I’ve owned the NORDOST PURPLE FLAREs and also the NORDOST FREYs in prior systems, so I know their sonic signature , strengths, and warts very well,
MY EXPERIENCES
(1) In brief, the NORDOST models can sound great but only when you play the NORSE 2 – HIGH PERFORMANCE CABLES line or better … ( the FREYs are the middle rung of the three in the NORSE model line).
W,R,T the lower LEIF – UNIVERSAL CABLE SYSTEM line , for which the PURPLE FLAREs are 2nd from the bottom… I saw them ranked as “meh” or trending lower at their pricepoint. Lesser priced Brit cable designs ( e,g AG over Cu CHORD RUMOUR or ODYSSEY ) were a step-up that stoked me up to sell them pronto.
(2) I owned the PURPLE FLAREs and auditioned both the BLUE HEAVEN and RED DAWN models ….. the LEIF range was a disappointment for comparatively premium-priced NORDOSTs,at their pricepoint strata, and a noticeable step-down from the NORSE line IMO that is not subtle.
(3) NOTE: I had an entire FREYs cables loom , and the FREYs loom worked fine for me until I upgraded to new and better cables with my new speakers .
KEY POINT: The FREY speakers performance was noticeably better only with matched stablemate NORDOST FREY ICs. …something of an all same brand and same model loom synergy I found. Mixing ICs and speaker cables was a step down both ways if mismatched.
MY TAKE
Budgets matter, for sure The PURPLE FLARES may stir your drink, but I would strongly recommend that you avoid buying them blind, without an actual audition first. The FREYs were a go for me and likely the NORSE line blind buy without a large fear for you too.
Carry on but choose wisely.