Valhalla or SPM speaker cable ??

I have both Valhalla and SPM (just sold the SPM) and, in MY system with MY room and based on MY tatses, the Valhalla KILLED the SPM and it wasn't subtle. You might also look at Silversmith cables which are great at a lower price (although different sounding than the Valhalla). Is it overkill? Maybe, but it made MORE of a differnce than almost any other (not all) equipment upgrades I have made.

I had a rep from a speaker manufacturer at my home last Friday, who had been here about two months ago. The only change in my system from his previous visit was the Valhalla in for the SPM. He sat down, and after 1 cut asked me "What the hell did you do to your system?" I asked why. He saids "It sounds tremendous - way different, more fleshed out and just "THERE"!" He was also amazed at the lack of smearing and timbral purity of the instruments in large scale classical pieces. I told him what the change was and he said he now wants to look into using Valhallas in their demo room at the factory.

Is it the best cable out there? Who knows, that is for others to decide in their systems. In mine, it is a sure winner.

I have been there, done that. The Valhalla is clearly superior to the SPM. The SPM was lackluster in my system.

I now have the Transparent Opus which blows away the Valhalla BUT the low cost Pure Note Reference competes well with both the Valhalla and Opus in many areas. Actually the PN is better in soundstaging but not quite as refined as the Opus.

Valhalla: $10k
Opus: $30k
Pure Note: $1400

(all single wire).

All gets down to budget. If cost no object, Opus is your choice.

I agree with rch10, Valhalla BLOWS AWAY SPM! I A/B ed these cables with a pair of electostats. The SPM sounded dull and lifeless when compared to the Valhalla. The Valhalla has much more "air" and micro-dynamics. I would go with a one meter pair, should you decide to move your equipment, even a little bit. Also, I think that should you ever decide to sell them, a 1/2 meter pair would have very limited appeal on the used market. BE SURE TO GET THEM WITH THE NEW 2002 TERMINATIONS! Happy Tunes!

I have ordered the new HMS cables from Germany, this guy is offering here at Audiogon. He promises it is as good as the Valhalla, but for a bargain price. 8 ft. sell for $2950 versus $7000 for the Valhalla. He gives a 30 days money back guarantee, so I thought I have nothing to loose.
He believes the cable is even up to par with the Siltech cables.
I will keep you posted once I have auditioned the cables. He promises I would get Valhalla performance for the price of the SPM speaker cables.

I have hade both in my system (Dunlavy IV/a's, Ailoia amps (soon to be Plinius SA-102's, yes a pair, I'm so excitied just waiting for them, Ailoia pre-amp, and the Sony SA-CD1 with the mod in it) and the Vahalla's were the best hands down. I liked them much better the SPM's and liked them better then my current NBS Statement's. They are extremely revealing and transparent, so if your equipment isn't up to them they well be happy to let you know. But other then that they are the best interconnects that I "havn't" heard.

Judd MacRae