has anyone compared Nordost Frey ICs vs Valkyrja

>The interconnect I used so far is Audioquest Jaguar XLR, >but I would like to upgrade to Nordost. I just don't know >wether I should get the Valkyrjas over the Freys, or >should I go the painful way and get TYR, maybe even >Vallhalla. Would I ven hear the difference or does that >require a whle new leauge of Nordost speaker cables? Any >words of wisdom would be highly appreciated.

Since its a discussion about nordost I thought I wil give my 2 cents.

I hear people say, "heimdall gives you a taste of valhalla", "going up in nordost line things you get are only improvements" etc. thats pure nonsene. I mean, every cable has its own taste. Take Heimdall for instance, the cable is clearly in the league of its own, with a distinctive character: warm, midrange bloom, full rounded base, sweet but still detailed and not agressive highs. If you like that kind of things in sound reproduction, thats it, your search for a cable might be over. Vallhalla wont sound the same, nor Odin. I have had heimdalls for a month or so (dealer demo), liked them a lot, but purchased freys believing they will be like heimdall but even more impressive (more midrange bloom, more bass, more everything) - big mistake. freys are not heimdalls, they sound different. Same, I believe goes with upper cables. If cable wont fit your system or your taste you prefer, you wont want to keep it.

From a specific price point all cables are very good and the only thing that matters whether you like the sound taste they deliver or not. The only way to know that is to try.

Mjordans,

Since you mentioned that Heimdall has its own character and Frey is different, would you please comment on how Frey interconnects differ from the Heimdall. Currently I own a Heimdall between a Krell 400xi integrated amp and an Audio Aero Prima CD player, and was considering to swap the IC from Heimadall to Frey. I also have the same feeling as you about Heimdall and thought Frey could be just a step-up with almost same taste.

Thanks in advance.

Marcossy,

Heimdalls surely have nordost "house" sound, but are different. Whats was most impressing I mentioned above: midrange bloom, 3D full bodied, rounded sound, very vell everything separated in the soundstage. Highs are enough detailed and at the same time sweet and not aggressive - you can listen more "agressive" CDs you have not listened before - this balance just hooked me up completely.

Freys. I think I have about 100 hours on Frey IC and the good thing they are burned-in enough not to think too much about heimdalls (straight from the box they were awful.. heimdalls were awful as well, but since they were dealer demos settle-in, or burn-in time was short - next evening they sounded good - infact after the first few songs with heimdalls (and awfully harsh and dried-up sound) I jumped to double-check if these really were Heimdalll not Baldurs). Frey are very fine cables, and hour after hour they show more and more of their character. Less bloom compared to heimdalls, but more crisp details, which are still very rich in tone and thats amazing thing. Now rarely but sometimes those details appears bright, but if this dissapears with additional hours of burn in, I really going to love freys even more. 3D soundstage, instrument separation is another huge step forward. I would add - more focus - compared to heimdalls.

Heres some facts:

Burn-in takes (this is so physics-stupid, but so audiophile-true) a loooong time, better buy burn in service at local dealer, or burn in at home using lets say FM tuner. I am using tube amp with some rare and NOS tubes, so just can not afford leaving amp on with radio playing all day long...

I use 1 m length interconnects. Different lenghts WILL sound different.

The sound is synergy of all components + speaker placement and room acoustics.

If you demo Freys against Heimdalls in your system please come back and write down your experience.

mjordanas

Mjordans, thank you for the prompt and so complete comments on my question.
It is interesting to know that Frey might present, sometimes, details that sound bright. I thought Frey was more full bodied and rounded sound than Heimdall.

I am anxious to try Frey IC in my system but since I live in Sao Paulo, Brazil, the price of Nordost products at authorized dealer is prohibitive. So, I've been shopping several cables at Agon but the latest one (a Shunyata Python Alpha Helix power cable) I purchased more than a week ago is still hold at the customs and I am afraid I will have to pay some import duty. Anyway a friend of mine has Frey IC and I will borrow it and compare with my Heimdall soon and will post my impressions here.

Marcossy,

My comments on these cables would be more accurate if I was able to compare them A-B directly...

You are right, no, Freys are not warmer and more rounded than heimdalls.

mjordanas