Nordost
Moonglo
Review Audio Video Magazine March 2001
FOCUS/CABLING
NORDOST MOONGLO & BASS LINE
Flat-out performance
PEAKS
Clarity, speed and exceptional resolution are the hallmarks of these two application-specific cables. Excellent in every respect, but tolerance of flawed components limited at best.
PRICE
Nordost MoonGlo: R1 800 for 0,6 m length
Nordost Bass Line: R1 750 for 3,0 m length
SUPPLIED BY Extraordinary AV (021) 704-2885
To many - including a good couple of audio enthusiasts and music lovers - the issue of audiophile cabling remains a controversial one cloaked in a certain mystique.
But whether one believes in the science of interlinks or not, the majority of blind listening tests will prove that the differences do exist, and that both interlinks and speaker cables can augment the sonic performance of a system.
Nordost is a US company specialising in interconnects and speaker cables, plus some very useful high-tech accessories such as equipment locating cones and the like. Its signature product is the Flatline speaker cable range, which allows ultra-thin, extruded pure copper in a ribbon-type cable design.
While the various Nordost Flatline cable derivatives are still going strong, the company has vastly extended its cable line-up to embrace a comprehensive range of analogue and digital interconnects. And two of these are the subject of this review.
Nordost MoonGlo is a digital cable available in both XLR termination (to conform to the AES/EBU standard) or in single-ended, RCA-terminated form. It has been designed primarily to address the influence of mechanical noise and resonances on the accurate transfer of digital signals, typically between CD transports and separate D/A converters, or between DVD players and AV receivers.
The ultra-thin interlink (tested in RCA-terminated, SPDIF coaxial form here) is made up of two separate micro-coaxial cables, each with a multi-filament, high-purity copper centre conductor wrapped in a Teflon layer. Shielding consists of a twin layer of silver foil and extruded Teflon for each conductor.
The two conductors are twisted around two cushioned Teflon filaments, with a further, outer jacket of Teflon applied to this combination - a construction which, Nordost claims, eliminates timing errors, jitter and noise.
In use, the MoonGlo digital cable seemed to live up to the promise of its meticulous construction, allowing a sonic performance marked by an enhanced sense of clarity and resolution. The kind of fine detail so easily muffled in lesser systems was placed into sharp focus, while the soundstage acquired more air and headroom.
Clearly, this is an excellent digital cable for both stereo and home theatre applications, with the latter, in particular, benefiting from the cable's ability to resolve complex soundtracks with greater precision and poise.
Nordost BassLine is a dedicated subwoofer interlink, designed to run between the subwoofer output of an AV receiver and the input of an active sub. An extremely skinny, RCA-terminated cable, it's been designed for hardy, long-term use, and can for instance be run under carpets in permanent installations, thanks to its flat design.
Under the green fluorinated ethylene propylene Teflon outer jacket, you'll find six silver-plated high-purity copper conductors, shielded with an aluminiumised mylar layer. The BassLine has a very low claimed signal loss, allowing long runs, while capacitance comes to 143 pF/metre.
The BassLine is a directional cable (like most Nordost designs) and comes terminated with classy, gold-plated RCA connectors.
While the specs appear impressive, the performance is what really counts - and the Nordost BassLine delivers in no uncertain measure. A tauter, speedier bass with greater impetus and a richer harvest of sonic information is what one can expect from the outset.
What is often just a deep thumping noise becomes a far better integrated part of the overall sonic delivery, with the BassLine allowing finer textures and low-frequency information to be served up with confidence. This alone seems to lift the entire home theatre experience: watching the battle scenes of 'Gladiator' on DVD was a particularly telling case in point.
Indeed, running both Nordost products together in an AV system produced results that easily justify the fairly dear asking price for this twosome. On the other hand, you'd have to spend quite a lot more on mainstream hardware to facilitate the kind of results achieved with the cables.
Thus, both the Nordost MoonGlo and BassLine are worthy upgrades to consider, especially in the AV environment. And while the price tags may seem high, the results mean that these interlinks are strong on value, too.
Deon Schoeman
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