Nordost Valhalla

The Vahalla's can be edgy and expensive. I use the Cabledyne Reference silver XLRs and the full spectrum is very smooth and focused. Prices are crazy cheap. FWIW.

This review convinced me: http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=510810

Never heard of them...sound interesting.
Thanks for the suggestion.

I would try Vahalla 2. I found that they are revealing without the edge, plus your dealer will take them in trade.

*we are a dealer for Nordost, but really feel the Valhalla 2 is amazing...

High Fidelity CT-1 Enhanced. replaced my Valhalla IC's. Even more detail, but without the edge, and more body. These really are what many say they are.

Have not heard Valhalla 2's. Still use Valhalla shotgun bi-wire speaker cable and love it.

Neal

The Vahalla's premium performance strengths are your bane: they undress and expose all the weaknesses and warts in the rest of your system.

There is a reason why they are both class leaders as well as the preferred reference cables in many of the mag reviewers' systems. You get what you pay for in this hobby.

IMO you are looking at at a Mexican standoff because you lack synergy. Hence you only have two options .... You either:

(A) step up in quality with the rest of your system ....an alchemy of the source, electronics, speakers and the rest of your cables; or
(B) step down in quality to lesser -ergo more foregiving - cables.

Hi there, I would try a furutech rhodium gtx wall plug first.Its where the power starts and cleans everything up, brightness etc.Its the best recepticle on the market.Mine took a month to sound its best, but excellent out of the box

I recommend you try Wireworld Platinum Eclipse 7 XLR cable. This is all silver cable that does not sound harsh.

Although the listed price is high but there are a couple of online dealers that can give up to 40% discount. It should suit your need without breaking the bank.

/Infection: I have heard Valhalla 2 but not in my system, very good but not for their price. Try HiDiamond XLR 3, very organic, not one bit of glare yet providing pretty good details and sound stage.

/Nglazer: you probably know that HFC do not and will not have XLR versions.

Thanks for your suggestions.

@Misternice- that's probably unnecessary as I am using a PS Audio P3 Mains Regen/PS Audio power cable...

@Akg ca- Indeed I am aware of their strengths because a lot of my music sounds great & this is the quandary... Yes I do have some inferior recordings & I'm happy to accept that but there are some which I know don't have specific frequency extremes; in this case a little too harsh in the upper mids, hence the dilemma.

Hi, infection...most wall recepticles do give off brightness, so you will have it coming through.At $200 plus the cover...its the cheapest upgrade, and will bring on every system...You wont know how good your system can be....it took mine up a few notches.

Hi there...infection, I dont use a condioner.can you use the valhalla on the cd player.I use tara labs between pre and amp.Trial and error I suppose is the best way

There is a reason why XLR's can sound bright & edgy... it is because the noise removing/controlling circuitry removes 2nd order harmonics but leaves 3rd order harmonics. Unfortunately our ears like 2nd order harmonics but not 3rd order harmonics!

If unbalanced circuitry can control noise then unbalanced RCA ICs should sound superior to balanced XLR ICs... :)

Is it the first one or the Valhalla2? I sold a lot valhalla in
the past. I even owned the Valhalla loudspeaker cable for over
12 years of time. I always found the interconnect the weakest
of the whole Valhalla series. The digital cable was also not
one of my favorite. Also this one I sold a few.

The limitation is not only the overall sound. It is quite cold
in the mid freq. It does not give you a small and intimate
focus of instruments and voices. And depth is also one of it's
weakest point. I always called Nordost incomplete, because you
miss a few parts which need to be there for the absolute
sound.

How much money you want to spend on an interconnect and tell
me which stuff you use? For which equipment you want to use it
for?

Bo, regarding the digital cable, could you offer a few alternatives that you preferred?

(with the same or lower retail price)

Thanks for all the input guys.

I've decided to try the Silnote Orion as knowing my musical tastes Mark has assured me it performs better than the Valhalla.

@Yping- So would you say RCA IC's are superior to XLR's?

Audioquest is better. Take a look at the Diamond and Wild.

Hi Yping,if you pull the other leg,that plays jingle bells.Well ,sounds like it to me.

@Misternice- That's the track I'm having difficulty making sound good!!

Oh,we cant have that,its nearly xmas.In my experience, not all
interconnects sound good between pre and amp,and shine somewhere
else.Balanced has more volume,so if you don't turn it down to the same
volume as rca,it may highlight other weaknesses in your system.That's my
opinion.yping may help us out a little further,I'm curious.