Nordost Blue Heaven to SPM Reference

A few years ago I tried the Red Dawn's, Blue Heaven's, and SPM. I agree with Ryder the jump from Blue Heaven's to SPM was significant…..but so was the cost. I opted for Harmonic Tech's at that time (prior to any advertising/reviews), because of the cost difference, and their 30-day trial program. Because the SPM's while perhaps a little better than the HT’s in some areas, their sonic differences weren’t justified by their significant extra cost.

Since then, I've changed some of my components, and have gone with a cable fabricated by a local fellow hobbyist. His cables were so close to the positives of Nordost Valhalla's it was scary, and their cost was less than my Harmonic Tech's -- an absolute no brainer for me.

I suggest you try as many cables in your system that you can get your hands on. If no local dealers are nearby, the Cable Company has a lending program that may be beneficial.

I am using the SPM's in my system and I have no problem with the bass response. It's there, it's deep, and it's tight. I have not heard the Blue Heavens.

The SPM's are fast, and this 'quickness' could, I suspect, be heard as somewhat 'lean'. In other words, they are not warm sounding. I use them with my Aerial 10T's which fall on the warmer side; they love that purple wire--it's a match made in (not blue)heaven.

Good Luck.

The reason some people get more bass response with Nordost SPM's and some people get less should be obvious. Wire doesn't produce bass response, it only carries the signal. A person with components -- wire is *not* a component -- that can resolve more bass will hear more bass -- either with Nordost SPM's or with generic well insulated 12 gauge speaker cables. IMO, people go from cable to cable, spending more and more money looking for capabilities that should come from their components in the hopes that $600 cables will turn 3,000 speakers into $6,000 speakers. If it were *me* and I were looking for an upgrade, I would consider selling my "high end" cables and Grand Pianos and employing that money towards an upgrade to the Sonus Faber Cremonas or towards a higher end source or better amplification. You *might* hear a difference between BH and SPM's, and it *might* just be a matter of taste, but you will *definitely* hear a difference AND get more resolution, coherence, soundstage, etc. from higher end components. IMO, it would be money better spent to upgrade components while looking for that particular sound you like than to stand pat with the rest of your system while trying to upgrade the cables. If it is the sensation of "speed" for which you are looking, the first place I would look would be either your amplifer or front end. You *might* be able to get that sensation from certain cables -- and that is debatable, but you can DEFINITELY get that sensation from certain amplifiers and front ends. The Grand Pianos are nice speakers. If they aren't singing for you, I would look at components upstream. Wire is wire -- it carries the signal from and to your components. It is not a component. JMO.

I had Blue Heavens for several years and then went to SPM about three years ago...I also use Quattrofil...Blue Heavens are airy and detailed but the SPM takes it to a whole new level...if you have the equipment that has this type of resolution ability then I'd go for it, otherwise it's just overkill...the Blue Heavens are very good, the SPM have much better bass, among other things...I bought my wires used on Audiogon.

Yes. SPM Reference is a quantum leap from Blue Heaven. You'll get a real taste in hi end cables. However, you should try to figure out if your speaker cables is the component that's holding you back.