Nordost SuperFlatLine Speaker Cable Review

[Gruesome]

Hmm is the "Articulation" concept snake oil ? Please check the attached doc.
Your thoughts ?

This is the other MIT....

 

[Short38]

Well, that was easy. This is the supplier of the bulk cable. Identical down to the red stripe on one side.

https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256803179825007.html?

So WORST case: $22 of cable, $5 of plugs and heat-shrink, and 30mins of labor. Selling for $360 . Incredible.

Good lord. Do you think they have the clear version used on the Valhalla level cables?

 

[MattHooper]

This is all an exercise in jealousy from people who can't afford better cables like Nordost!

/s

Thanks again Amir! Happy to see you keep testing high end cable claims!

 

[Short38]

For Sale: Complete set, new in box "Uplift - Organic Cable Lifters" $250

The cable is threaded through the lift and then terminated? The minimal dual contact area provided by these lifts
Is probably game modifying.

 

[polmuaddib]

I really don't know why I clicked to read this review...
But I am gonna skip the next cable review, because I think it is a waste of Amir's and reader's time.

 

[MattHooper]

I really don't know why I clicked to read this review...
But I am gonna skip the next cable review, because I think it is a waste of Amir's and reader's time.

With respect: Speak for yourself. ;-)

I think it’s the furthest thing from a waste of time. Much of the audiophile world tries to convince people that things like high priced cables make obvious sonic differences.

One of the most valuable contributions Amir is making is to debunk the claims, especially with well known brands like Nordost and others. His youtube comment sections are filled with comments like “I was suspicious about this stuff but it really helps to see solid evidence in the form of these educational videos.” Its making a significant impact from what I can see. And I enjoy every one of them.

It’s like taking on flat earth claims. Why bother? Because doing so entails educating on why we actually know the earth is a sphere. And while most people accept it’s a sphere many aren’t aware of the variety of ways it was figured out it was a sphere. Which can be entertaining and educational.

Same for high end woo woo claims - each debunking includes some info on why the claims are dubious.

But then, I come from a long background of interest in skeptical inquiries of extraordinary claims. Other people may not be so interested, and that’s fine of course.

 

[Ageve]

 

[DSJR]

I voted not terrible!

WHY???

Because of the country I live in and the fact is that I and many others sold lots of its ancestor thirty years ago when it wasn't as expensive from what I remember.

Back in the 90's, it was marketed in the UK by The Chord Company (not the same as Chord Electronics) as 'Chord Flatline.' Most households back then had carpeted floors and getting larger gauge cables around skirting boards or under carpets looked awful in many family rooms (not very many audio enthusiasts had dedicated man-caves where visuals don't matter). 'Flatline' went underneath carpets with ease and the lively 'clear' tones we heard (OK, imagined) suited us just fine as we felt/believed we heard more 'detail' in the sound of many speakers arguably used too close to the wall behind them in too small a listening room!!! The spell was broken when Nordost established their own distribution branch of their business in the UK and Chord Co. had to find an alternative (a small gauge PTFE encased silver plated wire called Rumour, which we sold instead, followed by the thicker gauge Odyssey, neither being very generous in terms of conductor gauge I remember).

It was around this time that education properly started for me as Quad, still under UK ownership, introduced their own speaker cable, a hosepipe in a dirty cream (so neutral) colour with really decent conductor size (can't remember if the conductors were twisted internally or not), absolutely NO 'directionality' to it (oh, we were in the thick of things like that back then in the 90's) and absolutely NO 'sound quality' whatsoever - it simply did the job it was made to do and did it perfectly as indeed it should!!! Long gone now sadly but Van Damme Blue, Fisual and KabelDirekt cables have come along at very good prices a fraction of extremely high profit dealer-supplied cable - 120% or more markup not uncommon - and with similar gauge, made with good clean shiny copper a far cry from the Linn K400 and K600 we had which was ghastly to look at and had small gauge dirty looking copper conductors set into the thick back jacket (as pairs) when they were stripped back.

Sorry for the tale of past ignorance and woe above, but the US market is so different quite often and I feel that if it can be got used at far better prices, the Flatline can suit some situations very well as long as the runs aren't too long (ours were around 8m each I remember so maybe pushing it a bit) and the price not excessive as it now seems to be when dealer bought.

 

[amirm]

For those of you want to run cables under carpet, if you are putting in new carpet, you can have the installer cut a channel in the padding. The put the carpet on top of that. Then you won't even know if it is there. Normal cable has a tough jacket which can stand that kind of use. The Nordost utlraflatline, not so much.

 

[CapMan]

Back in the 90's, it was marketed in the UK by The Chord Company (not the same as Chord Electronics) as 'Chord Flatline.

Chord Company are one of worst for foo foo claims - this is their Epic speaker cable :

“EpicX is a shielded speaker cable that works well with pretty much every style of speaker from mid-price to high-end. EpicX brings detail, dynamics, resolution and coherence. It’s particularly good at bringing control and definition to bass frequencies. A great choice for floor-standing speakers.”

