Nordost Blue Heaven AC Cord Review

[Hart]

BLUE HEAVEN POWER CORD

View attachment 291851

The standard 15-Amp power circuit requires 14 AWG conductors, while the 20-Amp one requires 12 or 10 AWG. So this expensive cable's 16 AWG is not sufficient even for a 15-Amp circuit.

Wow, all that money and it is only 16 gauge, I did not see that. Inarguably sub-standard.

 

[Ricardus]

There is pretty much only one "Upgrade" power cable that is worth buying and its this: Schaffner IF13

Sure it still won't make a difference to the sound, but it is at least a fully certified cable with a real, proven filter circuit and a ferrite-choked cable, from a major manufacturer.

If it won't make a difference to the sound, why/how is it worth buying?????????????????????

 

[Spkrdctr]

View attachment 291763I believe that these mains cables are actually tested here - honestly , how can you expect to see differences if you’re not prepared to go to the sub atomic level for your measurements

Now that is what I'm talking about. Real Science.

 

[Spkrdctr]

View attachment 291766So I was passing a Kiehl’s cosmetics shop as I read this thread . This was in their window display - same old pseudo science complete with a DNA helix to add some weight to their science-based potions and lotions. I wonder what sort of blind testing they did to substantiate the claims on their window poster

I wonder how they wipe the creme on your DNA?

 

[Spkrdctr]

I just keep re-stating my same old advice. A decent 12ga speaker wire is all you need for most (99%?)residential audio/theater systems. Most people would be shocked at how little voltage/current they use when listening to music. Home theater will up this some, but unless you have low sensitivity speakers, you are not using all that much. Yours ears are grateful that you are keeping it at recommended volume levels.

 

[Fezzo]

Wow, all that money and it is only 16 gauge, I did not see that. Inarguably sub-standard.

Gauge = 16 Gauge x 3 strands equals 11 gauge. You can look it up.

 

[Fezzo]

Wire Combination Calculator

 

[fpitas]

Gauge = 16 Gauge x 3 strands equals 11 gauge. You can look it up.

I believe they mean each of the wires, hot, neutral and ground are 16 gauge.

 

[kemmler3D]

If it won't make a difference to the sound, why/how is it worth buying?????????????????????

Maybe if you have such dirty power in your place that you are worried about it actually damaging your gear... otherwise dunno.

 

[fpitas]

If it won't make a difference to the sound, why/how is it worth buying?????????????????????

I suspect it's to help pass FCC and CE regs at the test lab.

 

[SorenTyson]

I’d like to use Nordost power cable for my rice cooker. I can only dream about the gourmet rice I would get.

 

[fpitas]

I’d like to use Nordost power cable for my rice cooker. I can only dream about the gourmet rice I would get.

If it's really only 16 gauge it might overheat. But sound wonderful as it burst into flames.

 

[Zensō]

If it's really only 16 gauge it might overheat. But sound wonderful as it burst into flames.

This effing thing should come with a fire extinguisher and smoke alarm.

 

[fpitas]

This effing thing should come with a fire extinguisher and smoke alarm.

Your own fault though, for cheaping out and only paying $400.

 

[Zensō]

Your own fault though, for cheaping out and only paying $400.

True. I guess they'll have to confiscate my audiophile membership card.

 

[GXAlan]

@amirm,
One area which may be worth your time, for community service, is to measure and show the effect of corrosion or poor connections on cables.

I imagine if you took lamp cord and set it outside for a month in Seattle and then compared it to freshly stripped wire, you could show measured differences.

Then it bridges the gap. If you heard differences, it may be corrosion that you cleared out, and thus the “free upgrade” is to re strip the wires or clean the contacts with deoxit.

 

[tah800]

Topping is always there to save the day. Can’t beat a Topping

 

[pablolie]

The thought of "active cables" gives me absolute shivers. When I get a cable, I want 100% transparency, no filters built in. And copper without any "additives" does that just fine. Let the active components do the job they are supposed to do. Plus anyone that understands what Class D does knows -if semi-competently designed- that it doesn't need any help "filtering".

I *do* have fancier looking cables than the $10 stuff, but I fully admit it is just for aesthetics, not for any sort of performance optimization.

