Cardas clear beyond compared to Nordost Valhalla V2

I auditioned both and for me the Valhalla were clean, clear and utterly uninvolving... The Clear Beyond on the other hand just drew me into the music. Kind of like a pair of perfectly pressed dress paths vs your favorite well-worn jeans.

with that said, I’ve heard systems where the Valhalla sounded stunning, so you really need to audition in your system

I have the Clear Beyond XLR and Speaker Cables and I must say I'm highly impressed.  If I could describe the sound it's full and has very good depth to the soundstage.  It has extremely good PRAT but doesn't have the Nordost "sheen" that I don't care for.  It's revealing but natural.  Some say it's "warm." But I don't think I'd characterize it that way mainly due to the fact I've owned the Audience AU24Sx and I would refer to those wonderful cables as "warm."  But these are more neutral with a slight hint of coolness to them. 

I hope that helps?

My experience is that the Valhalla 2 is ‘not’ a clarity king with a midrange that is full and warm. The high end did not ‘shine’ for me either. It was the opposite of what I expected. I think the reviews were perhaps somewhat biased. It has a place but at a terrible cost. fwiw