Nordost Blue Heaven AC Cord Review

[fpitas]

The manufacturers might be fraudulent or possibly believe in what they are selling; in any case, they do what they can get away with. I have a bigger issue with so-called reviewers/journalists such as <https://hifiplus.com/articles/nordost-odin-2-cables/>. What possible excuse is there for that (no, advertising revenue is not a valid one)? To think that I bought a few issues of that mag some years ago...

I'll comment that finding a true believer reviewer who gushes about this stuff is easy enough. Just see what gets posted on those other audio forums.

 

[Ricardus]

Came for the science, stayed for the entertainment

I enjoy both.

 

[JSmith]

Huh... great, really?


JSmith

 

[fpitas]

View attachment 292254
Huh... great, really?


JSmith

The vendors and manufacturer visited.

 

[Zensō]

View attachment 292254
Huh... great, really?


JSmith

Probably all Nordost stakeholders.

 

[fpitas]

View attachment 292254
Huh... great, really?


JSmith

I daresay you haven't tried listening to the AC mains with it. Grab a nice goblet of claret and you have a unique listening experience.

 

[AudioSceptic]

Since I can remember, so that will be the 1970's on, the HiFi industry has been desperate to sell accessories, knowing that once a punter has 'spent out', usually exceeding their original budget, on their new stereo system, their revenue from similar purchases will be severely curtailed for a while. The 'low cost' accessory market keeps them coming back to the store for that affordable little thing that 'lifts the performance' of your system. Its always struck me that it is a bit dumb that you sell someone something which is often quite expensive and certainly a non essential luxury item that 'can be improved' with the addition of a cheap add on that the original manufactures couldn't possibly have thought of, whether it was worthwhile of not.

I can't help but feel that the buyers of such accessories have lost all sense, placing disproportionate faith in the marketing claims made for such devices and I'm not talking about $80,000 cables which look like a python that's just had a good meal, I'm talking about the relatively innocent things like fancy little bottles of contact cleaner, little disks to shove under your speaker feet or a 'HiFi standard' distribution strip.

Much like the seeming rise of conspiracy theories, there seem to be a large proportion of HiFi enthusiast who seem to have disengaged the skeptical safety feature of their brain and who want to believe, no they go so far as to defend, the hype spouted by these charlatan companies. I am led to understand that it is an increasing mistrust of authority and science that is at the heart of this behavior in our society. Ignoring the money side of things it is perhaps the behavioral issue here which troubles me most.

This! Yes, I was one of those, although I never spent silly money on tweaky stuff, just a bit more than I should have. :-(

 

[antcollinet]

This kind of product actually makes me angry because it is 100% fraudulent and is equivalent to stealing money from naive people. The issue is that all of the marketing claims are verifiably false, and the company knows it. My question is whether any country in the world has any kind of anti-fraud laws that would regulate this kind of practice and protect the consumer? I’m not saying that selling this type of product should be illegal. My issue is with advertising that a product does something that it does not do.

But here is the problem:

When you listen to your system, you are actually listening to the AC mains supply. This makes the most important cables in your system the ones feeding power into the equipment. They are responsible for the raw material that gets turned into the sound. Nordost employs FEP insulation and its high-speed, low-loss Micro Mono-Filament construction to deliver the best possible power source for your system.

The Blue Heaven Power Cord seems like a conventional, three-core AC cord, but don't be fooled. The use of Nordost's proven, proprietary high-speed, low-loss Micro Mono-Filament construction and FEP insulation throughout transforms its performance and the performance of your system. When it comes to your equipment's power supply, you need quality as well as quantity, and the Blue Heaven Power Cord delivers both, making it the crucial foundation on which to build your system's performance. It is available in a full range of AC plug options.

None of that is verifiably false. They never actually specifically say it is going to improve the sound - it is all just implied. Weasel words from a weasel company.

 

[fpitas]

But here is the problem:



None of that is verifiably false. They never actually specifically say it is going to improve the sound - it is all just implied. Weasel words from a weasel company.

Well...the part about you're really listening to the AC mains is very questionable, at least. Unless you like that kind of thing.

