Nordost Norse Series Bi-Wire Jumpers

Victor Chavira has posted his review of the Nordost Norse Series bi-wire jumpers at Positive Feedback Online. Here are just a few of his observations:

I discovered that indeed, transparency and extension improved appreciably…

A quick change back to my jumpers confirmed that they were attenuating ambience, cohesion, and depth of perception resulting in a less engaging musical experience….

Back in went the Nordost and I spent the rest of the evening listening to play list after play list as if for the first time…

Whereas the Nordost jumpers alone increased depth of perception and improved resolution of fine details, diagonal bi-wiring the speaker cables greatly enhanced my understanding of musicians and instruments in specific locations on the soundstage…

…I became aware of the space between flute and oboe with the flute closer to the foreground than the oboe.

Low bass definition and extension also benefited from the combination of Nordost jumpers and diagonal bi-wiring…

Nuance and tonal accuracy were also revelations of the Norse series jumpers and diagonal bi-wiring…

Again, each instrument occupied different spaces within the foreground or background of the soundstage. Bass rumbled along with greater definition and pace.
Diagonal bi-wiring? Here’s what Nordost has to say:

Often, the very best results are achieved using a diagonal connection. This involves connecting the red cable to the bass/mid terminal and the black to the treble, with the jumpers arranged accordingly, bass to treble on the red (or +ve) side of the crossover, treble to bass on the black (or -ve) side. This is slightly more confusing to wire, however, with a little extra care and patience the results can be well worthwhile, and once you are familiar with bi-wiring procedures this often becomes the new default set up, offering greater air, transparency, dimensionality and subtlety.

Anyway, back to Victor Chavira’s conclusion:

As I conclude my observations of the Nordost Norse Series bi-wire jumpers in the context of my system, I firmly believe they belong in the category of a component upgrade rather than a fine tune or tweak. Installing the jumpers alone peeled away a layer of cellophane that spanned across the plane of the speakers. Music sounded more transparent and focused. By these merits alone, the Norse series were clearly superior to my home made jumpers. For reasons I cannot technically explain, my Marten Miles responded marvelously to diagonal bi-wiring. Perhaps their two and a half way crossover design is ideal for the benefits of diagonal bi-wiring. Whatever the reason, music opened up like an exploded view of an object. I could now "see" all the hidden elements that contributed to my favorite recordings. Most of all, I felt very happy listening playlist and CD's often nodding my head and smiling over some newly discovered detail in the recording or performance. That is the essence of this hobby. Therefore, Nordost's Norse Series bi-wire jumpers receive my most enthusiastic recommendation.

You can read the read the full review here.