Nordost fans

FWIW I recently switched from a really good AQ current silver model interconnect to Valhalla 2. I was biased against the Nordost thinking it might be thin and bright. Truly from the first note my sound went from very good to great. Vocals became more prominent in a very good way with a more spacious sound. I would never call them bright or etched but rather very smooth with the kind of detail you would expect. They are not as full in the midbass as one might want in a lean sounding system but adding a Shunyata power cord on the dac corrected this issue which was small anyway. I’ve never enjoyed my system as much.
I thought that the AQ was the stopping place but now can’t go back. I now understand the accolades but hate the price. That’s the ever present hitch.

Count me as a Nordost fan but not a fanboy. What that means is I have tried Nordost products and passed them over for other brands but other products have happily stayed in my system. 

missioncoonery wrote: "IMO you have to go pretty far up the line to avoid thin." That is the opinion I formed after testing the Red Dawn and Heimdall II speaker cables. They were thin and punchy in my mid-fi solid state system. The Heimdall did have one outstanding characteristic, though: amazing transparency and detail. I could hear things I'd never even heard before on old CDs in stunning clarity. But the downside was a lack of soundstage depth, width and tonal balance, with highs too prominent (but extremely well extended) and bass lacking definition and body (but very strong and dynamic). The Red Dawn sounded veiled and punchy. 

On the other hand, I loved the Heimdall II interconnect and decided to spend the extra dollars to get a Tyr 2 analogue interconnect that remains in my system. The Norse interconnects have warmth, richness and nuance, exactly the kinds of qualities I wanted in my system. The Tyr adds a little more body, atmosphere and detail over the Heimdall but the difference in a modest system is not night and day. Still, I'm glad I sprang for the upgrade because I have no compulsion at all to ever upgrade that cable. 

Also, I have QRT Qk1 and Qv2 power products and they made a significant difference, especially noticeable with lyrics because I can understand words in favorite old songs for the first time ever. 

The other Nordost product I own is a recently acquired Silver Shadow coax cable that I ran between my CD player and Arcam SA20 integrated amp to test the SA20's Sabre DAC. I noticed an immediate improvement in clarity, detail and soundstage with the digital interconnect and the upgraded DAC. However, after recently moving to a new home I'm back to the Tyr 2 analogue interconnect. I need to do some experimenting to find out why the analogue cable suddenly sounds sweeter and more refined. It must have something to do with room acoustics because that is the only significant change for this system. 

My educated guess is that Nordost speaker cables won't work for me until the Tyr 2 level because Heimdall 2 was such a letdown. From what I've read about Frey 2, it also can be a little forward and accentuated and I very much value tonal balance. A Tyr 2 speaker cable at $7,000 would be a very imbalanced purchase versus the cost of my other components, and that is my big hesitation, but I would consider it after a careful home demo...something I am not yet ready to do. The other main speaker cable I aim to demo is the Kimber 6063, an upgrade from my current Monocle XLs. The Monocles almost hit the sweet spot but I find them a little hard-edged and unresolved despite moments of brilliance. Drums and solo vocals are perfection but I'm still suffering from too much astringency and edge in some recordings.

Nordost to me is like Porsche: a luxury brand with a unique, somewhat accidental engineering history that is loved for its unique qualities and high quality standards. And there traditionally have been some major flaws. Like Porsche, if you're buying into the lower, more entry levels you might always be left wanting more and that is part of their brilliant marketing. The value proposition isn't necessarily there, but as you move farther up the line it can become a very compelling product line.  

Sounds like we may follow similar paths.  I had a full loom of Valhallas, then switched to Transparent Reference.  Now I'm back to all Valhalla cables.  To me, Transparent Reference was too fat and undefined in the base, and the treble left a lot to be desired.  I found it offputting to have to spend more to go even higher in the Transparent line just to get the tight bass and top end magic that I had with Valhalla.  I've demoed a lot of cable brands in my system.  I'm settled on Nordost, upgrading to Odin over time.

Over the past 4 years I have completely converted from MIT to Nordost, starting with Heimdall IC's, Frey SC's, Blue Heaven USB then Heimdall 2 USB and I'm now up to Valhalla 1 IC, SC and Tyr 2 USB (series 1 unless noted) and now am incorporating the power cabling, (Vishnu, Brahma, Frey 2 and just now acquired my first Valhalla), QBase 4 and various Sort Kones.

My recommendation is that you follow the Nordost's recommendations.  They suggest starting with QBase and power cords.  On it's face this seemed insane to me 4 years ago, but I have come to believe that the Nordost religion is more or less correct... even if I don't always understand or agree with their explanations.  My experience is even the lower lines sound better when a full loom is utilized.  My electronics may tend towards warmer or darker (Aurender, Classe Sigma SSP, BAT VK 500 SE, ProAc Response 5) but I have never found the products to be thin and harsh unless the electronics were thin and harsh.  I did find that the MIT line masked thin and harsh electronics.

For example, I was using Classe Sigma Amp5 for balanced L+R channels in addition to surrounds.  When I first inserted the Heimdal's I found the combination unmusical. I very shortly later replaced the Classe with the BAT and nirvana promptly ensued!  

My 2 channel system has a retail that is in the $50-$75K region with 7.1 channels taking it up close to $100K.  I now have something like $25K in Nordost products so this represents nearly 30% of overall system "value" and I have at least $10-$15K retail currently planned (3 more Valhalla, Frey2 or Tyr 2 PCs, Qbase 8 and QKore6) planned.  It is an insane amount to spend on cabling and accessories, except that each of these purchases will raise the quality of sound from my system and when I purchase the next set of electronics (high end 2 channel pre-amp and DAC) at the expected $15 K each range, all of the Nordost will be there ready for it.  I would not spend any of the money if I couldn't clearly hear the improvement and the value to me.  

I agree with the poster who suggested the Heimdall level, but full loom!  This product provides a really good overall value for the money.

I hope this helps!...  It only hurts when you whip out the wallet.

Big fan here! I use the Tyr Phono and interconnect and the Frey speaker cables. Large upgrade over my prior cable looms. I recently added a pair of the Black Cat Coppertone ic's into the mix...from my digital front end. While the Black Cat's are NOT as resolving, or quite as dynamically expressive, as the Nordost cables ( very few are, IMHO), they are certainly not severally embarrassed either! That and the price difference makes them also an easy recommendation. 
Nonetheless, I think if one wants to gain resolution and dynamic expression, the Nordost cables are my first option.