NORDOST Purple Flare

TR19.11.2011

Speaker cables

The Purple Flare should outperform the Nordost's own White Lightning, at least according to the Nordost’s hierarchy. The simple question therefore is: if I spend extra 100€ on a set, how far I can get?

Function and form

78%
Ease of use
37%
Sound
88%
Appearance

I like one thing about Nordost: the logic and consistency with which they build their product lines. With Nordost one can be sure that more money equals more music and more sophisticated technologies. The same logic applies to the Leif series: all the cables use solid core 4N OFC wires in FEP insulation: the White Lightning has 10 wires, the Purple Flare has 14 wires, the Blue Heaven has 14 with enlarged cross-section area and the Red Dawn has 20.

As far as the comfort of use is concerned, anything I wrote about the cheaper White Lightning holds true about the Purple Flare too. Unlike the snowhite Lightning the Flare is violet. It is also directional and it also uses Nordost’s Z-plugs, that is lightweight hollow bananas made of a thin and expandable metal foil (beryllium and copper combination). The mechanical properties of the Purple Flare are identical to the White Lightning, which means ease of bending (10mm bend radius) and possibility to hide the flat cable invisibly below a carpet or other flooring.

 

 

Bass management

Weight
48
Slam
46
Articulation
39

This review is a part of The Low and Mid-tier Speaker Cables Megatest that includes 18 different speaker cables. The pilot article is available at SPECIAL EDITION REVIEWS section of Audiodrom.

Clarity & delicacy

Detail
46
Air
42
Transparency
42

Tonal accuracy

Timbre
25
Dynamics
40
Temporal resolution
31

The Purple Flare is sonically a very mature cable. In its past life it could have shared a position with Super Flatline MkII, in its present life it is better. The Purple Flare is a very open and transparent cable with competent soundstaging and a firm bass fundament. Unlike the White Lightning it is the typical Nordost: clean, extended, precise and fast. Plus the forementioned lows and this is very different from what we had heard from the Flare’s predecessors. The cable reached the depths of the Vincent Premium speaker cable, however, with better contours and finer dynamics. It is still far from being overly romantic, so the direct comparison to the Audioquest’s CV-4 reveals less focus on colors and more focus on transparency and openness.

Spatial resolution

Holography
62
Soundstage width
62
Soundstage depth
60

In my review of Nordost Heimdall (that is a few steps higher in the Nordost’s catalogue) I wrote that ‘it is like jumping into sparkling morning air. The cable has an immense depth focus and tactile quality to the sound, with images precisely locked in their positions. It lets you hear not only the music but the recording venue as well...’ For the Heimdall, two years ago, among others I used the very same recording - Loreena McKennit’s wonderful a cappella Gloucester Wassail. If you expect that I say the Purple Flare was as good as the Heimdall you will be disappointed: it isn’t. However, it manages to keep ca 80% of the Heimdal’s performance at a fraction of its cost which is already a good news.

Price as reviewed:10 000,- Kč

Recommended resellers

Gaia Connections, Praha, tel. +420 286 885 599

Associated components

  • Sources: Primare CD32, Luxman D-05 and Accuphase DP-510
  • Amplifiers: Primare I32, Luxman L-590AX a Accuphase E-560
  • Interconnects and speaker cables: Krautwire Fractal, Cardas Clear, Homegrown Audio DNA
  • Loudspeakers: Audio Physic Virgo V, Dynaudio Confidence C1 and Xavian Giulia, Chario Constellation, Xavian Preludio, Revel Ultima Studio2, B&W 805 Diamond and Atohm G 1.0
  • Power conditioning: Nordost Thor (modified), Snakeblock, Nordost Valhalla

Gallery

ANALYSIS PLUS Oval 9

I was impressed by the Analysis Plus’ proprietary solid bulk of pure copper – and gold plated – spades. They are really made from a billet of metal and milled into the shape - the mass of the single spade equals the mass of a fistful ...

Recommended resellers

Audiostudio s.r.o., Olomouc, tel. +420 608 752 475

Sound
40%

ANALYSIS PLUS Silver Oval 2

Everytime the Silver Oval 2 returned to my system it reminded me of the immediacy of a live performance. Johnny Cash’s vocal was very emotional and communicative, it created a strong emotional link between the music and the listener. ...

Recommended resellers

Audiostudio s.r.o., Olomouc, tel. +420 608 752 475

Sound
56%

ATOHM ZEF

Well, from a distance of 3 meters the ZEF looks like an ordinary white twin-wire. If you take a closer look it still keeps looking like the ordinary white twin-wire. There was simply nothing to indicate that the ZEFs would be such ...

Recommended resellers

Nisel SK, Bratislava, tel. +421 905 203 078

Sound
42%

AUDIOQUEST CV-4

There is one thing that is common for both the CV-4 and the Rocket 33: the complex perception of a music and analog feel to it. The CV-4 is more mature, however, and the listener hears it.

Recommended resellers

AQ s.r.o., Červenka, tel. +420 585 342 232

Sound
45%

AUDIOQUEST Dragon Zero | Bass BiWire

Supernatural silence. I mean the blacker than black canvas for music, as if the Dragon Zero | Bass was devouring the light. The digital zero is the first day of creation, one can hear molecules splitting in the empty space. Still, ...

Recommended resellers

AQ s.r.o., Červenka, tel. +420 585 342 232

Sound
100%

AUDIOQUEST Redwood

Every great cable I had in my system before the Redwood has a certain feature that made it different from another – a certain quality that made it perfect match for one system and mismatch for another. In this context the Redwood ...

Recommended resellers

AQ s.r.o., Červenka, tel. +420 585 342 232

Sound
89%

AUDIOQUEST Rocket 33

I have to say that I did not expect such a good performer in this price level. When I talked to Joe Harley of Audioquest this spring he kept assuring that the philosophy of Audioquest is to do as less harm as possible to a music ...

Recommended resellers

AQ s.r.o., Červenka, tel. +420 585 342 232

Sound
39%
Back to category