4 Flat

About the 4 Flat

The 'Nordost (Chinese copy) 4 Flat' refers to inexpensive China-made replicas of the Nordost 4 Flat speaker cable, available on platforms like AliExpress for around US$100 for a 2.5m pair with locking gold-plated banana plugs. These knock-offs emulate the original Nordost 4 Flat's flat ribbon geometry using FEP/Teflon insulation and silver-plated oxygen-free copper (OFC) conductors to achieve low capacitance (<10pF/ft) and inductance, suitable for bi-wiring high-performance amplifiers in hi-fi and home theater systems. Each +/- run consists of 9 strands of approximately 21AWG (0.7mm diameter) solid-core silver-plated OFC wires. Measurements show excellent consistency, negligible insertion loss (< -0.05dB over 10ft into 4Ω load at 10kHz), and performance comparable to premium cables like Nordost Heimdall 2, making them a budget-friendly option for flat cable geometry without high cost[10]. The design allows easy under-carpet or in-wall installation like the original. While conductor purity (claimed 7N OFC) and exact materials can't be verified, electrical measurements confirm solid performance[10]. Configurations include banana plugs; similar to Nordost's shotgun, bi-wire, or bi-amp options.