Nordost Vahalla or Mit Oracle

I agree if you are looking at $5000 cables then investing that elsewhere in the system is probably a good idea to consider to get the sound you want.

My opinion in general, not knwing your system, is that once your equipment is well matched to your tastes then you should be able to find an IC for 10% or less of that amount that works perfectly fine.

But if you must spend $5000 then buy one used, do not overpay, try it and then sell it and try the other if not satisfied. THat way you will know what works best without throwing money down the drain, unless you just have so much money that it doesn't matter to you.

The other components are all "top drawer" Pass Labs XO.2 pre, Krell reference 64 dac with T-20 transport, the T-400 amps have just been completely upgraded by Tresahold to stasis 8 preformance at a cost of $3200.00 each so they are essentially brand new. Line conditioning, power cords, and interconnects are all fresh. The speaker cables ARE the weak link.

I've heard the Nordost speaker cables with VAC amplification running MAgico Minis and that configuration was very detailed dynamic and musical. How much was due to the Nordost? Hard to say other than the overall combo was top notch.

They are also very cool looking wires.

I would update the digital front end before spending $5K on speaker cables.

That is your weak link IMO.

Wire technology does not change appreciably from year to year as the manufacturers may have you believe.

Digital does.

Well I have made the mistake of auditioning the the Kharma enigma (biwire version) in the system, and all I can say is holy ****!! I'm hooked. The room just got wider and a lot deeper. Lows are swift and authoritive mids and highs are more open and airy. The only drawback is they are about three times what I wanted to spend, but with this kind of sonic reward who cares!