Transparent Cables - Worth the money?


Hi all,

I am considering a system upgrade which includes Transparent's Reference XL cables (interconnect & speaker). My current system consists of the following components:
ProAc 3.8, ML 383 & 39, Van den Hul Revelation Hybrid (BiWire) and interconnect VdH MC Gold Hybrid. Does it make any sense to upgrade to this extremely expensive cables? I am thinking modular: my following upgrade will be: Conrad-Johnson Premier 16LS, ML 33H. Any comments welcome!
koen
I work for an ultra high end salon that sells the likes of Wilson, Martin Logan, Magnapan, Thiel, Audio Physics, Celestion, Pass Labs, Krell, Audio Research, Aragon, Theta, etc, etc...and we never had a sytem that seemed to work well with the Transparent stuff!...? We ended up droping the line for much cheeper stuff that worked better overall and made more monetary sense! It almost makes no sense to pay thousands on interconnects and speaker wire that competes with Class A components in a system for the title of most expensive piece in your sytem!!!...and didn't sound all that super special to begin with. If you need melower cables that cost a bunch, Give the MIT350 interconnects and above a try...probably sound better than the Transparent stuff in our experience. For the $, slightly more agressive cables and above would be worth a try in Harmonic Truth link or Silway (HT cables sound lighter weight in some sytems though), Cardas Golden and above (pretty hard to beat usually), Audio Quest Python's very good for $ also, or Nordost SPM Ref (Critical to sytem)...CAAABBBLEE GUYYY!!............
So dealer pandering has now moved from the "Classifieds" to "Chat"? I especially like the "ultra high end salon" comment. Do you cut hair there, too?
stop asking and simply try ---get out there and find demos that are broken in --pay the ups-very cheap in view of deciding on spending thousands-make sure if you get the ref xl they are THE REFERENCE XL NOT REFERENCE WITH XL--ask for serial number and call transparent for id
they may not honor warranty on xl products --discuss with seller etc...
used transparent cables have been listed incorrectly on the net including audiogon--Transparent needs to correct their rediculous method of naming product lines
stick to your own gut intincts and don't ask a dealer--you're inviting doubt
have confidence in you're own ears and make this the last chat comment you read !
Hi Jim, I didn't think Keriadums post presented any conflict of interest, he seemed to offer good advice based on his experience, and I didn't notice him trying to sell anything. Why discourage someone with a lot of audio experience from posting just because he happens to be in sales at the moment? Many of the salespeople I know are not pushy, and are very familiar with a wide variety of gear, often giving valuable advice whether their store carries the line I am interested in or not.
Keriadums, You do realize that Wilson now uses Transparent to link the Watt to the Puppy? Whether you like it or not if you use Wilson, you use Transparent. And yes Kohen, I think they are worth it. I currently have "super" line of cable and hope to eventually upgrade to reference through Transparents upgrade path that Jkphoto spoke of. I don't know of any other company that offers this kind of "trade up" path and I think it is great since you do not loose your initial investment in the cable.