Jena cables

Gladstone - I'm not sure what you mean: "what are the Silversmith cables?" They are speaker cables from Silversmith Audio. I preferred these to the Jena Labs Valkrye speaker cables, but preferred the Jena Symphony interconnects to the Silversmith (and others). You might want to check out www.silversmithaudio.com Good luck.

I did a direct and extensive comparison of the Valhalla and the Jena Labs Symphony interconnects a few months ago. I found the Symphony to be the equal of the Valhalla in every way; and better in a few ways, e.g. more natural body on acoustic instruments and vocals, better high and low-end extension, slightly fuller bass - without bloat - and, significantly, a much quieter background. I lost no information with the Symphony vis a vis the Valhalla, and I am convinced the Symphony is equally transparent (and less colored). I bought the Symphony cables, but not because of the price. My system consists of G&D Ultimate transport, latest Dodson DAC, CTC Blowtorch preamp, Jeff Rowland Model 10 amplifier, and Rockport Antares loudspeakers. I am presently using Silversmith speaker cables and use David Elrod power cords on everything. Hope this helps a little bit.

Tekunda - I'm curious as to whether you have compared the Jena Symphony interconnects directly to the Valhalla ICs, meaning in the same system, under the same conditions, etc. I mean no offense at all. It's just that the last I knew you had not heard the Jena cables.

Tekunda - I didn't mean to say you had owned the Jena Labs cables (and, actually, I didn't think I had). I was just responding to your statement that "in my opinion, the Jena Symphony wire doesn't hold a candle to the Valhalla". Again, I don't mean to give you a hard time. It's just that I think, as audiophiles trying to help others who've asked questions, we have some responsibility to say clearly where our opinions come from. If, for example, the opinion you stated was based on John Doe visiting you and comparing his brand X to the Valhalla (with the Valhalla coming out on top), along with John Doe telling you he preferred his brand X to the Jena Labs Symphony, I have no problem with that. I just think it's helpful for others to know what our opinions are based on. By the way, I'm not saying this is an accurate scenario in your case. If you've directly compared the Valhalla and Jena Symphony I think a few details about that comparison would be very helpful also.