Nordost SuperFlatLine Speaker Cable Review

[fpitas]

I suspect that the mods throw in a troll once in awhile to keep things interesting and to keep us on our toes. I am pretty sure actually.

How very cynical. But I have to wonder, too.

 

[pseudoid]

Yes, not like normal cable, which gives a more rounded image.

I took your advice, when I decided to swap-out power amps.
I went with the most amount of rounded strands I could afford and for the first time I did NOT make my own speaker cables.

I don't know whether the "round" ferrite beads and/or the yellow arrows make this an audiophool product but @$36 (3m), it was a buhgun!

 

[voodooless]

yellow arrows

Out of spite I would connect them the other way around

 

[pseudoid]

Out of spite I would connect them the other way around

I don't know if you picked it up but the photo shows that the signal flow (arrow) is FROM the speakers TO the amplifier.
[they are stick-on-labels... I am just going to peel them off]

 

[fpitas]

[they are stick-on-labels... I am just going to peel them off]

But then don't you need to send them back to the factory for re-calibration?

 

[voodooless]

I don't know if you picked it up but the photo shows that the signal flow (arrow) is FROM the speakers TO the amplifier.
[they are stick-on-labels... I am just going to peel them off]

Yes, I was wondering about that. Maybe it’s a special cable to bridge amps

 

[pkane]

But then don't you need to send them back to the factory for re-calibration?

Just need another 500 hours of break-in if you reverse the direction.

 

[Speedskater]

I don't know whether the "round" ferrite beads and/or the yellow arrows make this an audiophool product but @$36 (3m), it was a buhgun!

Well the "round" ferrite beads are an engineering thing, audiophiles hate ferrites. With ferrite beads, the yellow arrows should indicate that the beads be placed at the amplifier end of the cable.
(But its doubtful that the beads will make a difference)

 

[EJ3]

This is a review and detailed measurements of the Nordost SuperFlatLine speaker cable. It is on kind loan from a member and costs US $360.
View attachment 292605
As you see, the cable name is fully descriptive with parallel copper traces running from one end to the other. The edges of the cable are somewhat sharp and overall the cable feels somewhat delicate (think flex PCB if you are an engineer). The terminations were surprisingly loose as I inserted them in the banana jacks of my Audio Precision analyzer.

Company provides a set of "specifications" which are hardly useful:
View attachment 292606

Nordost SuperFlatLine Speaker Cable Measurements
I tested the cable as if it were an interconnect (and hence with higher impedance than it would see in real life). There, the SuperFlatLine showed transparency with analyzer's internal bypass:
View attachment 292607
Seeing the large surface area of the cable and audiophiles always worrying about noise intrusion in cables, I put my usual test transformer at 90 degrees to the cable. This induce fair bit of mains noise:
View attachment 292608

I then switched the cable to a generic 12 gauge I bought form Amazon a while ago:

View attachment 292609

As you see, the induced noise level is much less now. The SuperFlatLine cable was so sensitive that having the transformer 12 inches away from it still induced fair amount of noise.

Note again that these are high impedance tests. With typical low impedance amplifier and speakers, it will be much harder to inject noise into a speaker cable. Still, all else being equal, the Nordost cable is much worse in this regard due to simple physics of its construction.

I also ran the classic frequency response test showing no difference between the cables (and no cable):
View attachment 292612

For grins, I set the analyzer to 1 MHz and pumped a 10 kHz squarewave into the cables:
View attachment 292613
As you see, there is not the slightest difference even though this signal is "illegal" in 44.1 kHz or even higher sampling rates.

Conclusions
The Norodost SuperFlatLine cable clearly falls in the category of paying more and getting less. It is much more susceptible to noise pick up, and its physical construction is a bit of a pain to deal with.

Needless to say, I can't recommend the Nordost SuperFlatLine cable.
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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/

I have this ($19.99 new old stock on E-Bay, works fine, is paintable):

 

[pseudoid]

I have this ($19.99 new old stock on E-Bay, works fine, is paintable):View attachment 337282

This is around the time that I stoPped doing business with Monster... because they stoOped so low!
[Notice the absence of AWG spec on their boxes]
I recommend you sell the "24K Gold" connectors on eBay for an ROI and send the cables to the recycling center for their green copper!

 

[pseudoid]

audiophiles hate ferrites.

oic

 

[amirm]

[Notice the absence of AWG spec on their boxes]

I tested one of their thick speaker cables I have and was very surprised that it did not even measure 12 gauge! It is thick on the outside, not inside.

 

[voodooless]

It is thick on the outside, not inside.

You’ll need some Tardis (tm) cables then…

 

[EJ3]

This is around the time that I stoPped doing business with Monster... because they stoOped so low!
[Notice the absence of AWG spec on their boxes]
I recommend you sell the "24K Gold" connectors on eBay for an ROI and send the cables to the recycling center for their green copper!

I bought these back in the day. I live on a salt water creek off of the Atlantic ocean.
There is nothing green about the copper (I have used at least one of the 4 rolls of this stuff temporarily). The other 3 rolls are still in their original packaging. How I ended up with 4 packs of this stuff, I do not know.
The AWG is easy enough to measure should I see an actual use for this stuff.
But it is certainly no where near as good of a "snake oil" product as "Nordost Super FlatLine" is. ($360??)!
Monster were mere amateur's compared to the Nordost folks.
Like you, I find that there is no AWG (although I think that it may be 16, which would be OK for short runs [perhaps 10 or 12 ft.] to main speakers {but not my pair of passive subs with dual 4 OHM voice coils & 800 watts a voice coil going to them}).

 

[Descartes]

Tell him you will buy if he can pass a blind test vs Mogami.

Not worth the time and effort! Plus I have other things to spend my hard earned money on such as a good meal or a good Chateaux D’Yquem

 

[Descartes]

I tested one of their thick speaker cables I have and was very surprised that it did not even measure 12 gauge! It is thick on the outside, not inside.

Not surprised they are kings of snake oil’

 

[Chrispy]

Not surprised they are kings of snake oil’

Don't think they sell as much as fraudioquest does....they're the top of that pile IMO.

 

[pseudoid]

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

Are you satisfied yet or shall we continue?

 

[Chrispy]

Are you satisfied yet or shall we continue?

Yet this is none of the things he mentioned.....

 

[EJ3]

Yet this is none of the things he mentioned.....

Statements. perhaps?