Nordost Valhalla 2 Ethernet Cable

A few years ago, my friend Austin of Atlas Audio Video here in Victoria, challenged me to a listening test. As an old faithful audiophile with as much grumpiness and cynicism as the next, I balked. He insisted and is not the type to waste time, so, after a bit of nudging, I agreed. This was to be an Ethernet cable shootout. Colour me utterly sceptical.

The cables of choice in comparison to a standard Ethernet cable were the Audioquest Cinnamon ($119.95), the Audioquest Vodka ($599.95) and the Audioquest Diamond ($1599.99). Atlas is a massive AQ dealer. Each cable was 1.5 metres in length and connected from the NAD C658 Streaming DAC ($1649).

I was surprised at the results. Accompanying, in a well treated room, were Focal Kanta floor standing speakers, really good AQ power cables and an AQ Niagara 5000 conditioner. Everything pointed to the Ethernet cables for the differences. And, yes, it turned out, via Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett, the presentation from spice to booze to carbon was good, better, best. My cynicism and scepticism melted away. Then and there, I bought three Cinnamons to use in my lightly used streaming system. Listening around here is 85% vinyl, 10% CD and the rest streamed.

A few months later I received the Nordost Frey 2 Cable loom for review, including the Ethernet cable. Like always, I review the interconnect, speaker cable, power cord loom first, then schedule Ethernet, USB, phono, etc for ‘later’. Soon after, the wonderful Meredith Gabor of Nordost sent me a large, very expensive box of Valhalla 2 Reference Cables to review. Always the professional completist, she included an Ethernet, etc. The speaker cables, interconnects and power cords were magnificent in my system, connecting and powering every component. Rich test, fabulous sound. One of the finest ‘components’ ever in my system and certainly the finest cables I’ve used (the $5500/metre Audioquest Storm Series Dragon Power Cable—2 metres of it— is also top of the heap). Also included in the Valhalla 2 box, of course, the Valhalla 2 Ethernet Cable ($2,999,99/per metre).

My Use

I was lucky enough to have two Valhalla 2 Ethernets to use in the system; one from the choke point wall Ethernet outlet to the Roon Labs Nucleus Plus and from there to my port switch. I could have used another between port switch and my Roon Ready MBL N31 CD/DAC. This final connection, and by a hair, the least important of the three connections, had to settle for a Cinnamon. So, $6100 worth of Ethernet connectivity.

My Cat 5 installation from Telus was from the house build in 2014.

Let’s chat about present thinking re Ethernet cables and their efficacy?

In my research for general thinking and current views on high end Ethernet cables, I checked in on the usual suspect forums. One or two are not too bad, others, cesspools. 99 out of 100 posts were of the ‘snake oil’, ‘crap’, ‘bits is bits’, variety. As I was reading, many of the trenchant, perennial naysayers were now comparing favourably the very positive effect of analog cables to the ‘zero effect’ of upgraded Ethernet cables. Yes, the same people crapping on the use of high end power cords and cables only a few short years ago. Seems, they are now ‘onboard’.

You may be a sceptic? Nothing wrong with that. But do try to hear a quality Ethernet cable in your system before casting judgements. Many of these internet warriors flinging Hatorade type before listening.

Features and Specifications

In order to meet the increasing demand for high speed data and increased bandwidth, the Valhalla 2 Ethernet Cable has the advantage of eight, 23 AWG, solid core conductors wrapped in a high density polymer insulation. These annealed conductors are arranged into four twisted pairs before being triple-shielded. Each of these design aspects minimizes skin effect, eliminates crosstalk and EMI (electromagnetic interference), and ensures a high performance network cable, offering far more bandwidth than is needed for the typical data demands of today.

To further distinguish the V2 Ethernet Cable from its competitors, Nordost has implemented its unique mechanical tuning process. By meticulously cutting each conductor at calculated and equal lengths, Nordost reduces internal microphony and high frequency resonance. The precise cut of each conductor, at a length which is determined by the cable’s geometry, material, and application, guarantees the uniform arrival of all signals, dramatically reducing timing errors.

