My first impression of the Nordost Valhallas.

Can you give some more details especially about Siltech G5 compared to their G3 line of cables, as well as Kharma and Synergistic?
What are squared des.ref. cables? I can only find the designers ref. at their web page. Have you tried the Synergistic with their new active shielding?

As mentioned above, rightly so, system mating is paramount in cable selection. I recently lived with the Valhalla for about 6 weeks (TG, FIM Gold, XLO Lmtd Ed and others before that) and the Valhalla was phenomenal to say the least, the best I'd heard in my system up to that point. But my experience is similar to dpayes, albeit with a different cable: I recently had the oppoutunity to listen to the Pathfinder cables from Jena labs, and I find they do everything I like about the Vahalla's with the addition of having more mid-upper body and even more air. I wouldn't necessarily describe the Valhalla's as thin per se, but that last measure of naturalness and body in the mids and uppers was missing,and they seemed just a tad forward. The Pathfinder is so much more relaxed and palpable in it's presentation, with at least as much detail and clarity. Again, in my particular setup. At this level, I don't know if any given cable is necessarily better, but may mate better in ones particular configuration. The Valhalla are top shelf, but at this price point I think you're going about the right way in demoing other cables to see what sounds best in your given setup. And if you happen on the opportunity to audition the Pathfinder, take it. Wicked expensive, but worth every penny to my ear.

Mes-I own a Blowtorch too! Can you tell me anything about how to audition the Pathfinders? Also, can you tell me if you have any experience with Silversmith? And, if so, how it compares to Valhalla and Jena? Thanks very much.

I have heard 2 comments on these cables, over & over:
1. They sound excellent, great, better than anything else..
2. They are prohibitally expensive for the (average?) audiophile.

I have a simple rule when it comes to cables. It is my "Prime Directive":

I WON'T PAY MORE FOR A CABLE OR INTERCONNECT,THAN I PAYED FOR THE COMPONENT I'LL BE USING IT WITH.

I also want to mention I buy almost all my equipment used or demo, from local dealers or friends.

I believe if a larger percentage of audiophiles would just adopt this policy, cable prices would simply drop to what the market would bear.

This is America! If you want to pay $3300.00 for one pair of single ended interconnect, do it! But please take very good care of it, I'll want to buy it for a realistic (10-20% of retail) price in a year or two when the next "Cable of the Year" eclipses it in the High-End press.

Yes, I do own XLO, Ixos, MIT, Nordost Flatline, Monster, Straightwire & Illuminati, all bought used or demo, except my Ixos speaker cable, purchased at retail because it's
reasonable & sounds better than anything at the price point.
It's Miller time..

Do you or anybody else has a link for these Enigma cables please?