Question About NORDOST cables

Youngatheart, I think the marketing hype is getting to you a little bit, IMO.
Nordost is now saying that they do not recommend bi-wiring with their cables...IMHO, that's a bunch of BS. Adding jumpers to a speaker that can accept bi-wiring is IMO foolhardy and not the way to go. The best way to bi-wire is to have two separate cables feeding each speaker...( which I'm sure Nordost would agree with since they can sell twice the amount of cable).
I used to do this until I acquired my Nordost bi-wire cables. There is no discernible difference in my system with two cables vs. a bi-wire set up cable. OTOH, using jumpers, one can easily hear the loss of information. So, let's ask ourselves why Nordost is now saying that they don't believe in a bi-wire end and are no longer offering this option....Could it be that they were spending more labor on creating the bi-wire end and were not getting compensated for it. As I recall, the cost of the shotgun (single wire...they shouldn't get away with calling it shotgun as it isn't) was the same as the bi-wire ends. Does my theory make sense to everyone?

well, if I could afford two separate runs that would be my choice, believe me. fact is, I'm already using the jumpers that came with the speakers, so if the Norse's are better than the stock jumpers I've everything to gain.

at the end of the day what matters is what I hear; I don't care what Nordost or anybody else says. I wasn't happy with the Red Dawn, and I said so. my impressions of the Heimdall's have absolutely nothing do to with marketing, hype, or with what you or anybody else may say, at all. nothing.

there's no hype or exaggeration in what I've been trying to say... those are my exact first impression, pure and simple. I just cannot fault these cables, other that some brightness, which I may as well be confusing with clarity, and the bass possibly a little lean.

whether these impressions will change in a few weeks, I don't know, but I'm happy with the result atm.

thanks for the imput :)

Nordost claim you get better performance by using single wiring and THEIR jumpers and cables.

Sure, you may be hearing a loss of information if you use the crappy brass jumpers found on every speaker. Also the actual cable geometry has a lot to do with how well single vs bi-wiring will work.

So unless you have actual listening experience with Nordost cables it is just speculation.

Youngatheart - Yes the series2 is warmer sounding. To my ears when you have more bass and a more liquid sound I consider that warmer. As far as the originals to me they do have more 'air' between the instruments and vocals with a little more detail. Now to me I call that less liquid sounding. Both are great cables but they very different sounding. More different than going from RD to Heimdall.
Daveyf

Could it be that they were spending more labor on creating the bi-wire end and were not getting compensated for it. As I recall, the cost of the shotgun (single wire...they shouldn't get away with calling it shotgun as it isn't) was the same as the bi-wire ends. Does my theory make sense to everyone?

The cost difference is ONE pair of connectors at one end of the cable and the labor to put them on.

I do agree Nordost calls their bi-wire and shotgun incorrectly. A true bi-wire is 2 separate runs of cables. Many cable companies also refer to that as shotgun. Now if you look at the construction of the original Heimdalls there is 4 groups of conductors. The series2 have 2 groups of conductors. There are less conductors in the series2 but they are a larger awg wires. Heimdall originals have twenty four 24awg wires where the series2 have eighteen 22awg wires. The overall effective gauge stays the same. The Frey2 OTOH has twenty two 22awg wires where the originals have twenty four 24awg wires so the overall effective goes up by 1 with the series2.
http://home.hiwaay.net/~rgs/awgcalculator.html
Is there marketing hype? I'm sure there is in a lot of cases but you really have to compare the originals to the series2 side by side.

As far as Nordost not making 'bi-wire' cables I'm sure it will cost them some business and I can not believe a company would do that without good cause. IMO it can't be to force you into buying 2 sets of cables because of the double cost to the consumer. As far as I can tell they still offer bi-wire in the Vahalla and Odin BUT not in the Leif or Norse2 series.

Xtil6, you are right, it's one pair of connectors at one end of the cable X 2.
BUT you multiply that by thousands( which I would expect is what Nordost sells of these cables) and you get the idea. A MAJOR savings for the company.
Wouldn't be the first time a company has done a little math and come up with a way to save some money and won't be the last.