Almost Ethernet Cable porn! Termination is with a gold-plated 8P8C/RJ45 connector said to resist electrostatic discharge. The terminations plug in with satisfying clunks! They are released the standard way, depressing a clip underneath. The Valhalla 2 is future proofed to meet up to Category 8 requirements.

Further discussion, as my buddy Austin explained to me:

The 1s and 0s in an ethernet cable are travelling electrically and can be corrupted. There is a presumption that data error correction will somehow always get it right and restore the corrupted data. This is flawed thinking. Error correction at its best is a guess. Would it not make more sense to get the data to the destination fully intact, rather than increasingly rely on checksum and error correction? What a better ethernet cable does is exactly that.

Sound

Let’s jump to the end. First, the AQ Diamond/Valhalla 2 shootout at my place.

Before the shootout, I replaced the Nordost with the my AQ Cinnamons (x3) to compare what I was hearing with the Nordosts in place, about 6 weeks by that time. Immediately, soundstage was compressed and timbral beauty was diminished. In fact Yundi’s Chopin Preludes, with which I had a six week love affair with the Valhalla 2s as our muse, sounded somewhat lifeless. I slouched in my chair—my head actually dropped a little. When the Valhallas returned, Yundi was all sparkle and life—his ‘intent’ and tone were back. The difference between Cinnamon and Valhalla was not just a gulf in price, but in performance.

Replacing the Valhallas with the mid price Vodkas yielded better, much more musical results, but still sub par compared to the Nordost cable. Only when the AQ Diamond was inserted, did we get comparative musicality. I still preferred the Valhalla’s presentation and detail and with them, intense musicality borne by fleshed out instrumentals and vocals and a ‘rightness’ in the musical fabric of all genres. Does that extra immersion equal a $1400 premium? You’ll have to hear them for yourselves. For me, absolutely. Yet, I could live happily with three Diamonds in place!

I heard the ‘Valhalla Effect’ as soon as the two Nordost Ethernet cables were in place. For the first few weeks I had them between Nucleus Plus and port switch and from port switch to the MBL CD/DAC’s LAN input. Later, Austin advised me to place one at the ‘choke point’, at the wall outlet, and to use the Cinnamon from port switch to MBL LAN. This did sound a little better. Yet either way, I was getting uncoloured, gloriously-voiced music with both great depth and linearity.

Having the Nordosts in place elevated streaming via MBL N31’s Roon Endpoint Module and Roon Labs Nucleus Plus with its Roon Core to the quality from the same component’s outstanding CD mechanism and DAC. That is high praise. When playing Ona Cardona’s clarinet CD Chiaroscuro (Brahms, Schumann, with pianist Josep Colum), the exquisite playing and recording (Eudora Records) made it a 2021 Audiophilia Recordings of the Year sure thing. The Cinnamons playback on a HiRes Qobuz file was very good but the Valhalla retained much of the incredible subtlety of Cardona’s playing heard on the CD (Red Book, by the way, as MBL’s chief designer Jürgen Reis does not like the compromises placed by the SACD transport). Cordona’s use of diaphragm support using all areas of the reed’s tip, the ‘pop’ of the clarinet keys (air pressure release) at all dynamics, and her tonal variety heard via the Valhalla 2 Ethernet cables was almost Even Steven with the MBL CD/DAC CD section. More high praise, as the MBL CD player is about the most musical digital I have heard.

Summary

So, no Hatorade around here. My time with all the Valhalla 2 cables was musically intensive, instructive and, at times, mind blowing from their wonderful effect on my system. A glorious set, echoed in the marvellous Nordost Valhalla 2 Ethernet Cable ($2,999,99/per metre). If you have a musical, revealing setup with room and system synergy in place, I dare you to hear them in your system. Very highly recommended.

Further information: Nordost