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What to replace Nordost speaker cable?

I currently use Nordost Red Dawn speaker cables between a Krell 400xi and Focal Micro Utopia Be's. The cables are 2m long and I think sound pretty good in my system. That being said, they are a huge pain to connect and situate in my equipment rack because they are flat ribbon cables. I'm moving soon so now would be the best time to replace them.

I'm looking for recommendations, but I do like the "Nordost" sound or lack of or whatever it's called (no flames please). I've looked at Cardas, Kimber, Audioquest, etc. as they all have a good reputation and I'm not very familiar with other smaller companies. I will say this though. I tried Canare starquad cable and yes, it sounded different. Muted and rolled off highs, compared to the Red Dawn.

Another option might be to just get 3m Red Dawn for a little more slack.

Thanks,
gherrera1
gherrera1
gherrera1 OP
88 posts
 
New Heimdall cables arrived in the mail today. First impressions are mostly positive. Highs are quite a bit more refined than the Red Dawns. Image focus and soundstage is solid. Not that it wasn't good before, it's just that much better with these cables. These cables seem to really balance the entire frequency range, as odd as that sounds. I think that's what reviewers mean by Nordost being "neutral."

The one thing that's worse than the Red Dawns is the bass, or lack of. They sound relatively thin, but then again, I only have about 30 minutes on them. I do recall the Red Dawns took a few hours to fully break in and I'm hoping the bass improves with break in. The bass guitar and kick drum are there, they just don't have the same impact as they did with the Red Dawn cables. The Heimdall's are also 4m long vs 2m. Not sure if that's contributing though.
stringreen's avatar
stringreen
6,508 posts
 
You're on the right track...you need break-in time. Actually, I like Blue Heaven rather than Red Dawn, which I find rather anemic down below....
xti16
1,525 posts
 
What will be interesting is after you have a couple of hundred hrs on the heimdalls to put the red dawns back in and then give us your impression.
xti16
1,525 posts
 
Gherreal - According to Nordost 4m (or multiples) lengths are the most ideal. Not sure if that is for their profit but when in the Norse series and up the meters are actually longer. I just happen to need 4m myself.

Since my original post I did trade in my Bryston for an Octave tube integrated and my C1's for C1 signatures. Huge difference!! Still have the Frey SC and IC's.
gherrera1 OP
88 posts
 
Xti16, the 4m length is what made me jump on them. I was waiting and waiting until a 4m Heimdall in shotgun with bananas came up for sale.

I actually thought about putting the Red Dawns in real quick, but from what I've been hearing, these are staying regardless. There's more resolution and top to bottom balance has improved as well. The bass is starting to fill in as I get more hours on them. Besides, it's a pain to get behind the rack to switch out cables!

How do you like your new integrated? Next upgrade for me will probably be my amplifier. Current integrated is a Krell 400xi.
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