 

[antcollinet]

Well...the part about you're really listening to the AC mains is very questionable, at least. Unless you like that kind of thing.

Right - you are listening to the implication.

But in a court if someone tried to prosecute them for misleading advertising:

Nordost : Well, yer onner - every watt of power sent to the speakers comes from the mains along our power cable.

Case dismissed.

 

[aslan7]

Blink in Swiss watches are indeed more prominent within the last few decades, however, bling had been a selling point for most Swiss watches for much longer. Why would you want to wear a watch made out of solid gold and has diamonds other than bling? Here are some examples that are 60+ years old.

Besides, brands like Lois Vuitton, Hermes and shops that sell them like Harrods, Selfridges, Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue had been there for 100+ years.

Excuse the blurry photo but I'll take this style any day.

 

[Ken Tajalli]

Well...the part about you're really listening to the AC mains is very questionable, at least. Unless you like that kind of thing.

Equally, my burger, in reality, comes from grass!
So I am in essence, a vegetarian . . . . go figure.

 

[sarumbear]

Excuse the blurry photo but I'll take this style any day.

We are not discussing your taste but the taste of the market.

 

[antcollinet]

Equally, my burger, in reality, comes from grass!
So I am in essence, a vegetarian . . . . go figure.

Right - not so long ago, every atom in that burger was in a blade of grass (assuming the cattle are grass fed of course)

 

[dustinyo]

I'll never get tired of seeing snake oil like this get called out. And I continue to be amazed that companies can charge this much for a power cable, but won't spring for UL certification. Just the balls on them.

 

[JaMaSt]

I'll never get tired of seeing snake oil like this get called out. And I continue to be amazed that companies can charge this much for a power cable, but won't spring for UL certification. Just the balls on them.

I wonder if companies don't seek UL certification because it would require that they document the source components (i.e. who manufactured them and to what standard). This would make it crystal clear that there's probably $8 dollars worth of materials in the Nordost cord.

There's little doubt in my mind that this particular Nordost cord was made in China by the same company that sells the knock-offs. And it's probably perfectly fine and safe - and the Company that made the components isn't a "back-alley" company operating in the shadows. The reason for not getting it certified is to hide how inexpensive the components are.

 

[bboris77]

But here is the problem:



None of that is verifiably false. They never actually specifically say it is going to improve the sound - it is all just implied. Weasel words from a weasel company.

I agree that most of it is implied. However, this sentence is verifiably false:

"The use of Nordost's proven, proprietary high-speed, low-loss Micro Mono-Filament construction and FEP insulation throughout transforms its performance and the performance of your system."

How does it transform the performance of the power cord and the performance of your system? Based on the conventional measurements provided by @amirm, it simply does not transform anything, in any way, shape or form. The burden of proof should be on the company making these claims to substantiate them by providing some kind of empirical evidence. It the absence of this evidence, they open themselves up to potential litigation for false advertising.

 

[elvisizer]

Right - not so long ago, every atom in that burger was in a blade of grass (assuming the cattle are grass fed of course)

and even further back, every heavy element in the universe was created inside of a star- so you're REALLY eating stars, outside of the hydrogen in the water

 

[antcollinet]

and even further back, every heavy element in the universe was created inside of a star- so you're REALLY eating stars, outside of the hydrogen in the water

Our music is made from stardust also

 

[antcollinet]

I agree that most of it is implied. However, this sentence is verifiably false:

"The use of Nordost's proven, proprietary high-speed, low-loss Micro Mono-Filament construction and FEP insulation throughout transforms its performance and the performance of your system."

How does it transform the performance of the power cord and the performance of your system? Based on the conventional measurements provided by @amirm, it simply does not transform anything, in any way, shape or form. The burden of proof should be on the company making these claims to substantiate them by providing some kind of empirical evidence. It the absence of this evidence, they open themselves up to potential litigation for false advertising.

They would just claim measurements not performed by Amir. I'm sure they can find something somewhere that changes - even if it's a minute effect do to the slightly lower resistance. It doesn't have to do with the output from the device.