Nordost Sort Lift

[MylesBAstor]

NORDOST LAUNCHES THE NEW SORT LIFT ®

Holliston, MA September 1, 2016: Nordost is excited to announce the launch of its newest product, the Sort Lift®. The Sort Lift® is the preeminent cable support in the consumer electronics industry, and is the perfect addition to Nordost’s line of Resonance Control Devices: the Sort System. Nordost’s Sort System is designed to allow components to resonate at their natural frequency, both without the burden of extraneous, damaging vibrations or the constraint of damping materials.

The Sort Lift® is a unique and extremely effective cable support designed to enhance the sonic performance of loudspeaker cables, power cords, and interconnects. While other cable lifters in the industry are only concerned with doing just that—lifting the cable, the Sort Lift® not only elevates audio cables from the ground, but it employs a patent pending, Floating Spring Design. This design minimizes the contact that cables have with the apparatus while reducing boundary effects without negatively affecting the resonant properties of the cables themselves.

The Sort Lift® is composed of two integral components: the base and the springs. The base is a stable, anodized aluminum disk, designed to inhibit any transference of electrical charge from the floor to the cable and eliminate static build-up on the dielectric itself. This base supports the proprietary Floating Spring System. The Floating Spring System uses a flexible, titanium alloy spring-wire, which makes up both the support wings and tension wire supports. In both elements, the alloy wire is coated in FEP, mirroring the design of Nordost cables and making the supports an extension of the cable jacket. These specially treated wires eliminate any electrical interference, while allowing the cables to maintain their natural resonance properties. This revolutionary design elicits several improvements to the sound quality, including an elevated sound stage, improved dynamic range, increased detail in low frequency reproductions, and more natural timbre to the music.

Sort Lift® is provided in packs of two. They are intended to be spaced between 0.5 and 1 meter apart in distance, so that the cable does not come in contact with the floor. The spacing may depend on the weight and flexibility of the cable being supported. While designed to be used primarily with Nordost cables, any audio cable will benefit from using the Sort Lift®. The Sort Lift® is now available at select Nordost dealers, worldwide, with a suggested retail price of $600.00 USD. To find the Nordost dealer nearest you, visit the “Where to Buy” page on www.nordost.com.

[Guest]

Yeah, I got that press release. Reading it twice gave me a headache, however I'll say: i) the copywriter earned his paycheck and ii) Nordost may be the first to ascribe specific sonic effects to a cable lifter. Though I'm not sure I understand how those are connected to the product's physical characteristics. I don't usually comment on price very much, but at $300 MSRP for Qty. 1, I can understand Nordost dealers whose businesses are so addicted to their Nordost margins that they can't switch brands if they wanted. Don't get me wrong, prices can be set anywhere. The marketplace will out.

" ... Nordost’s Sort System is designed to allow components to resonate at their natural frequency, both without the burden of extraneous, damaging vibrations or the constraint of damping materials. ... "

Allowing a component to vibrate at its resonance frequency (aka natural frequency) is not exactly special. I thought the idea was to avoid setting it on something whose own resonance frequency will not amplify the component's resonance frequency. Maybe that's what is claimed in the above sentence in the PR. (??) If it is, they're saying they have a cable lifter that does not cause harm by the manner that it lifts. Okay. But where do the sonic benefits come from? The wires eliminate electrical interference? I don't think they create a Faraday Cage so its probable they (claim to) eliminate electrical potential with the floor/carpet? These are basically the same ideas behind Shunyata's lifters. (Aren't they?)

Coming from main line companies, the cable lifter now has its imprimatur.

[fcrowder]

My only comment would be that Nordost's speaker cables are very sensitive to being raised off the floor and clearly benefit from the separation from the floor. In my case, I used a ceramic footer designed for this purpose and the effect was quite audible and quite beneficial. My thought at the time was that there was a correlation between the thin insulation on the cable and the dramatic effect. In general, I have had less effect with cables which are well shielded. For someone who owns Odin 2, the additional expenditure probably makes sense.

