AshK
Nordost has unveiled four new cables at the Munich High-End Show. They are:
- Blue Heaven LS iKable, an interconnect cable designed for portable/mobile devices
- Heimdall2 iKable, a high performance interconnect cable for portable/mobile devices
- Tyr2 Power Cable
- Heimdall2 High Performance Headphone Cable & Extension Cable
That new Heimdall 2 iKable is particularly interesting because it’s basically a cable aimed at portable devices but it’s a pretty darn high-end model ($470 for a 0.6m length). This cable consists of four silver plated 99.99999%, solid-core 24 AWG OFC conductors. The conductors are suspended in a virtual air-dielectric, which is achieved by employing Nordost’s proprietary Dual Mono-Filament technology. A precision FEP tube is then extruded over the conductors. It’s handcrafted in the USA and uses gold plated, full metal jacket shell connectors available in:
- 3.5mm stereo mini (Neutrik) 3.5mm stereo mini (Neutrik)
- 3.5mm stereo mini (Neutrik) 2x XLR (Neutrik)
- 3.5mm stereo mini (Neutrik) 2x RCA (Nordost MoonGlo)
The Heimdall 2 headphone cable is also pretty interesting. It consists of 32 AWG 7/40 conductors which have been individually insulated and twisted using Litz construction. Litz construction increases pliability, as well as eliminates triboelectric noise within the cable and improves upon mechanical damping.
In order to accommodate the added durability demanded from headphone cables, Nordost has included an Aramid fiber strength member to the construction of this cable. Integrating Aramid fibers into the cable design not only ensures its mechanical integrity, transferring the strain away from the cable’s conductors and to the fibers themselves, but the resonating properties of aramid fibers also enhance sound quality.
To take things to the next level, the Heimdall 2 headphone cable employs Nordost’s proprietary Micro Mono-Filament technology with extruded FEP insulation around the conductors, as well as mechanically tuned lengths, which reduce internal microphony and high-frequency impedance resonance.
It’s available with 3.5mm stereo mini, 2x mini XLR female, 1x mini XLR female, 2x push-pull or 2x 2 pin connectors on the headphone end, and is terminated with a 4 pin balanced XLR male connector on the source end. Each cable is 2M and includes two adaptors which are comprised of identical construction and technology as the headphone cable itself, and have also been cut to specific, mechanically tuned lengths.
Both adaptors are terminated with a 4 pin balanced XLR female connector on one end and either a 3.5mm stereo mini or a 1/4in stereo phono on the opposite end. Due to the various terminations available, the Heimdall 2 headphone cable is compatible with all major players in the over-ear headphone market.
