[tourmaline]

Quote:

Originally Posted by LawnGnome /img/forum/go_quote.gif You are telling people to act like an adult when you can't even spell it?

Only a true sceptic would fall over such a trivial thing, avoiding the real issue here!

 

[tourmaline]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sovkiller /img/forum/go_quote.gif It has to be pink, the pink is the sum of all freqs in audio, if it is not pink, it will not work as intended...the next Edition 11 will be pink...

I think it has more something to do with the combination of air and teflon dielectric! The color is pure coinsidance.

 

[tourmaline]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Black Stuart /img/forum/go_quote.gif LawnGnome, how many languages do you speak? English is'nt Tourmaline's native tongue and BTW he speaks other languages as well, including Spanish - saves tonto. I differ from Tourmaline, I'm not prepared to pay even s/hand for Nordost cables - making my own and coming close for what amounts to pennies, will do for me and lays the basis for what is more important - internal wiring and I/Cs. Patrick is'nt crazy, just unusual and he does experiment and create, which is more than can be said for many of his critics who only use their mouths instead of their hands. A lot of the things Patrick has done do work but if you don't try for yourself, how do you know - seperating conductors, experimenting with and without sheilding - cerrar la boca y probar.

I even saw americans making spelling errors.LOL.

As i said before, only a true sceptic focusses on truely trivial things, instead of the real issues.

I know how you feel about the cables, and i use some of Black Stuarts home recipes as well, but the Nordost has still something special.

I wouldn't pay retail for the cable, what i paid for second hand is about as much as i go for really good IC's. I've always had cables in that priceregion but the secondhand Nordost for that price is indeed much better then any cable i had for the money!

But black stuart and i know that there IS a lot of truth in some of patrick's findings. We both did our share of experimenting with cables! While sometimes we differ, we can discuss cables or any other tweaks or designs in a peacefull manner, learning from eachother and trying to get the most out of our equipment. We both love music!

While my spanish is a bit rusty

, i managed to encipher your message:

It means: shut your mouth and try for yourself!

One other thing, the OP clearly stated that people who don't believe in cables, should stay out of the thread, so apperently you have some problems understanding english?!LawnGnome!

 

[majkel]

Bla, bla, bla. Another guy created ground loop and confirmed it works.

This is how "tweakers" make fools of people:
- ground your amp (correct)
- ground your source (incorrect, but now the Holy Cables start working)
- ground anything that needs another power cord tu buy...
- buy "directional" interconnects (now all signal ground goes thru the wall, that's it!)

If there is more than one component grounded, the returning signal current divides itself between interconnect ground channel and mains grounding. That's all making power cords play. So, at the beginning you do something stupid by allowing the signal going thru the wall, then buy a better power cord to partially fix the problem (now music goes thru a better conductor). I've recently realized on another forum (in Polish) that people start to open their eyes and ears, remove groundings added to their CD players and realize it's the best sound, and the power cord stops to matter because it has no share in music transfer any more.
One grounded component (amp/power amp), standard symmetrical interconnects (these cables truly matter - see my posts on copper vs. silver), and a good stock power cable. Actually you've already received it with your equipment. Happy listening!

 

[slwiser]

Quote:

Originally Posted by spacemanspliff /img/forum/go_quote.gif My wife would cave my sack in if I spent that much on a power cable.

If my wife thought I wanted to spend that much she would probably go alone with it so that she could start some sort of action and in my opinion she would be right in doing so.

 

[Patrick82]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fkclo /img/forum/go_quote.gif Patrick, I wish I can hear half of what you hear You definitely have a gifted pair of golden ears. Congras. F. Lo

I still think my ears are worse than the average audiophile. Because when I started this hobby I was using HD590 headphones and I couldn't hear a difference between Audigy2 and EMU0404 soundcards. When I bought an amp I couldn't hear a difference either. But when I upgraded to K501 I could hear subtle differences when I upgraded the Corda amp into Graham Slee Solo with external PSU. Now I know that most of the improvements came from the external PSU.

I was still using EMU0404 as my source. When I upgraded my interconnect into Nordost Valhalla I heard a subtle difference even when the cable cost 3 times more than the entire setup. Valhalla interconnect colors the sound, it's on the cold side of neutral. With Valkyrja speaker wiring I get more warmth and low-level detail.

