Transparent MM2

Mikelavigne, I much admire your system and taste. But when was the last time you made a purchase at your level without comparing it with your current reference concomitantly in real time in your own system?

Will you be relying on auditory memory to assess your new TA MM2s vs your old MM1s? Seems like that's the only way TA will allow it for home trial.

And that's brilliant marketing. Especially since the schmo who buys the Opus MM2 at the same price you paid for your now obsolete Opus MM merely devalues the resale value of your cables to the point that you really have no choice but to "upgrade".

Unless you want off the bandwagon and actually want to start listening critically again rather than merely servicing your investment.

With all due respect "upgrading" seems like the anthiesis of what the high end is all about.

To wit: the MM2s are better that any MM1. But they are a preordained succession.

I'll take my chances with a coup d'etat here and there.

The sad truth is that I prefer the sound of the less than half-cost Kimbers.

And can only hope that enough keepers of the faith will be able to purchase my cast-offs so that they too can know the security of a "no-brainer" upgrade and scoff at my foolishness.

Khrys,

i have done frequent comparisons with other cables over the years; i have 3 sets of Valhalla interconnects in my system for a 'control' on the Opus interconnects to judge what the MM2 does to alter that equation. i don't have a similar 'control for the Opus speaker cable upgrade; and will have to 'wing it' there. i am under no delusions as to what is possible in terms of audio memory.

in all my cable comparisons over the years.....i've yet to encounter it's equal.

my long term agenda here is actually to compare the Opus MM2 upgrade to Nordost Odin. i have heard the Odin twice at shows compared to the Valhalla and i was very very impressed. if there is a cable that can un-seat the Opus in my system i suspect it is the Odin. the only way i can actually do that comparison is to do the upgrade. i know it's not the most sensible dollars i can spend but i'm committed to having the best cables.

i can say that i sold my second set of Opus MM speaker cables last year for more than i paid for them 7 years prior. so i'm not afraid of investing in Transparent's best.

regarding your veiwpoint on the Kimbers verses your previous Transparent; i respect how you feel. who knows how the Opus MM2 would compare? my experience in the past with Kimber cables was that they did not perform in the realm of the Opus.....but that was a few years back and i cannot remember the model (it was top of the Kimber line at the time). i have heard many very good relatively sanely priced cables that do perform well. so far i've preferred the Valhalla to any others let alone the Opus.

YMMV....

mikelavigne,

I agree with your findings. I have also upgraded to MM2 and was looking to replace Valhalla. I have tested Odin together with my own setup.(check my setup, you will see the pics.) Odin is perfectly matched with transparents, than I tried Stealth indra and was not satisfied with it. Now I connected Valhallas back. However, Odin can be good interconnect but has to be priced around 8000usd-10000usd. 16000usd worth investment for a cable is no logical way.

Mikelavigne, your well considered response makes TA's upgrade program seem more compelling, especially if I can actually sell my XLMM cables for anything approximating a profit and not the free-falling price bloodbath that usually accompanies a product once its pre-ordained superior replacement is released with no cost increase.

Knowing the timeline for MM3's release will surely help optimize the MM2's resale value. Too bad I bought at the end of MM1' s turnip-wrenching potential.

Not that I mean to rag on TA cables. They are the finest full range cables I have heard.

Except in speakers where multiple optimally ranged cables can be mated with the speaker's individually configurable crossovers to avoid the homogenization that potentially results from investment protection.

Biwiring may soon be Constitutionally prohibited in some states.
It's time to move on.

Biwiring may soon be Constitutionally prohibited in some states.

yes, for a couple of years i did bi-wire with Opus......and maybe i'm responsible for this new state Constitutional Amendment.

the evidance

my second set of (12') Opus speaker cable i did purchase only 3 years ago; my dealer did give me a (relatively) good buy on but were i to sell it i don't expect to break even but who knows. i did buy my Opus 1.5m RCA interconnects used and likely could sell them at break even.

the Valhalla i have sold i got at least 90% of my original investment on.

i'm not a flavor of the month guy; and these cables have served me well in terms of overall value. i accept that there will ultimately be a net cost. Transparent and Nordost don't change their cables every couple of years; their customers typically get their investments protected as well as any expensive cables on the market.

the MM family of Transparent cables began in 2000; MM2 started this year (2008). i'd say Transparent has been reasonable in it's frequency of upgrades......so suggesting MM3 is around the corner is not really fair.

i'm not saying their cables have sensible list prices or that one can make a real-world case for owning Transparent.....but thats true for lots of esoteric products of many types. you buy it because you like it enough and you can afford it.

opinions on performance are of course a separate issue.