Last week, at the High End Show 2014 in Munich, Nordost released the newest addition to our AC mains, the Tyr 2 Power Cord. Though still a part of the Norse 2 family, the Tyr 2 Power Cord benefits from the extensive research made in creating Valhalla 2, which also made its debut in Munich (in 2013). As with V2, the Tyr 2 Power Cord uses a combination of Nordost’s proprietary Dual Mono-Filament technology with a precise method of FEP extrusion over the conductors. This guarantees the most efficient transfer of power in the industry, putting this cable a step above its Norse 2 brothers and bounds ahead of the competition.

The Tyr 2 Power Cord is constructed with 7 silver plated, solid-core 16 AWG OFC conductors, giving it complete material consistency with Norse 2 interconnects and speaker cables. Additionally, the Tyr 2 Power Cord implements mechanically tuned lengths, reducing internal microphony and high frequency impedance resonance.

The result is a high performance, low loss cable, capable of the dynamics, color and texture required to not only produce sound, but recreate true, lifelike performances.

Nordost Tyr 2 Power Cord