You might be wondering how many manufacturers can provide all the necessary cabling solutions to achieve a full loom. I can think of a number of companies offering great USB and digital cables, or specialized power-distribution solutions, or maybe just speaker cables and interconnects. Only a few companies can provide a full array of wiring and power solutions needed for a complete system. Nordost is one of them, and the Blue Heaven cabling from Nordost's Leif range offers a range of products that can be augmented with Nordost's QRT line of power-distribution products to round out a wall-to-speaker system.

Why would an audiophile want to purchase all cables from a single manufacturer? My best explanation is that using multiple cables from different manufacturers mixes a variety of engineering design choices and voicings. Some cables sound fast and others sound lush, and still others emphasize bass. If you choose one company's cables, you are embracing one vision, one voicing and not haphazardly mixing and matching, hoping for synergy. Another way to think about this comes by way of a music-education illustration. I was attending a choir rehearsal and heard the director correcting his choir for not matching vowel sounds in a musical phrase. He said “We’re not singing in the same font.” What great imagery, and I think audio synergy might be exactly that same concept: having all your cables designed with similar voicing and engineering purpose.

A second reason would be related to noise in an audio system. Manufacturers address external noise by incorporating star grounding inside the chassis, exotic shielding of cabling and, recently, additional grounding components to further reduce interference. Mixing differing cable technologies might yield good results, but in the past, I’ve tried some expensive power cords that failed miserably at my house, resulting in edgy, harsh sound. But this same cord was superb in a friend’s system. Surely, this is a case of incompatible engineering philosophies resulting in poor performance.

Let’s take a look at the Blue Heaven line of cables. The Nordost range of Leif Universal Cable Systems -- White Lightning, Purple Flare, Blue Heaven, and Red Dawn -- comprise the company's more economical lines, and Blue Heaven is the third tier in that range. Blue Heaven is also the most complete line in the Leif range, even offering HDMI, Ethernet and solutions for portable players integrated into your system. Nordost uses silver-coated copper in all the Blue Heaven signal-carrying cables (the power cords excepted) and encases the conductors in fluorinated ethylene propylene, or FEP, a polymer with excellent durability and dielectric properties. Another feature of some of the Blue Heaven line is a manufacturing technique dubbed “Micro Mono-Filament Technology,” where a single strand of FEP is precisely wound around the conductors before being extruded inside a FEP sheath. The idea is to introduce a partial air barrier (the best dielectric) around the wire for improved performance and then to seal the wire in FEP. A clever bit of engineering.

The Blue Heaven power cords benefit from the FEP coating in another way. The FEP sheath is somewhat rigid or springy, and that aids in keeping the power cords away from the signal cables. They tend to stay in place once situated behind an audio rack, so if you are fastidious about cable routing, these power cords will stay where you place them. The RCA cables benefit from this physical construction for the same reasons. I appreciate the RCA plugs being slender and offering a tight connection. Users of modern or vintage gear with tightly spaced RCA inputs will have no issue using Blue Heaven interconnects.

The Blue Heaven tonearm cable ($799.99 per 1.25-meter length) uses twisted-pair construction with individual shielding for each signal run. Additionally, there are extra ground wires (Nordost calls them "ground whips") that can be inserted into a molded section on each end of the cable. The idea is to provide additional ground paths to minimize hum for the quietest possible noise floor when playing records.

The only digital cabling needed for my system was a USB cable. The Blue Heaven USB cable ($299.99 per meter length) also uses Micro Mono-Filament design, and the signal runs are individually shielded with a full-metal-jacket connector using gold plating to ensure good signal transfer.

The final piece of the cable loom is Nordost’s iconic flat speaker cables. As an owner of Nordost’s all-copper Flatline speaker cables, which are quite springy, I was pleased that Blue Heaven is more physically relaxed and manageable when getting them connected to my amps and speakers. Utilizing silver-plated solid-core conductors wrapped in FEP, the review pair of Blue Heaven speaker cables was terminated in sturdy banana plugs. Although not part of the review, Nordost has a product called Sort Lift, designed specifically for their speaker cables, which aids in keeping the cables off the listening-room floor.

