Better than FIM Gold?

I auditioned both the Symphony and Pathfinder IC's and their SC counterparts (Twin-11 and Twin-19). I was fortunate enough to have a full set of Valhalla's on loan for about 6 weeks, during which the various comparisons took place. Again, I'm fully aware of system matching, and depending on ones components some cables mate better than others. The Jena's sounded best to me in my particular configuration. All the other cables are fabulous and I could easily have lived with any of them, particularly the Valhalla's, they are extraordinary. But I had to go with what I heard and what sounded best to me in my system. This is not meant to ignite another brand war, I was merely trying to relate my experience since I have indeed spent time with a few of the cables in question. As Mark Twain said,"he charged nothing for his advice, and it was worth it, too" :-) Mark

MEs,
Which Jena cables are your comments based on?
Thanks.

Thanks for the input Mes, I have not tried Jena Labs cables and have not heard much praise. I will try and find some to test myself.

I've no experience with NBS, but lived with Tara The One's,FIM Gold and Nordost Valhalla for extended periods each. As noted, the FIM is very musical and a great cable. The Valhalla was more transparent,more extended top to bottom, faster and had a black background that was noticeably absent when going back to the FIM. The Ones were quieter than the FIM,a tad more transparent, but overall somewhat compressed and anemic sounding in comparison, notably the bass. The Valhalla was the closest I'd heard to no cable at all, and in my system bested the One and FIM. I lastly A/B'd the Valhalla against various levels of Jena Labs cables and felt the Jena's did( or more accurately didn't) everything I liked in the Valhalla, had a blacker background, and most importantly lent a sense of body to instruments that made the Valhalla seem a tad lean by comparison. Also,the overall presentation with the Jena's was more relaxed and natural sounding. These are all fabulous cables and tacitly system dependent. I have a cd front end (Capitole), tube amps (Tenor OTL) and Rockport Antares speakers. The cables may sound different in different configurations, but honestly, the Valhalla, and Jena's in particular, are so neutral I would bet they work well in any system.

Thanks guys. Siddh - I agree, I found the FIM so 'musical' as you put it, yet still so open and detailed. Even my girlfriend was shocked at how the cable sounded - she couldn't believe it.

JadeM6, thanks for the insight - it does seem that Valhalla may be king of the hill. I've also heard good things about the Statement too - it rarely seems to come up for sale though - probably a good sign.

It all depends. I have FIM Gold from the pre-amp to my bass amp in a vertical bi-amp configuration. The FIM has great bass definition and control. For the rest of my system the NBS Statement and Nordost Valhalla are far less colored and a bit more transparent and open on the top end. The Valhalla is the least colored. NBS Staement adds a level of one to that. The FIM adds a nother two levels to that.
All are great cables, it simply depends on how it effects your equipment and what your looking for.

Hi,
I have used Siltech Gold, NBS Monitor, Purist Audio Dominus and Proteus, Kharma Grand and have found none of these to offer the open, detailed, yet musical presentation of the FIM's. I find the inflexiblity tolerable, though cumbersome. At the used price FIM can occassionally be gotten, it's one of the best; system dependent, of course.