[MylesBAstor]

Yeah, I got that press release. Reading it twice gave me a headache, however I'll say: i) the copywriter earned his paycheck and ii) Nordost may be the first to ascribe specific sonic effects to a cable lifter. Though I'm not sure I understand how those are connected to the product's physical characteristics. I don't usually comment on price very much, but at $300 MSRP for Qty. 1, I can understand Nordost dealers whose businesses are so addicted to their Nordost margins that they can't switch brands if they wanted. Don't get me wrong, prices can be set anywhere. The marketplace will out.

" ... Nordost’s Sort System is designed to allow components to resonate at their natural frequency, both without the burden of extraneous, damaging vibrations or the constraint of damping materials. ... "

Allowing a component to vibrate at its resonance frequency (aka natural frequency) is not exactly special. I thought the idea was to avoid setting it on something whose own resonance frequency will not amplify the component's resonance frequency. Maybe that's what is claimed in the above sentence in the PR. (??) If it is, they're saying they have a cable lifter that does not cause harm by the manner that it lifts. Okay. But where do the sonic benefits come from? The wires eliminate electrical interference? I don't think they create a Faraday Cage so its probable they (claim to) eliminate electrical potential with the floor/carpet? These are basically the same ideas behind Shunyata's lifters. (Aren't they?)

Coming from main line companies, the cable lifter now has its imprimatur.

That interestingly is now the 3rd generation. 😀

The first generation Shunyata cable lifters fell apart - split in half - on me. The second were meh and haven't tried the latest ones. The SR lifters were useful, however, in routing cables away from power supplies and AC power cords. To be honest, I don't hear all that much sonic difference using the lifters. That is other than eliminating say the hashiness or brightness one gets say when an IC sits on or nearby a power cord for instance.

That's not say I don't hear a difference. For instance I thought Goldmund comes under the Transparent or MIT boxes made a noticeable improvement. And the Transparent cables do come with tiptoes under the boxes but felt the Goldmund cones were better on the older TA speaker boxes. Haven't tried with the new ones.

[Johnny Vinyl]

$600 USD for what? Come on, let's get real here. This is marketing mumbo-jumbo catering to the 1% who have more money than they know what to do with. Sadly though...someone, somewhere, somehow will justify the expense. Whatever!

[Johnny Vinyl]

I should have chosen my words a little better, and I should try to keep an open mind.

hey, no worries, my gut reaction was like yours

[MylesBAstor]

One cautionary note. One can get so involved with all these tweaks, accessories, tuning devices that audiophiles have no idea where they are. The problem often rears its ugly head when a new piece of gear is inserted into the system and doesn't meet expectations. Sometimes the only option is ripping everything out and starting over from scratch.

[Guest]

That interestingly is now the 3rd generation. 😀

The first generation Shunyata cable lifters fell apart - split in half - on me. The second were meh and haven't tried the latest ones. The SR lifters were useful, however, in routing cables away from power supplies and AC power cords. To be honest, I don't hear all that much sonic difference using the lifters. That is other than eliminating say the hashiness or brightness one gets say when an IC sits on or nearby a power cord for instance.

That's not say I don't hear a difference. For instance I thought Goldmund comes under the Transparent or MIT boxes made a noticeable improvement. And the Transparent cables do come with tiptoes under the boxes but felt the Goldmund cones were better on the older TA speaker boxes. Haven't tried with the new ones.

Yes. I have Shunyata Gen 1 and Gen 2. Gen 1 did have some that split but they were easily stuck back together. Despite that, and because they were 'foam-like' and have a little bit of give to them, I found them excellent for placing under power cords beneath the cord's plug at the component IEC socket for strain relief, either standing up or sideways. At least for my Shunyata Anaconda cords which are heavy and can pull/droop down at the socket, and I use 'em that way for all my components. Because they can be split you get two sizes!

I also use them as you have to keep separation between cords and cables at the back of the rack. Again the Gen 1 works well there because they have a broad flat bottom and are light in weight. I use the Gen 2 around my monoblocks and speakers to keep cables and cords organized. and well routed.

As far as sonics go, my results are similar to yours. By no means is their impact startling or even definitive, but overall I lean slightly towards saying they help rather than do nothing.



Lamm M1.2 Ref amp on custom SRA Ohio XL Plus amp stand. Shunyata Anaconda loom.