When I upgraded from K501 to K1000 I could hear huge differences between tweaks.

Most audiophile gear/tweaks tune the sound to the worse. If you have an overkill of low-level detail you can slow it down to make it heavier which gives the illusion of dynamics and blackness. If you also have excessive brightness you get more low-level detail if you tone the brightness down. If you also remove the midrange, you get the illusion of more bass information etc. There are many ways to tune the sound by sacrificing some low-level detail which you can't hear anyway.

With audiophilia you just tune the sound to get synergy with your own ears. You pay more for colored sound that is worse. With many tweaks you are just sidestepping and get nowhere in overall performance. That's why audiophiles can keep doing this hobby their whole life. It's all about finding synergy with the ears that are used for listening. I like low-level detail so I searched for tweaks that don't sacrifice anything else to get it, but I got too much low-level detail so I use Valhalla power cord to smear it together to increase the soundstage size. Valhalla is the only tone control I use in my system.

 

[infinitesymphony]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Patrick82 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Valhalla interconnect colors the sound, it's on the cold side of neutral.

That's the first thing the salesperson at my local hi-fi store said when I asked about Nordost Valhalla cables. They don't sell the cables, but one of their frequent customers brought in a pair for them to demo. They both agreed that the Valhalla sounded bright compared to the other interconnects they were testing.

BTW, I think that's one of the best posts you've ever written.

 

[tourmaline]

Quote:

Originally Posted by infinitesymphony /img/forum/go_quote.gif That's the first thing the salesperson at my local hi-fi store said when I asked about Nordost Valhalla cables. They don't sell the cables, but one of their frequent customers brought in a pair for them to demo. They both agreed that the Valhalla sounded bright compared to the other interconnects they were testing. BTW, I think that's one of the best posts you've ever written.

No it is not, it IS not bright, it is the cleanest cable. That's why it sounds so transparent! The other cables are more coloured!

As i said before, the valkyrja and valhalla are ideal cables if your system is up to notch, if you wanna hide some imperfections, you should look elsewhere.

Nordost has one of the most clean and neutral cables around. It is clear that it is not for everybody. Nordost clinically let you hear everything downstream. If your source is not up to notch, you will certainly hear that!

 

[Patrick82]

Valhalla interconnect sounds cold, clean and smooth. But it's colder than neutral because it removes some low-level detail. It makes the transients appear faster. The frequency response is messed up which makes everything sound more distinct.

Nordost's cables with Micro Mono-Filaments are not bright or harsh. They are smooth and clean. The only time they sound bright is when they reveal problems in the system.

Bright sound that is harsh is very fatiguing, but brightness that is smooth is not fatiguing at all. Brightness + smoothness sounds kind of white, it also changes the contrast which makes the background appear blacker.

Valhalla interconnect adds extra whiteness to the sound which emphasizes the detail on the surface, but the low-level details are lost. Even with that extra whiteness there is no fatigue because it is so clean and smooth. It sounds unreal, and it is. Valhalla interconnect is made for muddy systems because is "restores" neutrality. For a long time I preferred Valhalla over Valkyrja, but not after I removed the muddy P300 Power Plant from my system. P300 with MWave4 + Valhalla interconnect are made for each other because they compensate for each other's weaknesses.

Edit: Valhalla still has way more low-level detail than all other brands I have tried, it's not even close. But it's not as good as the Valkyrja speaker wiring I'm using. I use ERS Paper shielding.

 

[tourmaline]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Patrick82 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Valhalla interconnect sounds cold, clean and smooth. But it's colder than neutral because it removes some low-level detail. It makes the transients appear faster. The frequency response is messed up which makes everything sound more distinct. Nordost's cables with Micro Mono-Filaments are not bright or harsh. They are smooth and clean. The only time they sound bright is when they reveal problems in the system. Bright sound that is harsh is very fatiguing, but brightness that is smooth is not fatiguing at all. Brightness + smoothness sounds kind of white, it also changes the contrast which makes the background appear blacker. Valhalla interconnect adds extra whiteness to the sound which emphasizes the detail on the surface, but the low-level details are lost. Even with that extra whiteness there is no fatigue because it is so clean and smooth. It sounds unreal, and it is. Valhalla interconnect is made for muddy systems because is "restores" neutrality. For a long time I preferred Valhalla over Valkyrja, but not after I removed the muddy P300 Power Plant from my system. P300 with MWave4 + Valhalla interconnect are made for each other because they compensate for each other's weaknesses. Edit: Valhalla still has way more low-level detail than all other brands I have tried, it's not even close. But it's not as good as the Valkyrja speaker wiring I'm using. I use ERS Paper shielding.

