TRANSPARENT CABLE VALUE

simple answer- time spent calibrating the networks by humans.
a little background- back a few years ago the transparent catalog was much simpler and easier to understand. you had std, plus, ultra, and reference as i recall. i thought from looking at the graphs in the brochure that ULTRA offered the most value for the dollar. but this was prior to XL technology, then MM1, and finally MM2. forget carbon fiber- it looks pretty but i personally don't think it's worth the expense. you can always call them and ask their sales rep for their honest opinion. i guess you'll have to tell them your budget as well.
I still have some ultra interconnects hanging around for spares.

how can you justify the price?
-same as designers of women's dresses that get worn to the Oscars i guess.
absolutely incredible amounts of money spent for a couple of hundred dollars worth of material. and 90% of them look amazingly weird instead of sexy or elegant. the men look decent in a tux which is a relief.
I own Opus cables, a result of a (very) gradual upgrade program over 15 years starting with Ultra and getting the next level up over time. they sound pretty good, but i have never compared them to anything but the previous set of transparent wires- but not competing manufacturers. the only way i can justify ending up this way is by the excellent service the dealer provides gathering up the old and setting up the new. and of course the deep bass improvement is very apparent, along with a deeper stage- and this happens on day ONE. you don't have to wait a month for them to break in.
It helps to have a great pair of full range speakers that you love the sound of to conduct this experiment. in my case it was Eggleston Andra-2 speakers.
Starting from scratch however, unless you're buying used, they are not a good deal. BUT a transparent dealer can probably work out some arrangement for you, even if it just starts with a pair of interconnects.

I certainly don't want to come off as a Transparent Cable salesman here, but one issue with their cables is that the bass can overpower certain rooms due to the acoustics, and that they suggest you have the proper damping needed to handle the low bass that can result from them. As for Wilson Audio, unless they have changed recently, they use transparent wiring internally on all of their speakers.
OTOH if you can find something you like better, AND it costs less money, there ain't much more i can say on that count. but with my Eggleston Andra's
(also internally wired with transparent cable) the seemingly bottomless extension
in the lower frequencies made for a very spacious effect overall, and freed the midrange to provide more subtle details without any interference from the woofers. Since i decided i liked the speakers so much they became a constant factor, while my successive cable upgrades produced major dividends.