Kimber KCAG versus Nordost, newer Kimber interconnects, etc


I have been trying out various speaker cables between my Coda No.40 amp and my Martin Logan CLX's.  I recently purchased a pair of Nordost Heimdall 2's which to my surprise were a good match.  I am now turning my attention to my interconnect cables which are all Kimber KCAG with XLR terminations.  I previously had Audioquest Niagara interconnects which are also excellent.   I currently have a heavily modified Wyred 4 Sound STP SE preamp with Level 2 mods as well as an additional custom mod by EJ.  It replaced an ARC Ref 5SE.  My digital source is a Marantz SA 10.  The Coda No.40 is a very pleasant surprise to me as it interfaces extremely well with the CLX's which are very fussy; it is tonally neutral, dynamic, transparent and quite detailed.  I prefer it to a number of solid state amps that I  have had recently including Pass Labs 100.5's and a Krell 402e; the ARC Ref 150 I had could not adequately control the CLX's, particularly in the treble.  I would appreciate if others have had experience comparing the Kimber KCAG's to Nordost interconnects - particularly the Leif series, newer Kimber interconnects as well as other high quality interconnects.  Thanks in advance for any suggestions.
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Showing 1 response by akg_ca

I had NORDOST LEIF series PURPLE FLARE cables in my “B” system.
I continue to have NORDOST NORSE 2 series FREY full cables array in my “A” system.

In brief,

(1) there is a BIG difference in audio performance as you move up in their product line, and that improvement is not subtle. The PURPLE FLAREs were okay, but are no match for the FREYs....full stop.

(2) The litmus test in point (1) was personally witnessed at an audio expo in TORONTO wherein NORDOST demonstrated the performance of various cables as you move up from stock cables, through various models , and up their VALHALLAs. (No very top ODINS at that show). NORDOST ran a repeated 3-day audio expo demonstration symposium in Toronto on that very issue, it was attended by thousands (myself included) .

The author wrote an article reporting on the shared observations of the thousands of attendees at the TAVES audio expo in Toronto in Nov 2014.

Nordost

"... I had a chance to sit in on a couple demonstrations in the Nordost room, giving my feet a well deserved break. I’m very familiar with the benefits of high quality cables and use a full Nordost Heimdall 2 loom with my reference two-channel setup. That being said, I always find the Nordost demonstrations to be an “ear-opening” experience.

Michael Taylor from Nordost demonstrated the significant sonic benefits of replacing an OEM cable with a Nordost model – in particular:

1) a swap of a single USB cable, from OEM to Nordost Blue Heaven ($250/2m), to Heimdall 2 ($500/2m) and;
2) a swap of a single RCA interconnect, from OEM, to Blue Heaven, to Heimdall 2, to Tyr 2 and finally Valhalla 2.

Along with convincing the audience in the room that cables DO matter, I’ve now got the bug to upgrade...”