Better than FIM Gold?


Has anyone done extensive listening comparison between FIM Gold cables and competition. If so, what were your impressions? For me it took FIM about two weeks to really settle in, so extended listening impressions I belive are important, for this cable anyway.

I had the good fortune of owning a pair of FIM GOLD speaker cables a while back but ended up selling them to raise some money, but am now back on track and keen to upgrade again. I found the FIM absolutely amazing and was sorry to lose them. Hence, I'm looking to maybe buy them back again used if they come up for sale. However, I'm wondering is there better for the price. I've also been keeping an eye out for Tara Labs The One, Valhalla, Synergistic and NBS stuff too. Still, with FIM, I know what I'm getting and it's great. Let me know if you've found better than FIM (especially for less money). Thanks!
128x128outlier
Hi,
I have used Siltech Gold, NBS Monitor, Purist Audio Dominus and Proteus, Kharma Grand and have found none of these to offer the open, detailed, yet musical presentation of the FIM's. I find the inflexiblity tolerable, though cumbersome. At the used price FIM can occassionally be gotten, it's one of the best; system dependent, of course.
It all depends. I have FIM Gold from the pre-amp to my bass amp in a vertical bi-amp configuration. The FIM has great bass definition and control. For the rest of my system the NBS Statement and Nordost Valhalla are far less colored and a bit more transparent and open on the top end. The Valhalla is the least colored. NBS Staement adds a level of one to that. The FIM adds a nother two levels to that.
All are great cables, it simply depends on how it effects your equipment and what your looking for.
Thanks guys. Siddh - I agree, I found the FIM so 'musical' as you put it, yet still so open and detailed. Even my girlfriend was shocked at how the cable sounded - she couldn't believe it.

JadeM6, thanks for the insight - it does seem that Valhalla may be king of the hill. I've also heard good things about the Statement too - it rarely seems to come up for sale though - probably a good sign.
I've no experience with NBS, but lived with Tara The One's,FIM Gold and Nordost Valhalla for extended periods each. As noted, the FIM is very musical and a great cable. The Valhalla was more transparent,more extended top to bottom, faster and had a black background that was noticeably absent when going back to the FIM. The Ones were quieter than the FIM,a tad more transparent, but overall somewhat compressed and anemic sounding in comparison, notably the bass. The Valhalla was the closest I'd heard to no cable at all, and in my system bested the One and FIM. I lastly A/B'd the Valhalla against various levels of Jena Labs cables and felt the Jena's did( or more accurately didn't) everything I liked in the Valhalla, had a blacker background, and most importantly lent a sense of body to instruments that made the Valhalla seem a tad lean by comparison. Also,the overall presentation with the Jena's was more relaxed and natural sounding. These are all fabulous cables and tacitly system dependent. I have a cd front end (Capitole), tube amps (Tenor OTL) and Rockport Antares speakers. The cables may sound different in different configurations, but honestly, the Valhalla, and Jena's in particular, are so neutral I would bet they work well in any system.
Thanks for the input Mes, I have not tried Jena Labs cables and have not heard much praise. I will try and find some to test myself.