Nordost Tonearm Cable +

NORDOST'S REVOLUTIONARY TONEARM CABLE + REDESIGN

The tonearm cable is the most critical and sensitive cable in any vinyl-sourced hifi system. The delicate signals generated by pick-up cartridges in these systems demand purpose-built, low-capacitance cables, in order to protect from signal loss and image smearing. However, to truly get the most from a tonearm cable, proper attention must be paid to grounding as well. Without proper grounding, the noise that could be picked up could render a system virtually unlistenable. To combat this, Nordost’s new Tonearm Cable + redesign optimizes every aspect of tonearm cable construction, from conductor layout and shielding to grounding capability, in order to ensure the fidelity of signal transfer and reveal subtle musical nuances, while completely eliminating noise from the signal chain. Nordost’s Blue Heaven, Heimdall 2, Frey 2, and Tyr 2 Tonearm Cable + provide the best analog connection for every system, no matter the price-point.

The design for Nordost’s new line of tonearm cables comes directly from the recent Valahalla 2 tonearm cable redesign. As with the V2 Tonearm Cable +, which was released in the summer of 2019, Nordost’s new tonearm cables are constructed using four, silver-plated, solid core OFC conductors, arranged in a twisted pair design. Using a twisted pair design on its own naturally helps to minimize noise. However, Nordost now goes the extra mile, separately wrapping the left and right channels with silver, braided shielding, in order to completely eliminate inter-channel cross-talk.

One signature trait that all Nordost cables share is extremely fast signal transfer speed. We achieve this, in part, by implementing our patented Mono-Filament technology. This technology is found in our new Tonearm Cable + designs, starting with the Heimdall 2 Tonearm Cable +. This requires each conductor to be intricately and uniformly wrapped in either a single “Micro” strand or two twisted “Dual” strands of FEP Mono-Filament, before being encased in an extruded layer of high-quality FEP. By using this technology, insulation contact with the conductors is reduced by 80% or 85%, respectively.

The most exciting feature found in all of Nordost’s new tonearm cables comes in the form of a new, comprehensive grounding solution. This two-part design is guaranteed to provide proper and complete grounding, offering a solution for every combination of components and connections found between all the different turntables and phono stages on the market. Part one is a completely isolated, silver-plated bond wire. This bond wire is wrapped in Micro Mono-Filament before being extruded in FEP insulation and separately shielded within the cable jacket. Part two consists of two, detachable, silver-plated ground whips, complete with Micro Mono-Filament technology, which are included with each cable. When needed, these ground whips connect to the cable’s shielding, totally eliminating any noise that could be introduced during signal transfer.

Each Tonearm Cable + is available with straight or 90० low-mass MoonGlo® 5-pin Din, RCA, or XLR terminations. All ground whips and bond wires are terminated with gold-plated 5mm spades. Like all Nordost cables, the Blue Heaven, Heimdall 2, Frey 2, and Tyr 2 Tonearm Cable + are handmade in the USA, ensuring a superior level of production quality and precision– all necessary requirements when manufacturing the most crucial signal cables in a sound system.

FREY 2

Insulation: Fluorinated Ethylene Propylene (FEP)
Conductors: 4 x 26 AWG
Construction: 2 Twisted pairs individually shielded. Mechanically tuned lay and lengths. Dual Mono-Filament. Twisted pairs individually shielded.
Material: Silver plated 99.99999% OFC Solid Core Conductors
Bond / Grounding Whips: 24 AWG silver-plated, stranded OFC, Micro Mono-Filament.
Termination: MoonGlo® Straight or 90० low-mass 5-pin Din, RCA, or XLR connectors. Whips and bond wire terminated with gold-plated 5mm spades.