I love these posts. The contrarians who poo-poo the efficacy of expensive cables often appear in other posts questioning the merits of expensive audio products. They are either disgruntled with their lot in life (e.g. a spouse who wears the proverbial pants, a wallet that squeaks so loud they hate to open it, etc.) or their skills of self-persuasion require constant exercising with selfish expectations of indulgence on our part. Not having a fact-based opinion because it's foreclosed by those circumstances, however, doesn't prevent them from expressing their frustration-based comments.
It's not about whether they can or cannot afford to pay more. Hobbyists who operate within a prescribed budget are quite content with value-based high performance systems and work diligently to accomplish that end. They bear no grudge against those who chose to spend more. This describes most of the members in our large and active local audio club.
With that therapeutic diatribe out of the way, let me offer an experienced-based assessment. I have a full loom of SR Galileo UEF interconnects. Their contributions to the sonic performance of my system have been very significant and have drawn countless kudos from members of our audio club. However, I was quick to question the performance delta of the Nordost Odin 2 interconnects because they are over twice the price. So I too have expressed scepticism when it comes to price vs. performance. Surely, they can't be twice as good. After all, this is a hobby is defined by the principle of diminishing marginal returns.
Then a friend lent me a single pair of 1M Odin XLRs. I put them between my Esoteric K-01X and Octave Jubilee Preamp. The after-effect was jaw dropping. Not nuanced or subtle. It was dramatic. Power, transient speed and overall impact across the frequency range was remarkable and immediately apparent. However, I found the Odin 1s to be a bit thin and favoured the higher notes, which to my ears detracted from overall balance, neutrality and natural warmth.
Another member of our club then lent me a 1M XLR pair of Odin 2s, which I swapped out to compare the two top Nordost offerings. He said Nordost with the Odin 2 addressed that sonic characteristic found in its Odin1 line of cables. Again the difference was immediate and remarkable. The virtues of Odin 1s transient speed, dynamics and percussive impact and a noticeably lower noise floor was married with a more balanced delivery of frequency response. Not only was a further proverbial veil pulled back to reveal things not previously heard, but all things became both more palpable and real. Voices were more dimensional, complete and believable. Symbols splash with the true sound of medal and resonate until the echo disappears into the background. Bass notes whether borne from strings, woodwinds or drum skins had more presence, fleshed-out dimensionality and air.
In short, even though cables are passive device, a single 1M pair of Odin 2 interconnects has delivered far better outcomes than many upgrades I've made with active devices (i.e. components and speakers) and after spending more than the difference between my resident cables and the Odin 2. So I bought a pair after that trial and assessment. The sentiment among our club members is it's mind-boggling that Odin 2 can have such an impact for a passive device.
Do I need to spend more by switching the whole loom from Galileo to Odin 2? Some systems have shown that more does mean more. In my case, the benefits of just this one pair are so fully realized that I'm ok to let the Odin 2 commingle its magic with the Galileos. They play so well together - literally. Maybe because of their common appeal to the heavens.
