advertisement


How does the ancient Nordost SPM interconnect compare to the current range?

uncl_nigel

pfm Member
It's basically in the title.

Has anyone compared the ancient Nordost SPM interconnect to current Nordost cables?

Two reasons for the question:
- older cables are much cheaper
- we're forever being told that the new model is oh so much better than the old but is this really so?
 
I wouldn't expect any difference between devices with sensibly specced input and output impedances.
 
I didn’t use early Nordost and have no experience of SPM, but I’ve used the upper echelons of the Norse series for quite a while. I started with Valkyrja, then Tyr, then Heimdall 2, and currently Tyr 2. All have improved on the previous generation in some way.

Earlier, it was a shift to a more natural tonal balance - Valkyrja (and 1st gen Valhalla to some degree) were criticised in some quarters for emphasising treble at the expense of bass. Tyr improved on that balance, adding more weight to the lower registers. Much more like 1st gen Valhalla. But then it became apparent that the timing wasn’t all that it could be, the lower frequencies weren’t always well-integrated with the upper in terms of when they arrived. The whole ‘attack, sustain, decay’ envelope was still slightly skewed towards attack. Heimdall 2 improved on that, while again moving to a broader more natural tonal balance. Tyr 2 is, to my ears, pretty well sorted and a very fast, very open and very natural cable.
 
It's basically in the title.

Has anyone compared the ancient Nordost SPM interconnect to current Nordost cables?

Two reasons for the question:
- older cables are much cheaper
- we're forever being told that the new model is oh so much better than the old but is this really so?
I tried the Nordost SPM Reference and Flatline Gold speaker cables in my system many years ago. The SPM Reference are purple coloured cables, 3rd or 2nd from the top of the range Valhalla back in the day. I'm not sure about the interconnects but the speaker cables are fine. The SPM Reference is a significant improvement over Flatline Gold.

I didn't try the latest range of Nordost reference cables as they are too costly. Heimdall and up.
 
I didn’t use early Nordost and have no experience of SPM, but I’ve used the upper echelons of the Norse series for quite a while. I started with Valkyrja, then Tyr, then Heimdall 2, and currently Tyr 2. All have improved on the previous generation in some way.

Earlier, it was a shift to a more natural tonal balance - Valkyrja (and 1st gen Valhalla to some degree) were criticised in some quarters for emphasising treble at the expense of bass. Tyr improved on that balance, adding more weight to the lower registers. Much more like 1st gen Valhalla. But then it became apparent that the timing wasn’t all that it could be, the lower frequencies weren’t always well-integrated with the upper in terms of when they arrived. The whole ‘attack, sustain, decay’ envelope was still slightly skewed towards attack. Heimdall 2 improved on that, while again moving to a broader more natural tonal balance. Tyr 2 is, to my ears, pretty well sorted and a very fast, very open and very natural cable.

I have Heimdall interconnects. Version 1 I believe given the age. I got them second hand. New prices were always too much for me to bear. Have always come back to them any time I tried a change. I also tried the Heimdall speaker cables on a loan years ago. Again I think they did improve things but I just couldn't justify paying as much for the cables as the Spendor A6's I was using at the time. I will buy heimdall speaker cables at some point when I find someone desperate enough to accept my lowball offer :D
 
I didn’t use early Nordost
I wa not convinced by the 1st iterations of Red Dawn

Tyr 2 is, to my ears, pretty well sorted and a very fast, very open and very natural cable.
I compared Tyr 2 with Analysis Plus Silber Oval 1n and Cardas Golden Ref (all XLR, all 1m) a couple of days ago and definitely preferred the Tyr 2. The only downside is the budget :) I need four sets to outfit the whole system and at least two for the main source and pre-power links..
 
You can try aliexpress for Nordost Odin stuff and I think some Valhalla. There is also a few sellers of ribbon cables. Great prices compared to genuine Nordost cables.
I have bought RCA's and a USB cable. USB cable I think has improved things in terms of sensing more detail. The RCA's I changed out fairly quickly. Maybe I should let them burn in. Well constructed cables that appear to be all copper with silver plating and some of the stuff suggests it is all silver.
There are Furutech and various others there also. The mains cables I have seen are really well made. You couldn't buy a wattgate connector plus the plug and cable for much less. Some friends swear by them but I couldn't never discern any difference in a power cable. But you pays your money.
 
I compared Tyr 2 with Analysis Plus Silber Oval 1n and Cardas Golden Ref (all XLR, all 1m) a couple of days ago and definitely preferred the Tyr 2. The only downside is the budget :) I need four sets to outfit the whole system and at least two for the main source and pre-power links..
That's useful to know. I don't have the privilege of comparing different XLR interconnects as I only got one set. There is no benchmark for comparison but the XLR did sound better than the cheaper RCA cable.