Nordost also offers a line of QBASE AC distribution units ($1399.99 to $2299.99, depending on number of outlets). Each QBASE has a few special features to minimize AC problems. It is machined from heavy aluminum stock and has been designed to control vibration from external sources. An optional set of stands can be used to further control vibration or mount the QBASE to a wall. No active filtering is used, maximizing current flow to connected gear. Nordost instructs owners to use the central A/C outlet on the QBASE for preamps or integrated amps, then use the remaining outlets for all other devices. The central outlet is star-grounded, while all others have slightly higher impedance. Nordost’s concept is to encourage any noise on the cables to seek the lowest-impedance source -- the central star ground. A ground lug is provided to tie the QBASE into the company’s QKORE system for additional grounding, if needed.

auditioned the Blue Heaven loom -- interconnects, speaker cables, power cords, USB cable, tonearm cable, and power distribution -- in a simplified system, so I would use only Nordost products from the wall outlets to the speakers. For digital files, I streamed Qobuz through an Innuous Zen Mk III server into a BorderPatrol SE DAC. Amplification came from my newly acquired Consonance Reference 5.5 Mk 2 Special Edition integrated amp. The “special edition” version of this parallel 300B amp provides 16-ohm output taps, matching my Falcon Gold Badge LS3/5a and Altec Valencia speakers. Vinyl playback was a Michell Orbe turntable with an Ortofon TA110 tonearm and an Ortofon SPU Classic GE cartridge into a Fosgate Signature phono stage.

The Blue Heaven cabling I received was a mixture of demo units used for reviews and some new products, so break-in was fairly short and painless. Right out of the box, the cables sounded a bit constricted and tight, but they soon relaxed and remained stable from day to day. The overall sound was clear and clean, with a special emphasis on speed of attack. During my teaching career, each of my band rooms had concrete-block construction, which was horrendous from an acoustical point of view, but it did allow for some visual teaching points. The left mortar line I describe as the attack of the note, the body of the brick is the tone and duration of the note, and the right mortar line is the release of the note. Blue Heaven consistently brought attention to the left side of the note, emphasizing attacks, with good speed and a livelier overall sound than my regular cabling.

Low-register notes were more controlled with less warmth on instruments like bass guitar, timpani, or bass drum. Not everyone will appreciate this, but I feel the clarity of pitch to be a good trade-off from the touch of bass bloom I’m used to. In addition to bass clarity, Blue Heaven’s soundstage cues were unambiguous and well defined.

Because of Blue Heaven's clarity, I was able to hear individual melodic lines inside dense, complex music. Whether listening to Mahler symphonies or Baroque contrapuntal lines, I had little trouble separating individual melodic lines with the Nordost cables in the system. I particularly appreciated the Blue Heaven loom when preparing for a performance at our state music convention. John Mackey’s “Kingfishers Catch Fire” from Composer’s Collection-John Mackey [Qobuz 16-bit/44.1kHz stream], recorded by the North Texas Wind Symphony, is a tour-de-force for large concert band, piano, and eight additional offstage trumpets playing loud, chaotic overlapping melodies. Because rehearsal time would be limited, hearing my trumpet part on this recording was beneficial to my preparation, and I was glad to have the Blue Heaven loom in my system.

For vinyl playback, I used the DIN-terminated phono cable on an Ortofon tonearm with an SPU cartridge. The difference was subtle but easily identifiable. The SPU line from Ortofon is noted for warm timbre, being particularly good on tenor sax and vocal recordings. Blue Heaven didn’t lessen that characteristic much but did shift the overall tone slightly, with emphasis on the attack, or left side of the note. On “Babylon Sisters” from Steely Dan’s Gaucho [MCA 6102], Chuck Rainey’s bass sounded faster and punchier with the Blue Heaven in place. Similarly, Bernard Purdie’s drum set was appropriately explosive, with a great sense of drive. This was a welcome dose of energy added to my vinyl listening sessions. Concerning the extra grounding whips, I could convince myself that the sound was ever so slightly smoother with them connected, but the effect was minimal for my vinyl rig.

Would Blue Heaven's sonic signature transfer to other systems? I arranged two listening sessions with the full loom at friends’ houses. The three selections used in the sessions were “Brick House” from Sara K’s Hobo [Qobuz 16-bit/44.1kHz stream], “Kyrie” from Jose Carreras’s recording of Ariel Ramirez’s Missa Criolla [Qobuz 16-bit/44.1kHz stream], and Nils Lofgren’s modern chestnut “Keith Don’t Go” from Acoustic Live [Qobuz 16-bit/44.1kHz stream]. I played each selection on the systems with the owners' regular cabling, then swapped in all the Blue Heaven cables and the QBASE, then listened again for changes and similarities.