I have the valkyrja, wich has more low level detail and less body( or fatness) as you say.

Maybe i try the ERS paper sometime on my valkyrja IC's.

But i think the last tweak i did were the quadraspire fibration reduction feet. Huge impact on the sound for only 35 quit! You should try them.

 

[Patrick82]

When I tried the full Valhalla interconnect I got way too cold and white sound, I was hearing so clinical sound that it felt like I was dissecting the music in a Siberian hospital wearing a white lab coat and white gloves, it wasn't relaxing to listen to music. But with the Valkyrja it sounded like I was sitting nude at home and it was too warm and sweaty and I couldn't remove any more clothing to compensate. So a combination between those sound signatures was needed.

I'm using 27cm Valkyrja + 15cm Valhalla. It sounded perfect from the beginning. Maybe a few mm fine tuning is required. But I can compensate for it with the burn-in volume anyway. For over a month I haven't had a problem with this hybrid interconnect.

 

[tourmaline]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Patrick82 /img/forum/go_quote.gif When I tried the full Valhalla interconnect I got way too cold and white sound, I was hearing so clinical sound that it felt like I was dissecting the music in a Siberian hospital wearing a white lab coat and white gloves, it wasn't relaxing to listen to music. But with the Valkyrja it sounded like I was sitting nude at home and it was too warm and sweaty and I couldn't remove any more clothing to compensate. So a combination between those sound signatures was needed. I'm using 27cm Valkyrja + 15cm Valhalla. It sounded perfect from the beginning. Maybe a few mm fine tuning is required. But I can compensate for it with the burn-in volume anyway. For over a month I haven't had a problem with this hybrid interconnect.

Holy moly you really mutilated everything, did you.LOL. As long as it sounds good..........

 

[vcoheda]

you should send this thread to nordost. maybe it will encourage them to introduce a valkyrja /valhalla hybrid. of course after they are done crying from seeing what you did to their fine cables.

 

[Patrick82]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Patrick82 /img/forum/go_quote.gif $3000 Valhalla power cord with $300 computer is the way to go!

Wow. I'm surprised of the huge difference between both my transports now. Cary used to always sound louder than my computer. But now my computer sounds louder than Cary because the fat Valhalla adds fake heaviness to the sound. If the sound is fuller it also sounds louder.

I like to listen more to my computer than to the tweaked Cary. Just because the computer is edgier and heavier with a blacker background.

My Cary transport + tweaks are $13 000+ and my computer only has the fat Valhalla for $3000. Valhalla power cord + computer gives $10 000 in savings.

Fat Valhalla doesn't work without a crappy transport, using fat Valhalla with Cary just makes it too heavy and warm. But with edgy computer it works good, the more jitter the better! Computer + fat Valhalla is a great combination, it gives the whitest, blackest and heaviest sound. The lack of low-level detail compared to Cary still doesn't bother me.

If I would build a system from scratch I would buy Valhalla power cord for the crappiest computer I can find. Then I would cut the Valhalla in half and use each cable for the live and neutral signals.

 

[tourmaline]

Quote:

Originally Posted by vcoheda /img/forum/go_quote.gif you should send this thread to nordost. maybe it will encourage them to introduce a valkyrja /valhalla hybrid. of course after they are done crying from seeing what you did to their fine cables.

Actually, they might try a thickness of silverplating between the valhalla and the valkyrja.

They have a new top end IC cable now, only 18.000 dollars or so.

I wonder how much better that cable is compared to the valhalla or the valkyrja. In respect to that price, valkyrja or valhalla al of a sudden seem cheap!