Nordost Tyr 2 Review (USB Cable)

[Multicore]

I think it's disgusting that snake oil products like this exist

I don't. I think it's great. It's like gutter tabloid journalism. I don't consume much of it personally but the fact that it exists is reassuring. It proves that we still have at least that much freedom, that we get to choose, not some bureaucracy. Or like when a huge crowd of insanely loud motorcyclists come roaring along, disrupting the public space for a while. I don't like it but I'm glad I live somewhere where I could do that without being punished by law for it.

 

[gsp1971]

@amirm you do get a kick out of testing audio peripherals that claim the world and actually do nothing, don't you?

 

[Sal1950]

Or like when a huge crowd of insanely loud motorcyclists come roaring along, disrupting the public space for a while. I don't like it but I'm glad I live somewhere where I could do that without being punished by law for it.

Loud Pipes Saves Lives.

 

[Multicore]

@amirm you do get a kick out of testing audio peripherals that claim the world and actually do nothing, don't you?

It does appear so. It seems like he's on a mission. That it's personal somehow. I wonder what stories might be there.

 

[iMickey503]

When I see a product like this, with the ridiculous claims made by the manufacturer / reseller, I'm compelled to call the relevant government agencies to report fraud.

Le' Troll face.jpg

Was going to look at the Nordost website to see if they offered USB 3 cables or Thunderbolt cables. It is so slow it timed out several times before it would load a page. I wonder if they are using their own cables to connect everything???? Or is it GoDaddy's fault?

. Modems have been targeted for a while now.

On a more serious note, I'd pay good money (not $1400) for a lightning cable that my kids couldn't break every five minutes.

Good Luck! I bought a WIRELESS charger for my niece & she found a way to break that too! Genuinely impressed that playground equipment lasting as long as it does.

About the USB cable.
WHO ONE EARTH??? I am fine with paying more for a custom made item with real craftsmanship. But this is just sloppy.

WHO Silk screened this?

Oh COME ON GUYS! WTF!
YOU had ONE JOB... Make a cable that someone would be PROUD to own.
At the VERY least you could make it visually and aesthetically amazing.

There is ZERO excuse for this kind of lazy work. This is NOT hand painted. Or stamped. And if it was? Time to get a new Rx.

I would say this is a counterfeit cable. But these images came from Nords own site.
If your reading this? Contact Wendell, and Level1 Techs and get Krista to redo your site.
You need someone with more attention to detail that will catch these things.

Not only that. but your cable... I should want it. I am YOUR CUSTOMER!
I even own some of your cables. And this is just embarrassing. At least I could point out to the superior construction compared to other cables on the market. I can't even do that!

I know this is the Entry level cable. But as I said. I buy things that I like almost Purely on aesthetics. And that's the one thing you have done really good in the past. Whatever the owners of Nordust is doing now? I'm not happy with.

Attention to detail is part of the audio mantra. Your selling an image and a lifestyle. And this is just not doing it. I hope this is a wake up call to get back on the floor and making great items again that anyone would treasure to own. Even if they don't do ANY better then regular cables. They should still stand out. And the fact that your cables themselves look like some knock off is embarrassing.

You don't wear tennis shoes to a wedding unless you plan to run away. And this is just sad.
Word of advice? Get rid of the Goofy printing. Its the FIRST thing that popped out. And just like that, I no longer want these anymore.

DO BETTER.
Ahem,

Not saying I own these cause I don't want to be THAT GUY..
But man.. Come on!

 

[Laniciffo]

From what I understand and my professional experience, "good" cables in almost all areas only make sense if they must travel long distances if it is not throwing money away. Anyway it is too juicy an industry not to invest and / or "bribe" specialized stores to advertise it as the holy grail of acoustic perfection and essential piece in our audio chain

For the multi giga hertz spectrum or array analyzers, a pair of good 2 feet cables used to cost around 2000 $, at least 30 years ago.
These cables were perfectly matched in impedance and length, so as not to interfere with pico seconds measurements of ultra high frequency signals. And the phase of those ultra short periods was also accurately measured.
When not used, they were stored in super high end and expensive custom made boxes.
Flexing them a tiny bit too much could compromise the results of the half million dollars analyzers they fed, so putting them in place was already an elaborate and precise procedure.

Considering the performance of current hdmi ot thunderbolt cables, I suppose these prices have now come to a much lower level.
Our smartphones also process 5+ ghz signals every day...

 

[Purité Audio]

It does appear so. It seems like he's on a mission. That it's personal somehow. I wonder what stories might be there.

