A New Leif

by The Audio Beat | January 19, 2011

se the right cables, use them in the right way and use them right through the system": This is the premise on which Nordost has built its new Leif range of audio cables, which boasts of advanced design features, refined performance and affordable pricing. "The introduction of Leif," according to Nordost, "brings the entry-level cable range into line with the thinking and technical approaches that have governed the development of the flagship Valhalla and Odin products."

Leif consists of four cable families -- White Lightning, Purple Flare, Blue Heaven LS and Red Dawn LS -- each offering a different performance level. All conductors are round-section, silver-plated, solid-core 99.9999 OFC with FEP (Teflon) insulation throughout. Each family consists of interconnects and speaker cables that differ in the number of conductors used and their gauge. Blue Heaven LS extends to include dedicated digital, analog, video and power cables -- all of which share the same fundamental design characteristics and materials as the interconnects and speaker cables. Power cords and digital-carrying cables feature Nordost's proprietary Micro Mono-Filament construction.

Pricing for Leif interconnects ranges from $179.99/meter pair for White Lightning to $499.99 for Red Dawn LS, while speaker cables begin at $359/two-meter pair for White Lightning and extend to $999.99 for Red Dawn LS. Blue Heaven LS analog and digital cables top off at $379.99, while Purple Flare power cords begin at $149.99.

About the cables, Nordost says, "Wire a system with Leif throughout and you achieve a level of performance that not so long ago would have been state of the art in musical terms -- and at a total cost that's definitely real world."