In spatial terms, the Blue Heaven loom expanded the soundstage width and height but brought center images closer to the listening position. This was beneficial on “Brick House,” due to Chesky’s overly distant recording perspective. Sara K. was more clearly outlined dead center in the room and the male voice muttering “Oh, baby” around the 40-second mark was much easier to understand with Blue Heaven in each system.

Comparing each system on “Kyrie” proved more difficult to characterize. Both of my friends’ chosen cables and the Blue Heaven loom did a credible job of portraying the size of the recording venue. Blue Heaven did a slightly better job of delineating individual voices in the choir, but gave up a little weight on the bass-drum thumps at the beginning of the track. Carreras’s voice was somewhat smaller-sounding with the Nordost loom, but it still maintained good image placement and clarity. The apparent speed of the Nordost cables also brought out the attack of the bass-drum mallet more so than the resonance of the large drum.

I chose “Keith Don’t Go” for the transient response of Lofgren’s guitar. As expected from my listening notes on my system, the impression of speed Blue Heaven injects adds excitement to the performance and moved the perspective a few rows closer to the performer. Image width was greater and soundstage depth was a bit shallower with the Blue Heaven loom. I don’t think there was a clear winner on this recording, but Blue Heaven certainly made for an energetic, fun listening session.

The only concern I might point out is making sure your speakers and the Blue Heaven ribbon speaker wire are compatible. Pairing them with my vintage Altec Valencia speakers was not a good match, with the sound turning harsh and piercing in the treble. Nordost states, "Due to the low capacitance of our cables, many loudspeakers often can be moved closer to the walls than they are with other brands of cables. If the loudspeakers are kept in the same place, the full sonic effect of the cables is often not appreciated." Admittedly, the large Altec speakers are an outlier and require owners to carefully choose associated gear to produce the best sound. My Falcon Gold Badge LS3/5a's were a much better match, and I did most of my review using that speaker with the Nordost loom. I should also mention that my Magnepan LRSes were particularly good-sounding with the Blue Heaven speaker cables, and LRS owners should definitely audition a set of these speaker cables at home.

If you want to build a Nordost Blue Heaven loom but do so in installments, start with the QBASE and Blue Heaven power cords. I am firmly convinced that electronic devices cannot work to their full potential until power cords and power distribution/noise reduction are addressed. While power cords may not be as thrilling as purchasing a new electronic component or speaker, my experiences suggest that mixing and matching power components can result in poor performance. It’s also notable that the Blue Heaven power cords and QBASE were used on the listening tour, replacing cords and distribution pieces costing far, far more, yet the sound retained the same level of bass slam and the low noise floor I associate with good, clean power management. This was fairly remarkable for one of Nordost’s “budget” cable lines.

Next, purchase interconnects and then the speaker cables for their clarity and drive. With these two in place, you have the Nordost signature sound. Adding the speaker cables will bring the speed of attack and clarity I’ve discussed, while the RCA interconnects are more neutral, having less effect on the sound of my system.

Provided your DAC needs a USB cable, the Blue Heaven is a fine choice at a budget-friendly price. In my system, the USB cable gave excellent results and was an easy recommendation. Substituting an expensive, well-reviewed USB cable from a competing brand lessened my interest in listening. Timing was confused and the soundstage shrunk. A bit of dullness crept in. The USB swap was definitely more dramatic and clear-cut than swapping RCA interconnects. Even if you have opted to use various brands of cabling in your system, I encourage you to give the Blue Heaven USB a try.

Finally, for those vinyl users needing a DIN-terminated phono cable, the clever engineering Nordost included in their design is easily appreciated. While I’m not plagued with audible hum in the phono stage, the ability to add extra paths for grounding is a nice touch and could be a lifesaver in many systems.

id my two months of living with the Blue Heaven cables and QBASE power distribution further convince me of the benefits of using a single-sourced loom? Yes, and I hope it’s clear that I also enjoyed my time with the Nordost products. Their sound invited long listening sessions, and the well-sorted soundstage aided in following complex musical lines. The concept of staying with a single engineering concept is appealing to me and makes good sense. Blue Heaven's clear, clean sound is a joy.