March 12, 2012

• Nordost Red Dawn, Part 4

  To me, Jackson Browne's "Doctor My Eyes" has always been around.  As it turns out, it was actually released just a few months before I was born, in early 1972. 

  Nordost's Red Dawn hasn't always been around.  But with Nordost having such a high profile, it only seems as though the original Red Dawn interconnect has been around forever.  Personally, I became aware of the Red Dawn no later than 1998, when Ultimate Sound's David Tam said he could get it.  But at the time, he was probably selling Kimber Kable products predominantly.  Nevertheless, the new Kimber Select series sucked big time, so I stuck with the original XLO Signature interconnects.
  
  By 1998, CD changers (and CD players in general) were common.  But the pre-recorded music industry had reached its peak, and was beginning its downfall.  It is now 2012, and the music industry is all but dead.  After coming off of the audiodharma Cable Cooker, the Red Dawn needed some regular playing time.  What better way, than to use a CD changer, load 5 CDs at a time, and set 'em for infinite repeat?  The Red Dawn came a couple years too late for the Adcom GCD-700, but what a nice combination.
  
  You see, the Red Dawn does not perform like your run-of-the-mill "audiophile" interconnect.  It actually does not sound warm, round, fat, dull, and sleepy.  Thus, it mates well not just with the non-stop party of the Adcom GCD-700, but with a wide variety of gear.  That, coupled with the Red Dawn's affordable price, makes it a winner.
  
  In "Doctor My Eyes," Browne has traveled the world.  He may be tired, and perhaps he hasn't liked what he has seen.  If you are tired of the average, bad-sounding audiophile gear, and don't like what you hear, try the Red Dawn.  Its livelier personality (at least compared with your average "audiophile" interconnect), can wake up a DVD player.  It doesn't muffle dialog, or plump up the sound.  It lets the action unfold, thus absorbing you better in the movie.  You don't have to strain your ears, to hear what the actors are saying.

  Remember Margaret and the venetian blinds?  The Red Dawn IC is like keeping the blinds open.  Better interconnects, such as Nordost's own Valkyrja, would be like removing the blinds.  The Nordost Valhalla is like removing the window.  And the Nordost Odin goes a step further, replacing a section of the roof with a skylight.  Still, keeping the blinds open affords a better view than boarding up the window, which is what most other interconnects do.
  

  • 3:31 am
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