Transparent Cables - Worth the money?

i agree with gmorris that if anything most transparent cables (except the opus) are somewhat dark and closed in compared to the best of the rest. that is why they mate so well with the somewhat bright krell gear (i'm sure not all krell gear is bright). also, some earlier wilson designs (not the watt/puppy 6s) are certainly on the bright side and again the transparents match well with them. the stengths of the transparent cables have always been dynamics, bass slam, true timbre, and great detail and resolution. the best of other cables seem to be missing some of these qualities but are more open and extended in the highs; many times these other cables don't control the high frequencies properly and the sound becomes fatigueing. i agree that transparent is rarely a great buy but at used prices it can be a very good buy. since transparent is such a popular cable on the used market many times people's opinions on transparent are formed with designs that are old or out of date so consider that. i have one set of xlo limited in my system and i slightly prefer the transparent ref. xl but i like the xlo also.

I'm using all Transparent Ultra cabling in my system and find that they work very well with my Thiels. I've recently made some changes that could be further enhanced by using balanced ics. However, Transparent is one of the few cable companies where the XLR version in the same cable line is significantly higher in price (~2x). I am questioning whether Transparent's balanced ics are worth twice as much as their SE counterparts. Can anyone comment on whether Transparent's XLR version is better (other then being balanced)sonically?

tom-- the most significant issue is whether your sources, pre-amps and amps are truely balanced designs. some gear have balanced inputs or outputs but are not fully balanced designs. if they are fully balanced then you will probably get your money's worth. of course, the best way is to try some balanced cables and determine that for yourself. i personally like and use balanced equipment but many people prefer single-ended.--good luck.

yea, real funny with the negative votes, coward.

Hey A'gon. You guys should have a minimun age for posters. Apparanty somebodys child keeps giving me negative votes. Oh my !!! I don't think I will be able to sleep tonight....