Nordost goes Gold with Odin line

IF gold strikes your fancy, the new Nordost flagship line of wires will catch your eye. It’s the Odin Gold Supreme Reference range, comprising power cords, analogue interconnects, tonearm wire and speaker cables… strictly for high-end audio people with healthy bank balances. The Odin Gold takes over from the Odin 2 at the top, but the older range will still be available.

“Odin Gold advances the revolutionary technology generated throughout the development of the Odin 2 range, and improves upon its elemental composition. With this new cable range comes the introduction of a new material to Nordost’s award-winning design philosophy. One whose stability, conductivity, and tolerance yields transformative, never before experienced enhancements to performance. That material is gold,” the Nordost press release enthuses.

“Odin Gold cables harness the full breadth of Nordost’s technological advances, innovative manufacturing techniques, and revolutionary, proprietary materials.”

The OG Power Cord is constructed using seven gold-plated, close tolerance, 14AWG 99.999999% OFC conductors. Nordost’s patented Dual Mono-Filament technology creates a virtual air dielectric between the extruded FEP insulation and each individual conductor. Gold-plated TSC technology is then carried throughout the cable and into its purpose-built, 100% shielded, gold-plated HOLO:PLUG connector, available with in US (Nema), EU (Schuko), AUS or UK versions, with HOLO:PLUG IEC-C15 or IEC-C19 terminations.

The retail price is $34,999.99 for a 1.25m length; additional 1.25m increments are $9,500.

OG Analog Interconnects consist of 10 gold-plated, 23AWG 99.999999% OFC conductors, and features the proprietary Dual Mono-Filament technology, precise FEP extrusion, and gold-plated TSC shielding. They are terminated with HOLO:PLUG connectors, in both phono and balanced varieties.

The retail price is $34,999.99 for a 0.6m pair; additional half metre stereo increments are $5,000.

OG Tonearm Cable + uses four, gold-plated, solid core 23AWG 99.999999% OFC conductors, wrapped in Dual Mono-Filament suspension. The conductors are then individually shielded using TSC technology, allowing for 100% coverage and protection from external pollution (such as RFI and EFI) and crosstalk. The tonearm cable has a two-prong grounding approach. Firstly, it runs a fully isolated bond ground throughout the cable which can connect the chassis of the turntable and phono-stage, for a secure, low noise connection between the two components. The second approach ensures that the gold tonearm cable will be able to address any grounding need, regardless of the unique construction of the components in the sound system. Each Tonearm Cable + includes two, detachable, gold-plated ground whips. When needed, these ground whips connect to the shielding of the tonearm cable, totally eliminating any noise that could be introduced during signal transfer. They are terminated with customised HOLO:PLUG connectors which include straight or 90° DIN, XLR and RCA terminations.

The retail price is $21,999.99 for a 1.25m length; additional metre increments are $6,000.

The OG Loudspeaker Cable is constructed from 28 gold-plated, solid core 20AWG 99.999999% OFC conductors. Each conductor takes advantage of Dual Mono-Filament technology and is encased in a high purity FEP extrusion. However, in contrast to Nordost’s previous loudspeaker cables, Odin Gold Loudspeaker Cables utilise a tiered-termination process which eases the transition from cable to connector over several stages. This minimises the conversion points of conductors, using eight gold-plated, 14AWG 99.999999% OFC conductors on either end of the cable. In decreasing the number of conductors without decreasing the overall gauge, Nordost eliminates overcrowding and creates orderly and precise connection points, while decreasing the impedance introduced, which occurs in standard termination practices. This allows perfect mass-matching to occur between the conductor and connector. The cables are terminated with HOLO:PLUG spades or Z-plug banana connectors.

The retail price is $54,999.99 for a 1.5m length; additional half metre stereo increments are $8,000.

THE OG Bi-Wire Jumpers have an identical construction as the Loudspeaker Cable to ensure consistent sonic signature throughout the entire system.

The retail price is $13,999.99 for a 0.33m set.

The Odin Gold wires will be rolled out starting this month over the next year. Elite customers “will soon be invited to schedule personalised Odin Gold auditions led by Nordost’s most exclusive Supreme Reference dealers.”