Who’d have thought - a cable made especially for floor standing speakers! What an easy sell for the dealer.

On the product page you have the option to ‘view full specs’ - you’ll be shocked to hear that this doesn’t include any electrical properties .

 

[JakeK]

No they weren't stupid. Yes, cables like this are stupid, but the people were not. Electronics and such simply were not their area of expertise. Any of us can make foolish decisions in an area where we aren't educated. An area we can be conned or scammed.

Indeed. When I bought my first separates system about 30 years ago I spent extra money on interconnects and speaker cables as I was lead to believe the cables that came with the CD player etc would 'strangle' the sound. At the time I had studied Physics and was studying Mechanical Engineering so some knowledge of electricity and not a total idiot but I still believed. At least now we have places like this where we can find truth and knowledge.

 

[Guralex]

I really don't know why I clicked to read this review...
But I am gonna skip the next cable review, because I think it is a waste of Amir's and reader's time.

More reviews = more "statistical data" = less possibilities for audio vendors to manipuilate on the topic

@amirm is a Batman here. Fighting crime doesn't always have to be fun. It's a job

 

[DSJR]

Chord Company are one of worst for foo foo claims - this is their Epic speaker cable :

“EpicX is a shielded speaker cable that works well with pretty much every style of speaker from mid-price to high-end. EpicX brings detail, dynamics, resolution and coherence. It’s particularly good at bringing control and definition to bass frequencies. A great choice for floor-standing speakers.”

Who’d have thought - a cable made especially for floor standing speakers! What an easy sell for the dealer.

On the product page you have the option to ‘view full specs’ - you’ll be shocked to hear that this doesn’t include any electrical properties .

Nothing surprises me any more and I can't believe it's nineteen years since I finally left the retail side of the industry, certain trade suppliers I regarded as 'friends' abandoned all contact as I was no longer important to them and I began to see more of the rip-off truth in certain parts of this industry which seems to be getting worse as the main market is new retirees with bulging? pension pots all well over 50 years of age who missed 'it all' thirty to forty years back. So damned sad and it's one reason why I continue to rate Rega in the UK as they've always put the customers first with great aftercare of needed, they haven't forgotten old ex-dealer pals who supported them in the past and prices in the home market are still very reasonable and far lower than the US price.

 

[Mart68]

More reviews = more "statistical data" = less possibilities for audio vendors to manipuilate on the topic

@amirm is a Batman here. Fighting crime doesn't always have to be fun. It's a job

he does still need to label his test equipment with large white cards though:

 

[Mart68]

More reviews = more "statistical data" = less possibilities for audio vendors to manipuilate on the topic

@amirm is a Batman here. Fighting crime doesn't always have to be fun. It's a job

he does still need to label his test equipment with large white cards though:

 

[MattHooper]

For those of you want to run cables under carpet, if you are putting in new carpet, you can have the installer cut a channel in the padding. The put the carpet on top of that. Then you won't even know if it is there. Normal cable has a tough jacket which can stand that kind of use. The Nordost utlraflatline, not so much.

I dislike seeing cables in my set up but fortunately I don’t have to run cables under the rug. My speaker cables run over a thick shag rug to the speakers and are invisible but buried in the rug.

“Cable Lifter Manufacturers Hate This One Trick…”

 

[sealman]

I am curious as to what criteria the 9 (7 voted great and 2 fine) people used to arrive at their vote?

 

[AudioSceptic]

No they weren't stupid. Yes, cables like this are stupid, but the people were not. Electronics and such simply were not their area of expertise. Any of us can make foolish decisions in an area where we aren't educated. An area we can be conned or scammed.

OK, gullible not stupid. This lack of critical thinking is sadly common.

 

[Ken Tajalli]

For those of you want to run cables under carpet, if you are putting in new carpet, you can have the installer cut a channel in the padding. The put the carpet on top of that. Then you won't even know if it is there. Normal cable has a tough jacket which can stand that kind of use. The Nordost utlraflatline, not so much.

In the UK, the standard wiring loom for the lighting circuit has three conductors, each 1.5 mm squared, solid core copper.
- constant current capability is up to 20A, if exposed, or 15A if used within walls.
- size is 8mmX5mm flat.
- Easily can be hidden under carpets (with a little care).
- Impedance is 15mili-Ohm for 10 meter length (33 feet).
- I have chosen it against all fancy cables, over 20 years ago, never looked back.
- can easily be connected to thumb-screw terminals (one single solid core), no mess, no banana, no oranges!
- the cost is next to nothing.
- Though I have never measured it, the inductance should be very low.

 

[Overseas]

It never ends. This guy was a fan of Nordost then what... did he see the light?! Nope, he just saw the next hole with snake oil to jump in.

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