 

[AudioSceptic]

This is a review and detailed measurements of the Nordost Blue Heaven AC Cord. It is on kind loan from a member and costs US $417 at this length (2m).
View attachment 291720
This is "third-tier" product in Nordost line so naturally, it is not going to scream expensive. That is a good thing as the cable itself is kept to less than crazy thickness. It is flexible but doesn't want to rotate which is a requirement for AC cord. Fortunately the connectors are easy to plug in and the weight was not excessive enough to yank your gear off the table/rack. I like the beefy plugs that make it easy to handle the cord. Here are the marketing claims:
View attachment 291722

I must say, I had not heard of "high-speed" as something good in AC cables. After all, high-speed means no filter or else, it would not be high-speed! We will test for its speed in the measurement section. I got a chuckle out of the claim that their claims are "proven." Naturally no such proof was provided.

While the plugs have UL/CE marks on them, the whole assembly has no mention of safety regulation either on the packaging or the marketing material. Only conclusion then is that the cable is not certified which is a sad thing when it comes to something that handles high current/high voltage and can cause safety risk.

Nordost Blue Heaven Measurements
Every time I go into one of these tests I think about how to expand our testing and come at the product from a different angle. While some of this testing may seem familiar, some are new. As usual, comparison is against a generic cable I had handy. In this case, I had a white AC cable that is marked as "I-SHENG" and comes with UL mark on the cabling. Company website says:

"Isheng Electronics is a world-class manufacturer of AC power cords. We offer a wide range of power cords including different NEMA AC power cords and different International power cord configurations. "

There is mention of speed of proven technologies; only that they are safe.

As usual, I perform my high-voltage tests by sensing the wavefrom using a B&K high-voltage differential probe with 100:1 attenuator. Here is my AC waveform using the I-SHENG generic AC cord:
View attachment 291724

We see that the tops of the AC waveform are deformed resulting in a lot of harmonic distortion and noise. Treating this as if the power company is an amplifier, its SINAD is 31 dB. Let's swap in the Nordost Blue Heaven and see if it makes a difference:
View attachment 291725
It doesn't make any difference. Everything bad that was there continues to be bad.

Some say my power is clean. I don't know how anyone could say the above is clean but let's use my B&K AC generator to create a highly distorted waveform, simulating what a dimmer would do:

View attachment 291727

Let's agree that is one bad AC waveform! Our SINAD has now sank to just 5.3 dB! Let's pump that into the Nordost Blue Heaven and see if it does anything to it:
View attachment 291728
Once again it doesn't.

While we are here and have an AC waveform that has nice sharp transitions, let's look at it in time domain with bandwidth of the analyzer expanded to 1 MHz. Here is the comparison:
View attachment 291731
There are actually two waveforms there: one in blue for Nordost and another in red for generic cable. As you see, every pixel has landed on the other demonstrating that there is no difference in any aspect of that AC waveform including its sharp rise and fall time.

So far we have measured the AC waveform. Contrary to what Nordost claims, your audio gear doesn't run on AC. That input waveform is converted to DC and filtered heavily before use. It then drives the electronics that makes audio signal. That is all we care about as that is what we hear, not the AC waveform. So let's test for that.

Topping A90 Power Cord Measurements
Let's use the Topping A90 preamplifier/headphone amp that is on my desk to test the difference starting with generic AC cord:
View attachment 291729

Once again we get the superlative performance we expect. Now let's switch cables to Nordost:
View attachment 291730
Once again no difference.

Let's finish with a proof point of why AC tweaks don't work. I used the chopped dimmer AC waveform and fed it to Topping A90 with the generic cord. Here is the output:
View attachment 291732

Yup, there is not a hair out of place! We have the same superb performance coming out of headphone amplifier even though we nearly destroyed the AC waveform! That chopped up waveform in blue when it, and what came out was the red.

Conclusions
Both our old and new tests prove once again that power cords make no difference (as long as they are thick enough to handle the currents you need). We expanded our tests into time domain and saw no improvement with the Nordost cable. If the cable can't change the AC signal, surely it means that the output of our audio gear remains the same and that was indeed the case. We then proved our conclusions by supplying our test audio product with highly distorted AC waveform and its performance didn't change.

You can buy an AC cord on Amazon for about $10. It won't look as fancy as the Nordost but you can sleep easy knowing that it is safety tested and costs 40 times less!

As an aside, the owner was sold on this cable by an audio salesman that made it sound like his gear would not be complete without it. He couldn't hear a difference so sent it to me for testing.

I can't recommend the Nordost Blue Heaven Power cord.

----------
As always, questions, comments, recommendations, etc. are welcome.

Any donations are much appreciated using: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/how-to-support-audio-science-review.8150/

Of course you need the Odin 2 to make a real difference! <https://www.futureshop.co.uk/nordost-odin-2-uk-mains-power-cable>. Make sure you get the right fuse as well!

 

[uwotm8]

no word about any break-in time required

YOU WILL HEAR IT WHEN THE TIME WILL COME