Transparent,neutral and precise.

None.

In my opinion this is the finest digital interconnect presently available.(Balanced AES/EBU).
A superlative product.
This cable proves that there is more to digital interconnects than merely tranporting 0's & 1's.
If you get a chance try this cable, you will be very pleasantly surprised.

Used with:

Krell MD-10 Trans
Krell Reference 64 DAC

Advantage T-1 Trans
Pass D1 DAC

Similar Products Used:

Yamamura M6000 Digital,Van Den Hul,Audio Synthesis & others.

Neutrality, Control, Realism, Detail, Everything.

Absolutely Nothing

Where do I start? Ok, this digital coax cable lists for $499, but I'm a bottom feeder and would never pay that much for a skinny little cable. That's more than the Preamp, DAC or CD player cost me! Well, I happenned across a store demo (mint condition, not even broken in yet) for $200. I was demoing the Nordost Moonglo at the time, was very impressed, but it cost $200 new, so I couldn't pass this deal up, even though I hadn't heard the Silver Shadow. I don't typically take $200 chances, but this one paid off. The seller said it wasn't broken in, so I wasn't expecting much out of the box. Initially the high end was rolled off, allot, and the soundstage seemed set back farther in the room. So I spent 3 days questioning my purchase. Suddenly things seemed to change, after a couple 10 hour days of break-in. The highs became extended and airy, the soundstage widened, the bass tightened (it was a bit heavy initially), and ev erything sounded right, voices were natural, not nasaly or tinny, just real. Everything sounded right, real, true, live. The speakers disapeared and my room seemed to be filled with musicians. I can't really explain it any other way. The soundstage is balanced, front to back, unlike the other cables I tried that exagerated certain frequencies, pushing the singer into your lap, or the saxaphone next to your head. The MIT cables I used to use were awfull, placing the music about 12 feet back, and the singer at my feet, or a male vocalist singing ten feet back while his acoustic guitar floated 3 feet in front of me....that's not imaging, that's a mistake. MIT cables are not made for tube gear, plain and simple. Anyway, back to the Silver Shadow. It does everything right, but it will reveal the weakest link in your system very quickly. So now I'm buying a new CD/SACD player. If you can pick this cable up for $250 or less, don't pass it up.

Associated Equipment:
Denon DCM 370 HDCD Player (as Transport)
Sonic Frontiers SFD-1 Mk-1 DAC
Sonic Frontiers SFL-1 Signature Preamp
Mesa Baron Amplifier
Tannoy D-70/637 Plus Speakers (Biwired)
Nordost Super Flatline Biwire Speaker Cable
Nordost Solar Wind Interconnects

Similar Products Used:

Harmonic Technologies, Audio Quest, Nordost Moonglo.

open, very good imaging , air around instruments, laid back

i found improvemenrs in sound soon as i plugged this cable between the cd player and the dac.
ive only bene usign it for 5 days now but the change in sound is very good - all the instruments sound more natural ,here is air around them , notes decay well - piano sounds fabulous . there is no harshness in the sound at all -

laid back ( not slow ) and not in the face.
I can easily listen to the music for hrs without getttign tired of it.

I paired it up with van del Hul the first caryign the analog signal from the dac to the preamp.
Im yet to plug in van del hul the first Metal between the preamo and amp - as the amp is a vavle amp , the First causes hum - which is what i was advised by the hifi dealer as well.

my system -
matantz cd mk iii player - uses as transport only.
Nordost Silver shadow diital interconnect
Musical fidelity x24 DAC
linn kolektor preamp
nu-vista 300 poweramp
van del hul the first between dac and preamp
qed silver spiral between amp and preamp

Similar Products Used:

van del Hul the first umtimate , van del hul the first, fibre optic cable

If you are in the market for upgrading your digital cable within your system,you owe it to yourself to try an audition of the latest gem to come from
the minds of Nordost, "Silver Shadow" digital cable (RCA and AES/EBU)...

Simply put, the Silver Shadow digital cable is absolutely stunning!!! After
allowing a 100hr break-in period, the following are my listening notes:

1) The improvement in imaging is extraordinary. All frequencies were portrayed
with complete "coherence" with image size remaining constant thru extreme
dynamic swings. There was a wonderful completeness to the imaging where
the image was not "spotlighted" but was naturally defined with excellent
air around the instruments within the soundstage. There was a definite
improvement in the body (or 3D prespective) of the imaging all of which
gave a great smile to my face. My Nordost Silver Digital Moonglo cable
(on A/B comparisons) had a tendency to change image size on large dynamic
swings and definitly presented a more "difuse" character to the image.

2) Inner detail to the music/note was again improved on with the Silver Shadow
over my Silver Digital Moonglo cable. Definite improvements in harmonics,
overtone rendition, natural note decay, acoustic recording room information
retrieval was easily noted. *** All of this detail was presented with
absolutely no aggression and listening fatigue. There was a definite
"easiness" to the sound that was very similar to my experiences with the
presentation of I2S Digital interfaces.

3) Improvements in soundstaging were again easily preceived with the Silver
Shadow inserted into the chain. To my ears, the entire soundstage
presentation gained a bit more of a "laid back" prespective (which I always
welcome very much). I could easily hear more information retrieval, further
back within the soundstage, with a most natural perspective. Imaging was
more solid within the deep cornors of a well recorded CD than I ever heard
before on my system.

4) The Silver Shadow is extremely neutral in its presentation with no emphasis
in any frequency range. My old Silver Digital Moonglo has been considered
a little "lean" by some individuals. After listening to the Silver Shadow,
I hear no more leaness at all in the "sonic landscape". There is a warmth
and body to the music without coloration. Everything has been improved
upon considerably with the Silver Shadow inserted into the chain.

Very little information has been published on the Silver Shadow, I belive that
this cable is an offshoot of Nordosts own Reference series "Quattro fil".
Actually, the Silver Shadow gave me the same improvements as Quattro fil, when
I inserted the Quattro fil into the system chain. As you know, there is a
need for synergy in components to bring the best out of our systems. The
Nordost Silver Shadow Digital cable (albeit expen$ive) is a product that when
inserted into a balanced system will bring out the best in your equiptment.

Finally, as I found out again, when you can improve on the front end components,
the entire enjoyment to our music is improved upon considerable. This is just
the case for this wonderful little digital cable from Nordost....

Highly recommended for an audition!

Art

current system:

Theta Data Basic II transport (w/VansEvers std 202 power cord)
Nordost Silver Shadow Digatal cable (AES/EBU)
Muse Model 296 DAC
Nordost Quattro fil interconnects
Audio Research LS7 (with NOS tube complement and retrofitted IEC connector)
Audio Research VT100 MKII (with NOS input tubeset & Nordost El Dorado Power Cord)
Alpha Core Goertz MI3 Divinity spkr. cables.
Thiel CS 2 2 spkrs.

Black Diamond racing "cones", "things" and "pits" in MK3 and MK4 config., Shakti
Stones, VansEvers Double Pandora Power cords, VansEvers Reference 83 PLC,
Audioprism Quietlines, ENACOM AC plug-in filters.