NBS cables vs Kharma cables with Lamm gear ?

Hi there

I can shed some light on your problem. I own a Lamm L2 line stage and I can assure you that any or all NBS cables will greatly color the Lamm, or any other neutral sounding component. Having used NBS cables on and off for many years, I can tell you from top-to-bottom of the line they are all colored. They domonate in the lower frequencies and are rolled on top and are always dark sounding and not at all transparent. True whether interconnect, speaker cable or power cord or even power conditioner. They do sound o.k. on some solid state thin/bright sounding systems and they counter that particular flaw. But the Lamm gear is so good and so neutral that it would be a mistake. I have, but do NOT use any NBS since acquiring the L2 a year ago. By the way, if you are still interested in a L2, a GREAT line stage, my mint unit may be up for sale shortly and at a price well below that of your dealer.

As for the Kharma cables, I have no direct experience with them, but have had great luck with the Valhalla speaker cables and with the relatively inexpensive interconnect cable from the Tom Evans (the Groove phono stage) people. Great and affordable.

Good luck

David

While David's experience may hold true for the earlier NBS cables, I've found the NBS Omega to be quite neutral, getting rid of that bass thickness and the slightly rolled highs of the Monitor 0 that David notes, quite transparent and very good at conveying the soul of the music. I use it and Siltech Compass Lake in my system, and have used Valhalla as well, including all at various times between my Lamm LP2 phono stage and Jadis preamp, and can report that they're all exceptional cables, all work very well with the Lamm, just a question of overall tonal balance, system compatability and personal preference as to which sounds best to you. Haven't heard the Kharma; from what I've heard of it I'm sure it's even more expensive than the rest of these wires, though. My advice, FWIW, is to use your own ears and decide for yourself--bring the NBS in and listen to it in the Lamm system. You may or may not like them in the setup, but at least you're not letting a dealer make a very expensive (and profitable for him) choice for you. And if you like the NBS in the system, and it communicates the music best to you, then who cares if it's "colored"? Good luck!

Rcprince:
Well spoken. Your advise was very objective.

Tabu
I find the top of the line NBS cables to be exceptionally musical and natural sounding and are not more "coloured" than other top cables. Simply try the cables in your system and depend on your own ears not the dealer's who has a financial interest in selling you the other cable.

Gmorris
Agree entirely. The new NBS statement extreme is an exceptional cable in all relevant musical respects.In my
sytem it overwhelmed the Valhalla it replaced.
I have some Kharma Enigma phono cable which is also superb.
Hope this helps.