“I was about to give Zavfino a try and then was given another recommendation to give HIJIRI a try”
@pokey77
Well, the easiest way to settle your quandary is to conduct a comparison between AE, Zavfino and Nagomi cables in your system. I find cable comparisons to be bit tricky. We post our impressions based on experience levels, system quality and personal taste and what we think is the best.
I went from AE to Zavfino and finally to Nagomi/TAKUMI. With each upgrade, I appreciated the leap in resolution, clarity and above all ~ purity of the sound. You don’t have to strain hard to notice the immediate shift in pitch black background with HIJIRI’s. If I were to narrow down to one aspect of HIJIRI’s that separates from AE or Zavfino is the fluidity. The HIJIRI’s conveys music in a most natural way without emphasizing any elements of music and with such smoothness than the aforementioned brands. In comparison both AE and Zavfino sounded constricted and forced.
As far price of these cables, only you can decide if it’s worth the upgrade over AE or Zavfino. I know the few here who have switched from AE and Zavfino found Nagomi’s to be simply remarkable and worth its asking price.