You can almost make out beside the amp on a 3" butcher block is its dedicated Shunyata Typhon that plugs into the other half of the duplex AC outlet from the one the amp uses. (Amp goes straight into the wall.). The Typhon sits on four Stillpoints Minis and conditions the amp's dedicated circuit back to the panel. This mirrors the setup for the other monoblock.

[Bill Hart]

I'll accept Fred C's comments that Nordost cable's sonics are affected by lifting, but using the Kubala wire, I haven't detected any noticeable sonic difference using the older style ceramic cable lifter that was in circulation about 10 or more years ago. I use them for strain relief, and to help guide cable routing, not for any noticeable sonic benefit as such. Rather than dismissing all of this outright, I guess i would consider, given the price of these things, how they fit into an over all scheme for system planning, i.e., not something someone with budget constraints should prioritize over other, more basic things. Having never used the Nordost cable, I'm willing to suspend my skepticism over the use of these things with their cable product, but "try before you buy" may still be the order of the day, even for the well-heeled.

[mep]

Doesn't Carl from NOLA demo his speakers with $40k of Nordost speaker cables laying on the carpet of the hotel room? There is an issue with some after market power cords that use connectors as a big as a catcher's mitt and weigh as much as a small dog not seating correctly in the back of your gear and your wall socket. They tend to want to pull away from both the male and female connectors which is never a good thing.

[rbbert]

Often even coiled up on the carpet

[MylesBAstor]

Yes. I have Shunyata Gen 1 and Gen 2. Gen 1 did have some that split but they were easily stuck back together. Despite that, and because they were 'foam-like' and have a little bit of give to them, I found them excellent for placing under power cords beneath the cord's plug at the component IEC socket for strain relief, either standing up or sideways. At least for my Shunyata Anaconda cords which are heavy and can pull/droop down at the socket, and I use 'em that way for all my components. Because they can be split you get two sizes!

I also use them as you have to keep separation between cords and cables at the back of the rack. Again the Gen 1 works well there because they have a broad flat bottom and are light in weight. I use the Gen 2 around my monoblocks and speakers to keep cables and cords organized. and well routed.

As far as sonics go, my results are similar to yours. By no means is their impact startling or even definitive, but overall I lean slightly towards saying they help rather than do nothing.
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Lamm M1.2 Ref amp on custom SRA Ohio XL Plus amp stand. Shunyata Anaconda loom.

You can almost make out beside the amp on a 3" butcher block is its dedicated Shunyata Typhon that plugs into the other half of the duplex AC outlet from the one the amp uses. (Amp goes straight into the wall.). The Typhon sits on four Stillpoints Minis and conditions the amp's dedicated circuit back to the panel. This mirrors the setup for the other monoblock.

Excellent advice! I kinda swore off "heavy" cables after using the CRL. (Though that seems kinda hard to avoid with most PCs; the Stealth PCs being maybe the worst example! ⚡️) The CRLs really put a lot of strain on the RCAs and split the Shunyatas. Because of their weight, the CRLs kept causing the Shunyata cable lifters to fall apart.

But yes they really help relieve stress on the IEC inlets! Same goes say for TA or MIT cables with boxes. I also use them to dress the phono cables between the arm and phonostage. Rightly or wrongly, they may prevent bad vibes from reaching the arm. Linn often talked about proper dressing of the phono able but that may have had more to do with the table's suspension.

[MylesBAstor]

Doesn't Carl from NOLA demo his speakers with $40k of Nordost speaker cables laying on the carpet of the hotel room? There is an issue with some after market power cords that use connectors as a big as a catcher's mitt and weigh as much as a small dog not seating correctly in the back of your gear and your wall socket. They tend to want to pull away from both the male and female connectors which is never a good thing.

That's why I like the Furutech AC receptacles. (The old Wattagates also did the same thing.) The Furutechs make a vise-like connection. Plus it helps if one orients the plug with the ground up to prevent the weight of the cable from pulling the plug out of the socket.

I'd have to look back but I thought Carl used some kind of cable lifter. As far as coiled cables go. It probably wasn't by choice but that's either the length of cable Carl/or the manufacturer uses at home or what the manufacturer had available to loan out for that show. Mnufacturers generally keep a pool of product that they loan out rather than making new cables and increasing overhead.