Nordost vs. Transparent...which is better?

Glide3 - I completely agree. My experience was that with the Nordost in my system the result was thin and edgy, just as Mike said some people experience. Transparent did not show that charactertic in my sytem. So, for me the Transparent were a better fit than Nordost. I know many people like Nordost - depends on the sytem. Picking cables is all about synergy - that's why trying them in your own system is critical. Since Cremona and Guarnari are related, my experience might be relevent, although not a substitute for in home auditioning, if possible.

People have to learn how to use differant brands. Valhalla can do things no other cables can do. But using it too much it will cauch some problems. You will loose individual focus, depth and involvement in th mid freq. But when you use it for a part in your system you will have more resolution you wil get from any cable you can buy for money. And yes the cheaper Nordost cables are a little thin sometimes. But here the same just use it for only a part. People have to learn to use the properties of different brands. That is the only way to get the max out of your system

I will weigh in with my experiences. I am currently auditioning a pair of Nordost Heimdal IC's on my CDP to amp and I am quite impressed. They don't sound anything like the Blue Heaven's that I previously tried which were somewhat thin and whitish sounding. Amazing sustain and air to the upper end, but not very well balanced.

The Heimdall sounds very very good with my Audio Refinement CDP, and I've tried many cables with it (both power and IC). The bass is simply the best I have heard with it. Very deep and clean with excellent heft and purcussive attack. The midrange is really enjoyable too in that I have the feeling of detail, but it seems to push back and smooth over any graininess or edge to voices or brass that I have experienced with some of my recordings. I find I can really crank it up where I could not before on those CD's.
The highs are sweet with good color, though here not quite as open or extended as the Transparent cables I've tried, and not quite as rich in tonal color (Transparent Music Link 100, Plus and Super). But I've found that many CD's that were bright and hard to listen to with the other cables, sounded very accurate with the Heimdalls but quite listenable.
Other things that I really like about them are excellent dynamics and imaging. My system images well anyway, but the Heimdal's take it to a new level.

They are expensive, but I plan to purchase them if I can get them at a good price.

If a cable is good,you can use it through the whole system without problems.
So this means that Nordost is not neutral.
I vote for use of the same brand through your system,this way you'll get the most out of your system.
But some may disagree.

I have Transparent Audio Reference digital RCA cable and Acoustic Revive DSIX digital active RCA cable costing far less then TA, so that I could do direct comparison.
I am going to keep Acoustic Revive which clearly outperform
TA.