Nordost Valhalla 2 Speaker Cable

All systems are different. Nordost Valhalla 2 power cords , nor speaker cables sound good in my system. There's something about their cables that literally hurts my wife's ears and gives me listening fatigue. That being said, you may love them in your system.

I find Nordost turns at Valhalla. I have not been impressed with the tiers below. But Valhalla are great and get better at tiers above. Getting them cooked is a good idea. You are likely to be really happy. 

You have some great components. Looking at your system there are some big opportunities for improvement through setup. Assuming the photo is still current. You can get huge improvements in sound quality through setup and acoustic treatment. A friend of mine whom I helped pick out his system has completed a year of experimenting and adding room treatments and I have to say it sounds at least two or three times better. 

I will partially agree with @ricred1 in that Nordost cables are system dependent. I will also suggest they don’t particularly “play well” with other cables. But I think this is true of all cables.

Cable deniers - this is a good spot to move along.

There appears to be a synergy to a loom whereas mixing cables (not all, I’m sure, but for some I’m equally sure) that ends up highlighting certain facets. I tried a top end AQ interconnect in one of my systems and couldn’t take it out fast enough as it sounded grating and unnatural where the Nordost Tyr II and then Valhalla 2 sounded very good - much smoother and far more natural. Why? I’ve no idea. I don’t believe AQ cables to be unnatural sounding overall. But something was shining a spotlight on that interconnect.

I could be wrong, but I suspect the same is true for most cable looms. Take your pick: Transparent, AQ, Siltech, Crystal, etc. 

Similarly, I suspect some of those who don’t like the flavor of certain higher end cables might have tried a piece meal approach and had poor results. I was one of those with that experience.

There are certainly well known sonic characteristics (“flavors”) to the various manufacturers and system synergy is really a thing. If you approach it with the understanding that cables can only subtract, it makes more sense.

What are your sonic goals and what should you make sure I do the least harm to? But don’t be surprised if you find better results by sticking with a single manufacturer. That very notion was a difficult pill for me to swallow. Indeed, I haven’t quite followed that rule as I have a mix in both systems as I’m still building out some things. But direct experience suggests it as a shorter path to system development.

I have Valhalla 2 cables, cords, and interconnects throughout my system and my take is that they are a transparent pass through of your front end and they just go away and let your system sing...I love them.

I'm randomly demoing a Crystal Cable Van Gogh interconnect and don't hear much of a difference between the Valhalla 2 and this $22.5K interconnect...not sure if this would be different if my entire system was CC Van Gogh.

Have someone help you do a blind test. Have them connect your current wire to one speaker and the Nordost to the other one and not tell you which is which. Sit in your usual position and play something you’re familiar with and I’ll bet you won’t be able to tell which is which. 

Most people won’t do such things because if they just spent hundred or thousands of dollars on a cable, it dang well better improve the sound. It’s called expectation bias and it’s science. Something that cable makers want no part of.