Transparent Cables - Worth the money?

i traded in my reference xl speaker cable at full list price and got a good discount from there. in the context of my system it made more sonic improvements than other similar investments. for instance, it clearly makes more difference than cd to sacd.

i just upgraded my ref. xl to opus mm. i don't know about $ value but i also have some nordost valhalla in-home for comparison and the opus kills it. if you get a chance to hear the opus you will be amazed.

no they don't; but they do make your amps and speakers perform at a level or 2 higher. so in one sense they do come with new amps and speakers. they also make every recording you own better; if it is recorded decently.

today i posted a description of the materials and construction of the opus on the "audio asylum" cable board if you are interested. it is under a thread started early yesterday. i would think construction costs and labor are a few factors higher than your estimate. but i think this is about performance and market value, not cost. i paid about $8k more than the next best speaker cable would cost. for my money it was worth it.

i did compare thr transparent ref. xl to the harmonic tech. magic woofer/tweeter. i liked the harmonic tech. better. more neutral with more extended high-frequencies. the ref. xl sounded slightly dark and closed in in comparison. to be fair to the transparent it is a 5 year old design. the ref. xl still out-performs most other cables on the market. what other 5 year old design can say that?

i agree with gmorris that if anything most transparent cables (except the opus) are somewhat dark and closed in compared to the best of the rest. that is why they mate so well with the somewhat bright krell gear (i'm sure not all krell gear is bright). also, some earlier wilson designs (not the watt/puppy 6s) are certainly on the bright side and again the transparents match well with them. the stengths of the transparent cables have always been dynamics, bass slam, true timbre, and great detail and resolution. the best of other cables seem to be missing some of these qualities but are more open and extended in the highs; many times these other cables don't control the high frequencies properly and the sound becomes fatigueing. i agree that transparent is rarely a great buy but at used prices it can be a very good buy. since transparent is such a popular cable on the used market many times people's opinions on transparent are formed with designs that are old or out of date so consider that. i have one set of xlo limited in my system and i slightly prefer the transparent ref. xl but i like the xlo also.

tom-- the most significant issue is whether your sources, pre-amps and amps are truely balanced designs. some gear have balanced inputs or outputs but are not fully balanced designs. if they are fully balanced then you will probably get your money's worth. of course, the best way is to try some balanced cables and determine that for yourself. i personally like and use balanced equipment but many people prefer single-ended.--good luck.

tubester, is your opinion based on comparitive listening of various transparent cables against the competition? if so, which transparent cables were bettered by what particular other cables? i am not challenging your statement but asking for helpful information.

3 years ago i purchased transparent ref. xl cables, interconnects and speaker cables, used for less than 1/3rd retail. i agree they are ridiculously priced new. but at the time they were much better than the competition. now these cables are a 5 year old design and some of the competition has caught up or passed in some areas you mention.

i recently compared the ref. xl to some of the competition and the interconnects are still equal to the best i have heard (nordost valhalla) although the ref. xl speaker cable was bettered by a few others; FIM gold, harmonic technology magic woofer/tweeter, and the nordost valhalla.

at the price of used transparent it does stand up to similar priced or higher priced current rave cables IMHO.

a friend with analysis plus silver ovals in his system still prefers the transparent ref. xl but doesn't want to spend the money. i have not compared the 2 so i have can't say what the difference is.