Would love to hear stories from people who went down the Nordost way - and came back to naim powerlines, naca 5….
What was the journey like?
Currently running the 20A QB8 with a Valhalla 2, three Freys - and not sure I’m convinced it’s a whole lot better than the Wiremold and Powerlines all around…
We’ll know in 6 months - whether I stick to this or go back - but would love to hear other stories…
Nordost lovers who’re still with Nordost - see other thread please…
Personally I’ve never heard a difference between power cables and stick with what the manufacturer supplied. I think there is enough science and common sense to realise that any difference is debatable and all of the biases come into play when spending so much. Admittedly I’ve not heard Nordost cables but unless they change the laws of physics and are able to change the quality of the electricity being fed to your system then they are just overly priced hifi jewellery. I do however respect others opinions and if you claim they are an improvement then who am I to argue.
IMHO, People that believe power cables don’t make a difference fit into one or more of the following:
The rest of us could never go back to manufacturer supplied power cables.
Have you tried a powerline on your Atom? It was an excellent upgrade on my Nova.
If you are not convinced it’s better, it surely raises the question of why you bought the Nordost stuff in the first place. It’s not cheap and surely deserves careful evaluation. Others may have bought it and love it, while others may have decided after long term use that it’s a waste of space. You need to make your own decisions, as everyone hears things differently.
It’s a funny argument this one. Ever since I bought an Audiolab system about 25yrs ago I’ve been able to hear differences between cables but I’ve never felt the need to spend large sums on them. There’s a kind of threshold for me that’s around the £100 mark for a used item or less for new. I’m up for trying some power cables and will give one a go to try on my 52 & NDS but I’ll be looking around the £65 mark. Probably from MCRU, Chord or Naim power line lite. When I can be bothered 
In my experience, mains power cables bring the biggest impact to the system, followed by speaker cables, then interconnects and lastly digital cable. Just by swapping the plugs on the power cables will bring a noticeable effect as well, in my case Furutech.
Of course, I understand everyone’s experience will not be the same.
I’m a big fan of Nordost cables, I had great results in my system so far. But it’s only up to you to judge, no one else can.
Frey 2 cables take some time to settle, I would give them at least 7-15 days. If you are not convinced after that time, maybe they aren’t for you.
Keep in mind that some minor changes in the system might be needed to get the best results.
Surely they had a big effect on my system as well. Nordost says the same by the way.
I would agree on this, I’m not sure whether to put speaker cables or interconnects first, at least in my experience.
That’s a weird one for me. My experience over 35 years is that differences in high end systems are where psychology and imagination come into play but at the so called “lower end” the differences are incredibly obvious.
Psychologically no-one wants to be the person with a 500 system glued together with bell wire despite not hearing huge differences between, for example, one Powerline and five.
Equally, lower down, it can be very easy to confuse different with better. Once you begin to think in those terms sorting the wheat from the chaff becomes a lot easier.
There are cables from a well known manufacturer often associated with being a good solid replacement for Naim cables of numerous types. I have never yet heard them produce one that is all round better. They all emphasise different things. As noted already, it then comes down to no more than whether they’re giving you the particular emphasis you want.
There is another well known cable manufacturer which a number of dealers believe to work well with Naim. I noted that within my system they inserted a veil rather than removed it but also, interestingly, there was much written by professional audio engineers about how their pro versions absolutely didn’t meet their claims and appeared to include at least one fraudulent claim. It’s always amusing from time to time to hear of a users unexpectedly fabulous upgrade from that specific manufacturer.
Of course, compared to what they had it may well have been an upgrade.
I’m from Cheshire too maybe we could do some blind testing and you could convince me of these claims? Admittedly my system is low end in comparison to most on here but my hearing is spot on and I’ve tested and tweaked plenty of power related “upgrades” in a previous life.
It’s all bought used - and can be sold off easily enough - think of it as a long home audition.
There is some sound science to it though. Shielding on cables can’t be bad - but then adds capacitance - which might or might not be good. In a second system, I’m using a $50 WAudio cable which is well shielded into a powerstrip made bespoke for me which lowers the noise floor substantially. The theoretical added capacitance isn’t making things worse, afaik.
Also - the best dielectric happens to be air - and the monofilament tech which is Nordost’s way to wrap the cable so that air is present around the metal and the braiding checks out - I don’t know whether they still use metal around as a final touch - but easy enough to wrap a layer of copper around the Frey2 and ground that to see if it adds more - maybe that’s what they do in their higher end cables.
So - the science or pseudoscience checks out. The question though is whether it ends up sounding more or less like Naim does. And whether that matters.
Here’s the funny thing - I’ve gotten the noise floor down enough that a wee bit of tinnitus kicks in - filling the spaces where there is no sound - since the noise floor is way down.. Also - for the first time, the sound has gotten to a stage, that as I’ve gotten used to it, listening to the car stereo has gotten unbearable - it just doesn’t sound good anymore.
So perhaps net net better to go back to simpler ways, so the brain isn’t trained to expect such awesomeness - so things are more enjoyable.
Anyway - the debugging continuous. And it’s all good fun.
Like I said, curious if someone made the journey and back - but haven’t heard anyone say that yet. Folks are either squarely in Nordost land, or skeptics who don’t want to make the journey.
On another note - and this is true for most any change. The formula I hear is - put the new component in, let it bed for a few weeks, and when you put the old one in, the system sounds broken. But doh! You need to give the old component a few weeks to re-bed in too.. and good luck then..
I guess I like the other thing way of doing things better - which is put the old stuff. back in - and see if you miss the new stuff…
and good luck asking a dealer for such a protracted home demo…
In any case - my prediction is that in 6 months I’ll be bored of all this cable business and sell the nordost lot off - not caring what sounds better, and getting back to the comfort of the old system.
Great replies, thanks for the brain food
I wouldn’t try to convince you but I do think that a (fully run in) Powerline on your Atom is worth trying. You could buy used and very easily sell it on if you’re not convinced.
These are all my Nordost cables , upto the reference Valhallas 2 , been using Nordost cables on naim OC and now the NC. Almost 11 years. And YES, I am climbing up to the supreme reference the Odins one day.
It has been such a great journey for me , pairing the Nordost w naim and dCS. Heavenly . 
I was actually half hoping you’d take me up on the offer for no other reason than to hear your excellent system 
Switched sockets? Ooh that’s a big no no surely?
In my country, socket without switch is not allowed, and it will void any home insurance .
Fair enough, makes sense
MM, don’t be too hard on yourself .. when you try something new, it takes time to get use to the new items, in this case the new sound .
If it fits you, it fits you, if it doesn’t , there’s no point ,correct?
I can see you do like the nordost effects, just not getting use to it I would say . Take your time to evaluate.
