It Was Inevitable…

[miniguy]

Audio jewelry taken to the max.

Nordost Introduces New Supreme Reference Cable Range – Odin Gold

The following is a press release issued by Nordost. AUGUST 2021: Attendees of the Hong Kong High End Audio Visual Show were the first to view Nordost’s

www.theabsolutesound.com

 

[ddk]

Audio jewelry taken to the max.

Nordost Introduces New Supreme Reference Cable Range – Odin Gold

The following is a press release issued by Nordost. AUGUST 2021: Attendees of the Hong Kong High End Audio Visual Show were the first to view Nordost’s

www.theabsolutesound.com

"Odin Gold advances the revolutionary technology generated throughout the development of the Odin 2 range, and improves upon its elemental composition. With this new preeminent cable range comes the introduction of a new material to Nordost’s award-winning design philosophy. One whose stability, conductivity, and tolerance yields transformative, never before experienced enhancements to performance. That material is gold."

Gotta love the business model, Odin 2 and all other audiophile cables that go from world changing to this years dog leash, buy more we gold plated the same turd. Where's the value and how long before the next super Bullshitium plated version making this one obsolete ?

"Nordost’s gold-plated TSC technology is then carried throughout the cable and into its purpose-built, 100% shielded, gold-plated HOLOLUG® connector. Odin Gold Power Cords are available with gold-plated HOLOLUG® US (Nema), EU (Schuko), AUS or UK to HOLOLUG® IEC-C15 or IEC-C19 terminations. The retail price is $34,999.99 for a 1.25 meter length; additional 1.25 meter increments are $9,500.00."

As a manufacturer and member of this industry companies like Nordost and the reviewers who push this rubbish on unsuspecting consumers disgust me most. What a load of CRAP!

david

 

[Addicted to hifi]

should be a stunning cable but very expensive.

 

[Argonaut]

The retail price is $34,999.99 for a 1.25 meter length

I am devastated .... That pricing model would cost me $16,000 to enumerate my manhood !

 

[Addicted to hifi]

I am devastated .... That pricing model would cost me $16,000 to enumerate my manhood!

Are they worth the price? I don’t think so.

 

[ddk]

I am devastated .... That pricing model would cost me $16,000 to enumerate my manhood !

Show off, but he’s got you beat !

should be a stunning cable but very expensive.

You can pickup some gold plated solid & hollow core cables here!

https://www.etsy.com/market/gold_plated_rope_chain

david

 

[KeithR]

I blame Nordost for the entire stupid cable industry move. When they released Valhalla 20 years ago which was multiples of what everything else cost, the wheels spun in motion.

 

[ddk]

I blame Nordost for the entire stupid cable industry move. When they released Valhalla 20 years ago which was multiples of what everything else cost, the wheels spun in motion.

There were others before them, blame goes to People buying into this.
david

 

[Ed.P]

I’m holding out for Odin Platinum next year.

 

[wil]

Someone, not me, should count how many times the word “gold” is used in that embarrassing press release.

Yes, they use electro-plated gold measured in .0000x”. It’s cheap to electroplate gold. I used to sell 24 karat electroplated ginkgo leaves jewelry on the street when I was just out of college. They were junk (and very profitable I might add!)

And this seems to be Nordost’s focus on their marketing of a $34,000 cable.

 

[djsina2]

Will be big hit in China.

 

[miniguy]

Will be big hit in China.

That’s right - ripe for a knockoff

 

[PeterA]

There were others before them, blame goes to People buying into this.
david

And it got worse when they were able to convince people that cables are apparently components. They were able to charge the prices of components, and today $34,000 for a preamp or DAC is pretty normal.

I was caught in the trap, but now I find it easy to resist. It took me a while to better understand what I was hearing.

 

[Mike Lavigne]

i think our indignation is a bit selective around here. i get that sometimes it supports certain narratives. and cables and tweaks are a special category. few are untouched by excess (even the cost of acquiring vintage can be excess). just depends on where you are standing.

glass houses and all that.

reading about these new cables i admit these same thoughts came to mind....they do push limits. but not sure any (a very few?) here are in a position to quibble.

now if we hear them and they don't live up to their cost then that is fair game. and if you did not care for Odin 2 likely the Gold is not going to do it for you. but getting caught up on just the price (or color ) is not a good direction.

 

[Gregadd]

Master built does not have gold. There is also liquid ferrous

 

[wil]

i think our indignation is a bit selective around here. i get that sometimes it supports certain narratives. and cables and tweaks are a special category. few are untouched by excess (even the cost of acquiring vintage can be excess). just depends on where you are standing.

glass houses and all that.

reading about these new cables i admit these same thoughts came to mind....they do push limits. but not sure any (a very few?) here are in a position to quibble.

now if we hear them and they don't live up to their cost then that is fair game. and if you did not care for Odin 2 likely the Gold is not going to do it for you. but getting caught up on just the price (or color ) is not a good direction.

To me, this bit of an Nordost market speak goes to a whole Nother level of absurdity . As far as I can tell from reading this, there’s no actual new engineering which would produce yet more exalted sound.

They’ve just gold plated the hell out of everything in sight. This sounds like a product born 100% from the marketing department.

 

[tima]

This sounds like a product born 100% from the marketing department.

That material is gold*."

* And not just any gold. It is Odin Gold - taken from chalices and sacrementals plundered from the remote Lindisfarne Abbey in 793 A.D. by daring Norse Raiders. Odin Gold - Cable of the Gods.

 

[Mike Lavigne]

To me, this bit of an Nordost market speak goes to a whole Nother level of horseshit. As far as I can tell from reading this, there’s no actual new engineering which would produce yet more exalted sound.

They’ve just gold plated the hell out of everything in sight. This sounds like a product born 100% from the marketing department.

if super uber level hifi products are disqualified by market speak, they are all disqualified. airplanes, sailboats, cars and watches too. Nordost is neither the first nor the worst.

there is no new level. it's just how things are.

 

[TLi]

Please don't discredit a HiFi product just based on its price. If that is the case, almost all audio components should be condemned. To most people, HiFi equipment is all over-priced.

I ordered two Odin Gold 20A power cords for my Constellation Hercules II monoblocks. Gold gives a warmer sound. It improves the Odin 2 sound which often is a little too bright. In this weekend, I borrow a 15A Odin Gold power cord from local dealer to try on my Altair II preamp as well. The Altair II is using Odin 2 PC already, a direct shootout will be interesting and shall report here when I have a conclusion.

Audio cable is a strange business. I have a full set of dCS Vivaldi, the cables used to contact them up cost more than the Vivaldi, 15 cables together. If external 10 MHz reference clock is used, which I did, it is 17 cables. Without good cables, the system does not sound that good. The same applies to speaker cables and others. I made most cable purchase after careful audition which often included home audition.

 

[BlueFox]

Personally, I consider power and cables to be the foundation for a stereo. A good foundation will allow any gear to work at its best. Of course, some gear is better than others, but all gear works better on a good foundation. Whether a $30K cable is 6 times better than a $5K cable is another issue.