Kurt tank-
I would like to point out that in your comparison of the two cables, in almost every instance you used the term "a bit" more that the Valhalla is better than the AU24 in one way or the other. This would seem to me, IMHO, that there is a very steep point of diminishing returns to go to the Valhalla. That is a ton of cash to drop to get "a bit" better. Is this worth all the extra dough to get a bit better? Most can't afford Valhallas. Personally I would say it isn't, even if I could afford them (which I can't). This is of course, nothing more than my opinion.
This is my beef with cables in general. Yes there is a good bit of difference between stock power cables, standard issue Radio shack/Monster IC's, zip cord speaker cables, and aftermarket "audiophile" cabling. But, there is a huge cliff diminishing returns to be jumped off after you get past say $500 for a PC, $800-$1K speaker cables, or $500-700 interconnects. My point being that once you get past that, most times cables might (or might not) sound slightly better, but most times just different. Then you spend mad money to get a 5-10% "perceived" improved performance, which you may or may not be able to hear. Many get on the merry go round and thousands of dollars later get off with the conclusion that mid level cabling is quite sufficient for their system.
I have found that ultimately what it boils down to is that personally what I have been doing when it comes to cables amounts to mostly tone controls. Please bring back bass and treble knobs to audiophile gear. It would save so much money spent on cabling. Ok, that's a whole other can of worms, but I believe it to be true!
I would like to point out that in your comparison of the two cables, in almost every instance you used the term "a bit" more that the Valhalla is better than the AU24 in one way or the other. This would seem to me, IMHO, that there is a very steep point of diminishing returns to go to the Valhalla. That is a ton of cash to drop to get "a bit" better. Is this worth all the extra dough to get a bit better? Most can't afford Valhallas. Personally I would say it isn't, even if I could afford them (which I can't). This is of course, nothing more than my opinion.
This is my beef with cables in general. Yes there is a good bit of difference between stock power cables, standard issue Radio shack/Monster IC's, zip cord speaker cables, and aftermarket "audiophile" cabling. But, there is a huge cliff diminishing returns to be jumped off after you get past say $500 for a PC, $800-$1K speaker cables, or $500-700 interconnects. My point being that once you get past that, most times cables might (or might not) sound slightly better, but most times just different. Then you spend mad money to get a 5-10% "perceived" improved performance, which you may or may not be able to hear. Many get on the merry go round and thousands of dollars later get off with the conclusion that mid level cabling is quite sufficient for their system.
I have found that ultimately what it boils down to is that personally what I have been doing when it comes to cables amounts to mostly tone controls. Please bring back bass and treble knobs to audiophile gear. It would save so much money spent on cabling. Ok, that's a whole other can of worms, but I believe it to be true!