NORDOST Thor

MJ26.11.2009

Power conditioners

Officially, the Thor stands for a power distribution unit. I’ve been listening to it for quite a while so I meanwhile have gathered seven pages of notes and have developed a very strong desire for it. It does not make a recording´s background blacker or dead quiet. Rather it lets fresh air in and removes whatever slows down the sound waves that are sent out by your loudspeakers. Maybe this is what sets the Thor apart from any power conditioning device that I have experienced before.

100% reference

Funkce a forma

80%

Ergonomie

74%

Zvuk

70%

Zpracování

The unit measures 9,5x45,5x31cm and it looks very ordinary. Its chassis completely comes from IsoTek´s Sigmas model and it differs only by a blue illuminated Nordost´s logo in its center. You may appreciate a 1cm thick front aluminum panel but you will not appreciate slightly resonating U-profile of the case. The unit is not heavy (ca 8kg) and when coupled with some heavy power cords it may have a tendency towards lifting up, especially when it sits on Pulsar Points (the Nordost´s anti-resonant cones that can be get separately and threaded into the Thor´s base). There is 6 power outlets on its rear (EU and US version) or on its top rear (UK version) face. The good thing is that the Thor does not have a problem to host hungry power amplifiers as already mentioned. There is no power cord coming with the unit and it is recommended to use one from Nordost´s catalogue.

The inner topology of the Thor is very clean and logical – if you expect massive transformers you will be disappointed. There are only two PCB´s with supporting standard power supplies. The main circuitry is provided by IsoTek, all the conductive paths are silver-plated and the internal wiring uses famous Nordost Valhalla filament conductors. IsoTek also provided a shunt filter and a star-earthed design so no wonder that their logo can be found on the faceplate, on the rear, inside and also in the manual accompanying the unit. The other PCB with its own 5W switching power supply (the Chinese PHIHONG PSA05A-050) comes from Quantum Resonant Technologies and generates a kind of electromagnetic field to stabilize components within its reach.

Nízké frekvence

Váha

Výbušnost

Artikulace

Holst’s Planets conducted by John Elliot Gardiner are an ideal piece of classical music for all those who hate classical compositions. Maybe I have mentioned it on a different opportunity: just close your eyes and imagine a dozen of interstellar fighters approaching menacingly the fortification of space pirates. The grand scene that is to follow could be easily underscored by Holstian Mars.
I have heard the track many times so it was not surprising that I immediately noticed some elements that I have not heard that well before: the strokes of drums at the 3´20 mark, for example, were clearly delineated within the orchestra. You could hear two drumsticks, well separated and distinct from each other in their own space, not just some kind of percussive noise clumped together. I had never heard such a thing before. Then, around the 4´43 mark, there are rolling drums fading in. Usually they just appear and with growing intensity march into my listening room; with the Thor, however, I was able to locate them much earlier - since the very first light touch of drumstick – and the instrument was precisely locked in the soundstage irrespective what was happening around. Only now I was able to appreciate the fragile microevent that had been hidden from me before. And, yes, the horns - ´razor-sharp, brilliant, soaring, unbelievable dynamic shading´ is what I put in my notes.

Čistota rozlišení

Detail

Vzduch

Transparentnost

When the Thor resided in my system, I was receiving a higher form of organization of sound. This precision and accuracy surprisingly did not lead to an overly audiophile presentation, on the contrary; it seemed as if individual instruments communicated much better than before, as if they were talking to each other. Some audio components give a sense of an increased amount of information but then you find them cheating – they just make certain frequencies stand out to please our audiophile souls. In such a case, a listener is excited by hitherto unheard details that would certainly remain unnoticed at a live performance and that we all call a ´high-end´ experience. However, at the end of the day you reject to listen to the music that is split into sounds, no matter how precise they are. I don´t think this is what we wanted.
The Thor gives you an absolute piece of mind. Those uberdetails are seamlessly integrated into the total sonic picture and the instruments never cease to communicate between themselves - the symphonic orchestra gets a very organic feel that borders reality.

Tonální věrnost

Témbr

Dynamika

Časování

I could compare the Thor against Monster's filtering device. If I say that the Monster Power HTS2600 is like a nocturnal view through a window dressed in light curtains into a candle-lit interior, then with the Nordost Thor the window is crystal clear, without the curtains and the candles were replaced by spotlights. The Thor does not manage to remove the window (it should come as no surprise - no component has been successfull in it so far, in the whole hifi era), however, it effectively cleans the window panes and, as a bonus, it cleans also air in your listening room. As a result of dust being removed from the air you can savor such delicate sounds like the trailing off of a gong till its last resonace, irrespective of the fact, that it is overlapped by other musical events already.
One more observation before I leave Holst – the Thor can very naturally reveal such nuancees like microchanges in the intensity of fingers-played strings. The waves of sound rise and fall in their intensity in endless perturbations. Without a power filter you cannot hear it at all as the delicate dynamic shadings get lost in line noise, with a good filter you can feel them, however, with the Thor you can hear them.

Prostorovost

Trojrozměrnost

Šířka scény

Hloubka scény

I really enjoyed the time with the Thor so I was very curious how it would handle the Q Sound effects of Roger Waters’ opus. If you do not know what Amused to Death is about just give a listen to The Ballad of Bill Hubbard to become an instant fan.
Unlike the Monster the Thor moved the TV set a bit forward and a bit to the left, locking it firmly in its position. Also the imaginary dog was relocated rather towards the soundstage centre as was the solo guitar. The latter was one step closer and became cleaner, more vibrant and exceptionally realistic.

When you listen to What God Wants Pt 1 through the HTS2600 you can hear slightly smeared sibilants of vocalists standing on your left and right, then a guitar joins in and drums enter with a dynamic and thunderous clash, yet soft a bit. The voice of Roger Waters is decoupled from music and sounds like ´a recording´ (unfortunately the vocals are the only thing that lets down otherwise otherworldly mix).
When the Monster is swapped for the Thor we get a better focus, the smearing of sibilants disappears and things become better organized. Again, the Nordost slightly shrinks the soundstage. I had a natural tendency to consider it as a drawback, however, throughout the process, I realized that the Thor just better filled the middle of the soundstage. For example, the vocalists ceased to be scattered on your left and right but took more natural positions with even spacing within the soundstage and it became suddenly possible to describe their exact locations. Hopefully I am clear enough, this is the best description I can give.
The Water´s voice was not improved by the Thor, on the contrary, the voice´s separation from the music was enhanced. I prefered the more forgiving Monster in this case – sometimes the truth is not very kind to our ears, though it is fair to remark that the voice gained in textures and timbres with the Nordost.

Cena v době recenze:58 000,- Kč

Doporučení prodejci

Perfect Sound Group, Praha, tel. +420 722 960 690

Web výrobce: http://www.nordost.com

Připojené komponenty

Sources: Accuphase DP-78
Amplifiers: Accuphase A-60, Creek OBH-22
Interconnects and speaker cables: Krautwire Fractal, Homegrown Audio HGA DNA, Crystal Cable Piccolo, Audioquest WBY, Krautwire Guru and Gold Passion
Loudspeakers: Bowers & Wilkins 802 Diamond, Audio Physic Virgo V, KEF LS-50
Power conditioning: Nordost Valhalla, Shunyata Research Python Zi-Tron, Furutech Powerflux

Galerie

Zvuk

90%

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Doporučení prodejci

HTP Studio, Praha, tel. +420 606 346 822

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Zvuk

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