Nordost Valhalla 2 Speaker Cables

@nyev You are 100% not alone in the recognition that Nordost is absolutely amazing and deserving of their prestige. I say this as someone who was once thought Nordost was bright, bleached and over priced. Now when I have a system that's properly balanced throughout, Nordost is absolutely phenomenal.

I'm currently listening to an Odin 2 power cord and Valhalla 2 XLRs , and I don't ever want to take them out. When the Odin 2 power cord was used on my streamer, it sounded I have a new streamer and a new amp. It was very confusing how a power cord can all of a sudden imbue the presentation with so much percussive force and delicate purity at the same time. Then I put it in my DAC that also acts as a pre, that felt like my entire system leveled up 2 levels. The Nordost is such a transparent window it makes other cables seems like you are looking through glass that has imperfections, slightly distort the light as it passthrough.

There is so much air and information, the treble seems endless yet completely non-fatiguing. The mids and bass are in not only present, it somehow balances sounding full bodied with laser precise separation and definition. The lower registers are damn subterranean with the Femto 33 clock on the MSB Reference.

The previous generation of Nordost cables might have rightfully had the reputation of being a little thin and bright, but that has absolutely been corrected in this generation and then some, particularly the Odin 2. 

At the highest level, Nordost cables are paradoxes that somehow encompass all the seemingly contradictory audiophile qualities all at once. Congrats on your V2 speaker cables.

Prior to my Valhalla 2 cables, it’s taken me 27 years of searching to arrive at a fairly simple system where finally I don’t hear a blaring brightness, edginess, or sluggish warm tone. I’ve tested so many speakers, power amps, pre-amps, including home demos, including some respected and some less respected amps, including from McIntosh, Moon, Bryston, Arcam, Musical Fidelity, Rotel, and many others. I almost gave up on my lifelong quest to to find a hi-fi system I liked, thinking that I couldn’t find a system that didn’t absolutely ruin a good portion of my favourite tunes such that it became un-listenable.

Then I came across the Gryphon Diablo300 integrated, with the internal DAC module. It really was the holy grail for me after searching for so long, and it makes all material I like sound awesome. I know you can do better with more cash, but with the gear available from dealers near or semi-near me, there was nothing even at double the price of the Diablo 300 that to my ears was even acceptable to me, regardless of the cost.

I am the opposite of the type of audiophile who says "above a certain price almost everything sounds amazing". I find 99.9% to sound good but have some flaw to my ears that ruins absolutely everything.

It’s been a very, very long road to getting to a happy place with hifi for me. Prior to the point where I got my Diablo 300 in 2019, my journey was filled with a lot of disappointment and compromise. There were many times where I felt, screw this I’ll just stick to my $500 headphones which sound great.

All that to say, once I found that the Diablo 300 could finally tame my relatively modest B&W 803 D2 speakers (I’ve tried many other speakers at that level through the decades too), I felt I could finally focus on cables without feeling the need to compensate for something I didn’t like about my system, and the Valhalla 2’s did the trick! Nothing thin at all about them. BUT - I DID find the Valhalla 2 power cord to be "thin", if by thin we mean lacking in low-frequency (bass) energy. It’s very possible it simply isn’t compatible with my Gryphon, especially considering that my Nordost dealer actually admitted that another Gryphon owner told him precisely the same thing about the Valhalla 2 power cord.  He said he even reported it to Nordost since two Gryphon owners had the same experience.

Currently I’m testing a demo Audioquest Dragon High-Current power cord, and also a Shunyata Omega QR-BB cord. Currently the Shunyata is kicking Audioquest’s ass (but the Dragon is nevertheless great), however, I just received the Dragon and it is not broken in, and as such it’s not fair to compare just yet. Also, concerning, the Shunyata seems to form a loose connection with my amp, even when you use the included plastic shim to help with this. The slightest wiggle can lose a connection. Might be a showstopper for me, despite how stunning the sound is.

@nyev Really interested in your impression of Dragon vs. Omega after all are broken in. Maybe using a cord extender to connect to 5 fridge would help. What characteristics do you hear from the Omega QR that is so much above the AQ, and how does it compared to the Nordost sound?

@divertiti, I’m going to create a new thread on that comparison but I’ll offer a preview. The Omega QR BB is a far more lush and exquisite presentation at this point, vs the not-broken-in Dragon which has a more plain and straightforward, but highly detailed presentation. What do I mean by that? The Omega has a front-to-back depth to the soundstage, with acoustic guitars and vocals clearly presented “further back” into the overall 3D mix. In contrast the in-broken in Dragon presents mids including acoustic guitars and vocals more up front and “on the surface”, if that makes sense, with far less of a sense of 3D depth. While the mids are more up-front with the Dragon, I don’t mean that the mids are tonally accentuated. Both cords seem neutral to my ears. It’s just that the Omega absolutely goes to town with how mids are presented in the 3D space. For this same reason, vocals and mids seem more immediate with the Dragon, with Omega mids being surrounded by the rest of the 3D mix

The other thing is that the Omega has that magical ability to be utterly buttery smooth and relaxed, and yet the detail is astounding and the full musical energy is intact.

The Dragon may have a hair more low-end energy, but again, less 3D soundstage refinement.

I’m sure my impressions will change with the breakin of the Dragon. It’s a shame that the Shunyata cord is so loose, and that they felt the need to include a kludge plastic shim to try to tighten things up. Such a shame considering how great this cord sounds.  I will ask why they did that….  Maybe others with other amps won’t have this issue and won’t need to use the cheesy plastic shim.  Other power cords have no issues forming a solid connection with my amp.

Of note, the Shunyata Omega QR is billed as a conditioner and a power cord in one. It’s got a hard segment mid-cord where I guess the conditioning/filtering happens. So maybe it’s doing a bit more than the Dragon in that regard? Not sure.

I’m also testing the lower Shunyata Sigma V2 NR and the AQ Firebird. For the Sigma my results are inconclusive. Shunyata didn’t have a 15A demo on hand so they provided an adapter to fit my amp for the Sigma cord. I’ve a feeling this may have impacted the sound, as after a while I start to notice I can’t get a “solid” stereo image and I keep repositioning to find a sweet spot that doesn’t exist… I don’t want to judge the cord because of this. I’ve not tested the Firebird yet.

@divertiti also to compare with the Nordost Valhalla 2 power cord, I’m going by memory of my very intensive testing in 2019.

I recall the V2 being incredibly natural in the mids and high frequencies, extremely fast, and with more of what I like about my V2 speaker cables. BUT. The bass was very noticeably diminished and that was a showstopper. As I mentioned it may be simply not compatible with my amp, as my Nordost dealer noted another customer with a Gryphon said the same thing.

Ignoring the missing bass, the Valhalla 2 power cord and the Shunyata Omega couldn’t be more different in terms of presentation styles, but both are great! Again, ignoring the missing bass in the V2.

The V2 is just so quick and natural that it allows you to REALLY get into the music. The Shunyata Omega QR is a lush jungle of 3D imaging, smooth yet detailed and energetic, and utterly immerses you in the soundstage. If the Nordost had adequate bass with my amp and the Shunyata had a better physical connection with my amp, I honestly don’t know which I’d choose!

I am actually hoping my Dragon demo “catches up” with the Omega QR after breakin, since it has no physical connection issues. It may also catch up if I get the chance to connect it with a Niagara 5000 if I can demo that. Of note I have a Niagara 1200; connecting my amp to it degrades the impact of the mids which become veiled/softer. I’m hoping the Niagara 5000 doesn’t do that. Because of this all my testing of cords is direct to wall.