Nordost Blue Heaven AC Cord Review

[sarumbear]

That's highly debatable for the one tested here,is off by any look standard.

Obviously taste is subjective but in a visual comparison to a standard AC cord, they look at least, striking.

 

[Kaiju]

It made me laugh when I read Micro mono next to eachother in their product description. Does this really exist in engineering?

 

[BR52]

That's highly debatable for the one tested here,is off by any look standard.

It has not to look good in an aesthetic sense it has to be eye catching

 

[KenA]

There needs to be a parallel review of double-blind listening tests for all of these articles, maybe then the subjectivists would shut up. The first A/B test would be with the Topping DAC vs. one or two of the most revered / expensive DACs out there. I'd bet dollars to donuts that **NO ONE** could hear the difference.

There are a number of reports of listening tests that can be found in the web, for all sorts of equipment from amps to DACs to cables. Here’s one for power cables:

Welcome Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity

Home Theater Systems and Audio Components | Audio Visual Equipment Product Reviews, Technical AV Guides, Home Theater Equipment and Product Reviews

hometheaterhifi.com

It’s a long read, but the result can be found at the bottom. Here is an extract from the results:
‘The total number of correct answers was 73 out of 149, which amounts to 49% accuracy. That is no more accurate than flipping a coin, and therefore, no statistically significant detection of power cable differences.’

As expected.

 

[aslan7]

Wonderful review. Thanks.

 

[KenA]

Fancy cable manufacturers exploited a fundamental human weakness: the mental association between looking good and performing well, looking better and performing even more, and looking the best and achieving a god-like status. This has been known since antiquity: both Aeneas and Odysseus were good looking, Emperors and Queens, since Julius Cesar and Cleopatra, were usually portrayed (we would say today photoshopped) according to the Canon of Beauty. It took millennia to discover a process to graph with light the real appearance, and even then, thanks to progress in lighting and make-up, the control of the image soon took over again…Nordost (and many other manufacturers, Chord is another example) had the intuition that bling is often associated with competence in at least a linear fashion. ASR offers to us a fundamental tool to get real beyond this game of mirrors, at least for the reproduction of recorded Music, and it is therefore a positive example of itinerarium ad verum. Thank you Amir!

As I recall, Floyd Toole writes about sighted tests vs blind tests. People cannot ignore what they see and the results get distorted by a bias created when they know factors such as brand, size, price, etc.

 

[misureaudio]

It made me laugh when I read Micro mono next to eachother in their product description. Does this really exist in engineering?

An intriguing way to say 'OCC'? Marketing at its best.

 

[Sokel]

Obviously taste is subjective but in a visual comparison to a standard AC cord, they look at least, striking.

Black,blue,white and gold all in one place?
That's nice only in an rainbow!

(I stop,taste is so personal we can make safe fun with it)

 

[fpitas]

But what about those of us who do listen to the AC mains?

/When I get tired of 1kHz tones.

 

[Sokel]

But what about those of us who do listen to the AC mains?

/When I get tired of 1kHz tones.

It's kind of fate if you DIY stuff

 

[CedarX]

From Mordor’s* Nordost website:
“Blue Heaven range has made a big impact on music enthusiasts and has been converting hifi novices into audiophiles for years.”
This may be the only true, but very sad, part of the story here…

*Even my autocorrect seems to understand what it is about !!!

 

[BR52]

From Mordor’s* Nordost website:
“Blue Heaven range has made a big impact on music enthusiasts and has been converting hifi novices into audiophiles for years.”
This may be the only true, but very sad, part of the story here…

*Even my autocorrect seems to understand what it is about !!!

They are selling competence

 

[fpitas]

They are selling competence

Sad, but true. "Even you can do something useful!" What a crappy place to be in life.

 

[fpitas]

It's kind of fate if you DIY stuff

Feed them both through at once and I can check IMD. What's not to like?

 

[xaviescacs]

IOW, they believe in a world beyond science

beyond actual facts...

 

[BR52]

Can we make a double visible test: the same appliance but with all the stuff around like audiophile cable, stand-off, magic stones, etc. compared to the regular I am sure the winner is the first one. It’s human behavior.

 

[DuncanTodd]

The big question is: does it have an audiophile grade rope inside the sleeve?

 

[delta76]

I roll my eyes whenever I see Nordost (or Audioquest).

Obviously taste is subjective but in a visual comparison to a standard AC cord, they look at least, striking.

they are not stupid. how can they charge 400$ for a power cable? make it looks good!

 

[fpitas]

I roll my eyes whenever I see Nordost (or Audioquest).

they are not stupid. how can they charge 400$ for a power cable? make it looks good!

That helps. But if they promised some bizarre cryogenic mumbo-jumbo etc. they could probably palm off Belden cords, as long as the name was removed.

 

[JSmith]

From Mordor’s

The precious...

JSmith