Jena labs better or worse?

I'll take a shot at this, there is no true better or worse, only different. I've owned Jena Labs Symphony and Valkyre cables and found them to be very good with the right components. They tend to lean toward the warm/sweet side of neutral, if this is what you are looking for. They will sound great with components that lean toward the transparent/lean side. FWIW, I no longer own them, as my components are a tad warm, and I want more speed/transparency out of my cables. Not Nordost speed though, as I've also owned the Valhalla and it was too thin for my system, though I'm sure it would work well in others.
It's really all a matter of system balancing. If your system sounds a bit bright/thin/lean side, I would highly recommend Jennifer Whitewolf Crock's cables.

Cheers,
John

I’m a big fan of Jennifer’s cables. I’ve compared them against a lot of different things, and they’re still in my system. As with anything, there are many different flavors of componentry and cables, and it’s crucial to match the right flavors. Personally, I don’t find Jenas warm or sweet, just very, very neutral and able to bring out the natural warmth and believabilty in every recording. That’s why I own them. Their top end is sometimes criticized as a little soft, but I hear it as the complete absence of the HF hash and noise that plagues almost every other cable I’ve ever heard. The best thing for you to do is get a loaner pair and try them for yourself. I’m sure Jennifer will accommodate you. System synergy will likely determine the outcome.

I only tried one of their preamp jumpers- very good quality. Give Jena Labs a try. Jennifer and her husband are really nice people that do great work-they also have a great sense of humor too. They will likely accomodate you if you want to try some of their cables. Good people!

You may find some useful descriptions of the Jena Labs cable sound from my review of the Jazz, Java and Bumblebee products (one article) on Dagogo.com

Another review of the Jena Labs cables is in the January 2006 issue of Positive Feedback Online:
http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue23/sardon_jena.htm
.