Nordost Frey Speaker Cables (2.5m) Banana Connectors One NEW One 10 hrs

One pair of Nordost Frey speaker cables with banana connectors (2.5
meters). One is BRAND NEW, one was used for only 9-10 hours and truly in mint condition. A great
purchase at more than 50% off. ORIGINAL BOX.

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Soundstage! Review

http://www.ultraaudio.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=88:nordost-norse-frey-interconnects-and-speaker-cables&catid=37:full-length-reviews&Itemid=2

Nordost Norse Frey speaker cable

I recently gave a party (I forgot to invite you? So sorry!), and the

MartinLogan Ethos speakers, currently in for review, were, as you might

expect, a big hit. However, a surprising number of people (three) also

took note of the Nordost Norse Frey speaker cables ($2059.99 USD per 1m

pair, $220/additional meter). Well, they certainly look

distinctive, with their flatness, their significant width, and their

iridescent finish. The real surprise was that the most interested

partiers were women. "Can you put them under the carpet?" I was asked on

two separate occasions. Well, I suppose you could. Sigh.

The Norse Freys embody Nordost’s highly distinctive "ribbon" shape.

Each of each cable’s 28 conductors (14 per leg) is made of 24-gauge,

silver-plated, oxygen-free copper (OFC), but it’s the construction of

the dielectric that’s the cornerstone of Nordost’s claims to their

cables’ fame. Nordost spirally wraps around each of those skinny

conductors an even skinnier monofilament of fluorinated ethylene

propylene (FEP), a fluorocarbon with properties similar to those of

Teflon. The actual insulating dielectric is extruded on top of that.

This way, Nordost is able to keep the insulation entirely separate from

the conductor, which is touched only by the FEP monofilament.

If

you’ve ever doubted the value of high-end audio cables, take a look at

the Freys with a jeweler’s loupe, as I did. I found myself mesmerized by

the near-microscopic world inside that ribbon. The conductors looked

polished and precisely spaced, and clearly visible, winding its way down

each, was the monofilament. Nordost’s design and tooling costs must

have been enormous, but according to the company these technologies were

initially developed by them for the aerospace and medical industries;

the overall costs were defrayed by the significant amounts of non-audio

wire sold by Nordost’s parent company. Whatever the genesis of the

Norse Freys, these aren’t lengths of Romex jammed into pretty sheaths.

According to Nordost’s Roy Gregory, the company’s original reference

product, SPM, was originally designed for fly-by-wire usage in aircraft.

The other lines, including the Norse Frey, are also offshoots from

other such demanding applications. Gregory was quick to point out that

the company’s previous top cable line (before Odin), the Valhalla

models, were the first Nordost products designed from the ground up for

audio applications. But if pilots are willing to entrust their lives to

the cable used in the Norse Frey, it’s probably adequate for use in your

audio system.

The review samples of the speaker cables I received were terminated

with Nordost’s Z banana plugs, which the company describes as "low

mass," and which nicely complemented the minimalist RCA plugs on the

interconnects. The Z plugs are essentially thin, springy sheets of

gold-plated metal rolled up into small cylinders. The Z-plugs seem built

to a standard well matched to the cables themselves, and fit nicely and

snugly into the jacks of both of the speaker models I used them with.

Just about the only problem I could see with the Nordost Frey speaker

cables was their relative delicacy. The insulation itself is really

tough, like that of the interconnects, but the ribbon’s thinness could

be its Achilles’ heel. Although I didn’t try it, I’m fairly certain it

wouldn’t be too difficult to put in the ribbon a serious kink that would

be nearly impossible to completely straighten out. But according Roy

Gregory, a kink in the cable -- even a kink seriously pressed flat --

won’t affect its functioning.

So if the Norse Frey speaker cable appeals to you and you’ve got a

bunch of little feet running around the house, you might indeed be

better off running these ribbons under an area rug, which would no doubt

please your significant other as well. But you don’t have to hide it, and that’s nice.