The Tyr 2 is rather costly and 4 sets would be quite a stretch. I suppose the SPM Reference would be quite rare in the used market. Apart from the SPM, I also read about the Quattro Fil which is another old design which received favourable reviews. I'm not sure how they would compare with the latest Tyr 2 though.
 
I am afraid this doesn't answer your question BUT.......

Cue show dem from Nordost rep - Circa Early Noughties - The (then new) SPM reference cable is being touted as THE solution to the "Lousy Sound quality" of 99% of users systems.

Features from the dem include: 1. vigorous foot tapping/slamming - emphasising the kick drum of the music. 2. Jedi mind trick, staring silently but intensely into the uncomfortable dem crowds eyes as the music plays 3. Ask the audience "So do you think you have good sound from your system ??" Answer "NO you have Lousy sound !"

As a newly fledged HiFi nut at the time this was welded into my brain and scared the shit out of me for many years. On the plus side I made sure i stayed away from fancy ****y cables forever.
 
I’ve got aN SPM RCA interconnect and by far it’s the best cable I’ve owned but then again all my cabling is Nordost, I’ve tried a lot but just love the sound of their cables.
 
I've owned and own various Nordost cables, they've always gave good results, I particularly like the speaker cables, I currently have SPM speaker cables but have only compared them to the previous TQ Black 2, no real surprise as the Nordost was cleary in a different league.
More recently on moving to a temporary rental due to layout, furniture and power sources I've had to position my speakers so I needed 6m lengths of cable, not wanting to spend alot on a temporary solution I bought some second hand Chord Co. Rumour 2, although a totally different listening experience (far field?) with the speakers at one end of the room and the listening position at the other the budget Chord cable is doing a sterling job.
 
@Simon s I also hate that sort of demo. The staring in the face trick does not work on me - one of the rare advantages of my great difficulty in making eye contact. Sometimes I stare back with a monocular low vision aid - great fun! Surprising how many people are visibly ill at ease :)

My XLR interconnect comparison was done at my pace with a shop Tyr 2 and two cables from my current set up - no pressure, no foot-tapping, my choice of music and equipment.

We, the dealer and myself, were both curious as to how they would compare (he loves and uses Kimber KS1136 but doesn't sell it).

As for prices, I could probably get all four cables I heed and a really good dinner fo two for the price of one TYR 2 if I went for SPM/Quattro Fil. But the whole point of my question is how much would I lose out in terms of sound quality compared to Tyr 2
 
We, the dealer and myself, were both curious as to how they would compare (he loves and uses Kimber KS1136 but doesn't sell it).
Was just a bit of fun really. I guess the real dem would be to try this in the comfort of your own home and do a blind test against other cables of your choice. Difficult and one i would imagine the Nordost dealer would be reluctant to do. The other thing i found with cables is they may sound superficially different but if you leave them for a while in your system would you really appreciate that difference longer term for the initial outlay ?
 
The acid test is to live with the loan cable for a few days then remove it. If you suffer withdrawal symptoms you know what to do...
 
I am afraid this doesn't answer your question BUT.......

Cue show dem from Nordost rep - Circa Early Noughties - The (then new) SPM reference cable is being touted as THE solution to the "Lousy Sound quality" of 99% of users systems.

Features from the dem include: 1. vigorous foot tapping/slamming - emphasising the kick drum of the music. 2. Jedi mind trick, staring silently but intensely into the uncomfortable dem crowds eyes as the music plays 3. Ask the audience "So do you think you have good sound from your system ??" Answer "NO you have Lousy sound !"

As a newly fledged HiFi nut at the time this was welded into my brain and scared the shit out of me for many years. On the plus side I made sure i stayed away from fancy ****y cables forever.

We always had a good laugh at the 'Lars' Nordost demo's. Good sound and Baaaaad Sound. I remember sitting through a demo of power cables. Longer was better (and a lot more expensive) The music played was terrible and the B&W CM7 or 9's didn't sound nice to me no matter what was used. The power cables were valhalla. Crazy money. Who in their right mind would spend €3-4k on a power cable for an amp for speakers that cost about €1500. Poor madness but fun to watch for 5 minutes.
 
I sat through a Nordost dem at a show decades ago and found it interesting as a) they clearly demonstrated cables and fancy spikes made a difference, and b) that it sounded worse to my ears the more you spent.
 
We always had a good laugh at the 'Lars' Nordost demo's. Good sound and Baaaaad Sound. I remember sitting through a demo of power cables. Longer was better (and a lot more expensive) The music played was terrible and the B&W CM7 or 9's didn't sound nice to me no matter what was used. The power cables were valhalla. Crazy money. Who in their right mind would spend €3-4k on a power cable for an amp for speakers that cost about €1500. Poor madness but fun to watch for 5 minutes.
The point of the mismatched price, though, was that the cables could be shown to do what they do, without having to be attached to high end kit.
 


advertisement


Back
Top