Transparent Ref MM spkr cbls- How do they compare?

I have heard most of the cable brands you mention. Certainly it depends on your system, but in mine and a friends, the Prana was better than the Nordost Valhalla, Synergistic Designers' Reference, and Kimber Select. Where the Kubala-Sosna Emotion provided my system with more bloom and bass, the Prana gave it more quickness, smoothness, and fine detail. It was just amazingly natural. In my opinion, speaker cables are where Pranawire truly excels. I would not hesitate to call Joe Cohen and audition some. The cables are, however, very stiff and tough to work with in tight spaces.

To me, the Transparent MM was good, but sounded more electronic and unnatural. However, the MM version is certainly a large step up from the XL. For the money, I believe you can do better than Transparent unless you are talking about their reference digital cable.

Ozzy, are you talking abot Reference w/MM technology or the real Reference MM. Two different cables at two diff price points.

Wow! I am very confused. Thanks .
When I see Transparent used cables I cant tell if its a good price or not.
Your reply confirms what a mess there labeling is.

Please also consider the NBS Black Label speaker cable. When you're system is ready for it then this will be your last step. What this cable does is just let you hear better what you're electronics are doing. If you have the opportunity to try don't hasitate.

i have some Transparent Audio speaker cable experience.

from 1997 till 2000 Reference XL speaker cable and interconnects were my reference. then i heard the Opus MM speaker cable and after considerable search for a lower cost alternative i did purchase the Opus speaker cable. over the last 6 years i have compared quite a few other speaker cables to the Opus and none have yet equaled them in my system. in fact; last fall i bought a second set of Opus MM speaker cables for bi-amping.

the closest i have heard to the Opus MM is the Reference MM (not Reference with MM). i cannot comment on the lower priced Transparent speaker cables; but i have not heard anything that compares to the Opus or Reference MM.

both the Opus and Reference MM are more neutral and dynamic than any other speaker cables i have heard; they have an amazing openness and high frequency extention that is addicting. what they do for low frequencies must be heard to be believed. the articulation and tonality in the bass is unique. as my speakers are flat to 15hz this aspect of their performance yields great dividends.

my understanding is that these speaker cables deal with smoothing out impedence differences at different frequencies to allow that coherence and also deal with resonance better than other speaker cables.

to be fair i have not done many comparisons in the last couple of years. there may be other competitive brands. OTOH my knowledge of how the Transparent works tells me it continues to be singularly superior.

I have also good experiences with some Transparent cables with good results, never tried the Opus MM unfortunately. Looking at it's price level and their reputation as a very serious cable manufacturer you should also give this one a try. I have the same feeling about the NBS BL what Mikelavigne said about the Opus MM. Serious cables in this class are extremely well organized in many and some unique areas. I would say try both and choose with your heart.(sorry about my English, it's not my native language).

i'll second the remarks made regarding the pranawire speaker cables and thieir i/c- smooth ,open and very musical.
on the other hand, the transparent opus mm speaker cables were on a different sphere when i tried them in my system..... but i could justify the steep(mm=more money?)
price tag. but they were simply unreal.....
but for a fraction of their cost, the pran cosmos were holding their own as well.

Either the MM1 or MM2 are still very fine cables/cords via Transparent.
One owes to himself to audition the Reference or OPUS = beyond description!

Transparent and M.I.T., alike, are especially coherent when used in an all Transparent or all M.I.T. system (IC, SP, PC).

Hi Ozzy
I have tried the Transparent line up to the Reference XL MM2, They are a nice cable deep base, solid imagining. The mm2 line is now discontinued with Gen. 5 being the new line. You are right the different line are very confusing. In the Gen. 5 line they eliminated a level to try and cut down on some of the confusion. In the mm2 line it went Reference- Reference XL-Another Reference level-then Opus. In the newer gen. 5 cables they eliminated the Reference right below the Opus. So now in the gen.5 line the Reference XL is right below the Opus. I like Transparent cables, but the big draw back for me on them , from the Ref. line up
 each time you change a component you must get the cable recalibrate for that component to get the best out of it. If you have a local Transparent dealer then it makes it a little easier. If not,  then you get your cable to the closes dealer to get it shipped to Transparent for recalibration. Transparent will not let you send the cable direct to them for recalibration.
Transparent makes a good cable in the Reference line or higher, but under the Reference line i think their are lots of cables that compete with them on a smaller price line.
Enjoy Pete

68pete-

which cables/cords do you like below the Transparent Reference line?

Hello Jayant
I have had the Ultra and the Super Transparent cables, but they where before the mm1 level came out. I have not heard the newer
Generation 5 level cables in their respected levels. Now using the Reference XL mm2.  A cable that did real well against Transparent Cables below the Reference line at about 3rd the cost  is a cable called Time Portal Reference . There XLRs where very good at about $1000.00 for a meter, which is a lot less than the  olderTransparent Ultras that i compared them to. Transparent makes some nice cables, but below the Reference level (can not speak to the newer Generation 5 level)  I feel you can get better or very close for less money.
enjoy Pete 

jafant sorry for the typo on the name in the above post