Thanks, slawney. How you doin? Well, I think slawney doesn't need my help; he describes it perfectly. I especially like the breakin part. NBS Statement, upon first listen without proper settling or breakin, places diffuse halos around images, particularly voice, that are also more apparent because the cable's soundstage "loosens" backwards towards the rear and releases a subtle tension as it settles. "Giganticism" is a good metaphoric term to describe a huge, voluminous soundstage endowed by the Statement. We can not call this lacking in nuetrality because it is still smaller than that we experience in live music. Its the most natural cable in spatial rendition, excepting in the bass where a plumminess can overload some systems on the lowest end frequency. This low "plumminess", in conjuction with the large spatial presentation, leads some people to the "power" observation. Same thing that slawney said, just a different way. Hope it helps. What you need to see, Rlf, is the continual observation of natural-ness from people here.
On Nordost. When you say metallic, I think you are referring to the denuded harmonics from the upper mids on up, and, not commented upon by reviewers, the space which imposes on any system a clear, unnatural, void-like air that places the sound images in greater relative relief (and because humans cognitive abilities are evolutionarily geared towards identifying objects at the expense of space, you are drawn to). Nordost is, in my opinion, unnatural cable for ears who believe that a stripping of space that promotes easier image identifiction is somehow synonymous with the illusion of dimension, both in the image AND in the surrounding space (which is not "surrounding" because in real space, space, or dimension, inter-penetrates objects at infinite angles. But that's a story for another day...)
With NBS, and especially Statement, you fall into the music and it flows through you; with Nordost, you observe the music, even when it hints at the flow.
Now I know everyone needs a stiff drink after that self-indulgent rant! Good luck. Prayers for the fallen.