He is on a mission to expose every incident of charlatanism in the Hi-Fi industry , believe me he has his work cut out because our hobby is literally swimming in shit.
Keith

 

[amirm]

@amirm you do get a kick out of testing audio peripherals that claim the world and actually do nothing, don't you?

It is a mixed thing. I get a lot of hate messages elsewhere and even here at times. I am also disappointed when I can't find anything different despite trying different methods/angles to measure them.

But sure, at some level making sure people know that objectively these things are a waste of money feels satisfying as well.

 

[DualTriode]

Unsure what you mean here, that is for unit control only... the AP is what is generating the 1Khz test tone, not the PC.


JSmith

First, I trust that AP knows what they are doing. I use the Tripp-Lite USB cable that was packaged with my APx555 analyzer. I suspect that the analyzer is the limiting factor not the Tripp-Lite USB cable.

You are half correct at best. The APx555 does have its own generator.

Data is carried through the USB from the APx555 to the computer where it is processed.


I did not experiment with different USB cables with the AP Analyzer.


I did experiment with cheap USB cables with the RTX6001 and QA401 Analyzers. Some of the cheap USB cables do leak significant levels of noise. (I used the methods shown in this video)

https://benchmarkmedia.com/blogs/application_notes/117842759-star-quad-cable-demonstration-video

Thanks DT

 

[gsp1971]

It is a mixed thing. I get a lot of hate messages elsewhere and even here at times. I am also disappointed when I can't find anything different despite trying different methods/angles to measure them.

But sure, at some level making sure people know that objectively these things are a waste of money feels satisfying as well.

Thx for doing this.
It is satisfying for (most of) us here in ASR as well.
Good God! For the price of that cable one can buy a pair of Revel M16 or KEF LS50 Meta, or a top-class Okto dac8, or a NCore power amp, all of which will definitely improve one's system. Unlike the cable.

 

[Deleted member 19122]

I understand everything, however there must have been a company meeting where some genius asked, "why don't we make a $2000 usb cable?" They would have had a person who refused to produce it because it was useless, they would have saved themselves the image damage that is cascading throughout the list. (Sorry Google translation from Italian)

Nope,because these guys are largely marketers,there is very few qualified engineers working for most audiofool companies and if there are,well they know where their "bread is buttered",so to speak.They basically look at it as " like taking candy from very wealthy babies",so what's the harm.Problem is lots of people who can't really afford their hobbies get caught up in the upgraditis trap and spend more then they can afford or even need to.The basic human problem is a significant part of humanity believes that because they have wealth that they are better and deserve to be better than other people,hence the magical golden eared hearing that can only be perceived by them and their fellow high dollar travellers.I used to deal in high end wines so I know this crowd pretty well.I'd do tasting flights of vintage bordeauxs,all the big French first growths and have my clients/friends rank them and inevitably they'd pick the oldest priciest one as their favorite,then I'd put them in brown bags and on average they'd pick the second to least expensive one then

 

[dpturner]

Loud Pipes Saves Lives.

citation?

 

[dpturner]

He is on a mission to expose every incident of charlatanism in the Hi-Fi industry , believe me he has his work cut out because our hobby is literally swimming in shit.
Keith

*literally*? ewww...

 

[chad2]

what??? amazon is selling audiophil approved usb cables for 7$??? thats crazy lol

 

[the_brunx]

despiCABLE

 

[Joe Smith]

Ye gods, I hope the member did not pay full retail for this thing!

 

[Ken1951]

10 pages of silliness if you're in the mood over at the Hoffman forums

Some of (rather almost all) of the comments are truly insane. Those folks are living in a world of serious delusion.

 

[mightycicadalord]

I wonder how many they actually sell. If it's more than 0 I need to get into this game and make up my rent and car payments in scam cables. I've been doing it wrong trying to make an honest living lol.

 

[Multicore]

He is on a mission to expose every incident of charlatanism in the Hi-Fi industry , believe me he has his work cut out because our hobby is literally swimming in shit.
Keith

Figuratively, perhaps.

 

[DWI]

He is on a mission to expose every incident of charlatanism in the Hi-Fi industry , believe me he has his work cut out because our hobby is literally swimming in shit.
Keith

Methinks you lost your cool over this. I used a pair of 2nd hand Nordost speaker cables for best part of 20 years. No complaints. £385 well spent.

I just don't get it with usb cables. About 10 years ago I was in W H Smith in Brent Cross and there was an audio magazine with a Chord-C usb cable in a blister pack. I paid my £3.99, threw the magazine away and still use the cable. It's a very well made cable and has stood the test of time. Some of the Amazon Basics cables fall apart, Amir seems to have been lucky with his.