HH: What brings you to Mumbai/India. Have you ever been here before
AB: This is my first to Mumbai and India, which I am very excited about
HH: What has been your background with the AV Industry & with Nordost
AB: I have been in the industry man and boy. My Father had a number of hi-fi shops in the UK called Doug Brady Hi-Fi, which I worked in at every opportunity in school and university holidays. I then spent a year with Sevenoaks Sound & Vision as Northern Area Manager for their stores before spending 16 years at Monitor Audio as Sales & Marketing Director. I joined Nordost last year
HH: What is the Nordost brand all about/philosophy
Nordost cables stress the importance of both mechanical construction and wiring geometry. Over the years we have developed several proprietary technologies, such as Micro Mono-Filament. The use of Micro Mono-Filament creates a separation between the insulation and conductor so that 80% of the conductor is suspended in air (85% when using Dual Mono-Filament). This unique geometry gives our cables far greater bandwidth and speed. This, along with precise manufacturing techniques, which can be seen just by looking at our power cords & speaker cables, are the key to great cable performance. Our FEP manufacturing process dramatically lowers the capacitance of our cables (five times lower than most of the popular brands on the market). A loom of Nordost cable will offer speed, timing, dynamics, transparency and detail
HH: Most Hi-Fi Enthusiasts look at cable companies as charlatans(well some cable companies surely are responsible for creating this situation to begin with) & are pretty dismissive of their claims, how do you try to convince them about Nordost being different
AB: Our Team of Nordost Product Trainers are passionate about demonstrating the performance of our products to hi-fi enthusiasts at Shows and Dealer Events around the world. We like to get enthusiasts to consider all elements of their system in our demonstrations, some of which they may not previously addressed with upgrades, such as Power Cords for example. In our demonstrations around the world over many years, enthusiasts have heard and enjoyed the benefits of investing in Nordost’s Power Cord range, as they allow crucial ancillary components that they have already significantly invested in like CD players and Amplifiers to perform at their full potential. What we ideally recommend is that enthusiasts try Nordost cables in their own system, in their own time, on their own music, so that they can make an informed choice
HH: What is the future of the Cables Industry
AB: Quite to the contrary of some opinion that the cable industry is in decline due to the plethora of streaming products available on the market, Nordost feel that there is more opportunity than ever for enthusiasts to enjoy every element of the system that they have invested in. For example, at the recent Hi-End Show in Munich, Nordost demonstrated the benefit of our Ethernet cables over the standard ‘in the box’ option. Visitors to the room were staggered by the difference. Other diverse areas of the cable business that enthusiasts are investing include our Blue Heaven and Heimdall 2 Headphone cables that are available for all major manufacturers headphones. We have also seen a marked increase in sales of our specialist tone arm cables in line with the renaissance of sales of vinyl and turntables
HH: Now that you’ve been to India & met quite a few people of the AV Industry, what has been your impression of the AV Industry in India, with respect to the one worldwide
AB: It’s clear that AV is a higher percentage of the sales mix than traditional 2 channel in India, when compared with mainland Europe for example. I think this is down to people choosing to spend their leisure time by watching Bollywood movies and Cricket with Family and Friends – it’s a very sociable experience and a good AV system makes it all the more enjoyable. In mainland Europe, there is less of an emphasis on AV and more on mid and high end two channel audio. That is reflected in the sales we see of our Valhalla 2 and Odin 2 Reference cables in Europe, whilst in India we are already seeing demand for products such as our class leading HDMI and 4K UHD cables
HH: What memories do you take back with you of India (good & bad)
I’ll always remember the warm hospitality of everyone I met on the trip. I was made to feel very welcome. I really enjoyed tasting authentic Indian food as well. On the flip side, the driving and traffic took some getting used to!
HH: What does your personal set-up consist of
AB: I have a Linn LP12 turntable, Leema Acoustics phono stage, XTC transport, Audiolab dac, Musical Fidelity pre/power and Monitor Audio speakers, all wired with a loom of Nordost, of course!
HH: What advise would you give to budding audio enthusiasts
AB: First and foremost, find a good quality independent dealer with demonstration facilities so that you can make an informed choice on picking components for your system. Make sure to listen to music that you know very well. Hopefully you will hear things that they’ve never heard before. Be sure to trust your ears and pick components that you like – read audio magazines as a guide for research purposes – but the beauty of audio separates is that you can absolutely tailor the system to your own personal taste.