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Any speaker cable's sound quality just blown you away?

Among all of the tons of speaker cable out there, which model has stood out in your mind as the best that you have ever heard, and why? If you remember the audio system (especially the speakers) that you heard them with should prove to me most informative. What was the configuration (i.e. single run, shot-gun, bi-wire, or tri-wire), and the length? We know most are looking for a great cable at a little price, while we all dream of the ultimate cable in our audio system. And with so many companies out there making good stuff, it seems that more offen than not, the best sounding cable, though definitely not the cheapest, is not the most expensive either. What is your experience?
wenterprisesnw
gregm
3,409 posts
 
N'st's Valhalla has performed exceptionally well with a number of different systems I have listened to, including mine (no, don't have it: way beyond my means). As to blowing me away... maybe I'm becoming a cynic in my old age -- but no cigar.

Otherwise, I'd subsrcibe to Vek's idea of DIY (ref, great discussion on OTA et alia a while back) -- or, "there is a cable for every set of ears and every system".

Cheers!
calloway
874 posts
 
the nordost 'valhalla' cables are superb. have had them in my system,biamped to my aloia 13.01 amps with piega p10 speakers for over a month now and they are,by far, the best i have had in my system.(that includes cardas,audio tekne)they are extremely fast,beautiful mids and highs and tight,taught bass.are they worth the cost? if you can afford them they are.
sfstereo
215 posts
 
I use two pair of Audioquest Dragons to biwire my system and I am pretty happy with the sound.
mikelavigne
2,200 posts
 
i compared the valhalla to the transparent opus...no contest. the valhalla had sounded better than all others i had tried; more open, faster, and more resolving. the opus went to another level in openness and mid-range clarity. i wouldn't use the words "killed" or "blew away" since the valhalla sounds great in it's own right. but the difference between the opus and valhalla was bigger than the difference between sacd and cd. there is a special "liveness" from the opus not previously heard by me.

1 potential contender to the opus for "king of the hill" speaker cable would be the siltech "emperor" and kharma grand reference which are both made by siltech. i have not heard either.
ulrikgm
51 posts
 
I would have to go with Argento VDM reference 2x3m. No other brand has that much inter transient silence (pure black), complet control of the extremes, and ease to the sound. Simply no other cable from the big boys are even close.

www.argento.dk

Ulrik
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