Valhalla vs. Audience AU 24

Kurt tank-
I would like to point out that in your comparison of the two cables, in almost every instance you used the term "a bit" more that the Valhalla is better than the AU24 in one way or the other. This would seem to me, IMHO, that there is a very steep point of diminishing returns to go to the Valhalla. That is a ton of cash to drop to get "a bit" better. Is this worth all the extra dough to get a bit better? Most can't afford Valhallas. Personally I would say it isn't, even if I could afford them (which I can't). This is of course, nothing more than my opinion.

This is my beef with cables in general. Yes there is a good bit of difference between stock power cables, standard issue Radio shack/Monster IC's, zip cord speaker cables, and aftermarket "audiophile" cabling. But, there is a huge cliff diminishing returns to be jumped off after you get past say $500 for a PC, $800-$1K speaker cables, or $500-700 interconnects. My point being that once you get past that, most times cables might (or might not) sound slightly better, but most times just different. Then you spend mad money to get a 5-10% "perceived" improved performance, which you may or may not be able to hear. Many get on the merry go round and thousands of dollars later get off with the conclusion that mid level cabling is quite sufficient for their system.

I have found that ultimately what it boils down to is that personally what I have been doing when it comes to cables amounts to mostly tone controls. Please bring back bass and treble knobs to audiophile gear. It would save so much money spent on cabling. Ok, that's a whole other can of worms, but I believe it to be true!

Hi Kurt tank - Very much understood if you are basing this on the used price. But the huge difference in price (new) should not be ignored when saying is this cable a better bang for you dollar.
I have the Au24's throughout my system and did upgrade an interconnect to "e" and it was a huge improvement. I have heard the Valhalla's before in a pricey high end system, (though not in my own system)so to directly compare I cannot.

I do not doubt that the Valhalla is more transparent, quicker and more detailed - but how much more so can only be answered by auditioning and determining the best bang for the buck in ones own system.
If a system tends to the brighter side then Au24e, may be a better fit. If you have a warmer system perhaps the Valhalla is the better fit.

I anxiously await experiencing this law of diminishing returns.

Unfortunately, the next 5-10% opens so many possibilities that I never expected, and that 100% is continuously redefined.

When you spend a lot more money on a cable you will Definitely thinks its better. That is until you spend way more on the next one.

Lougiants, you are correct when you state:

I do not doubt that the Valhalla is more transparent, quicker and more detailed - but how much more so can only be answered by auditioning and determining the best bang for the buck in one's own system.

System synergy is everything in this hobby.

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Snook2, on the other hand, I disagree with what you wrote:

When you spend a lot more money on a cable you will definitely thinks its better. That is until you spend way more on the next one.

This is not necessarily true.
(And I will point out that this statement sounds rather cynical of our hobby in general.)

When one does a direct comparison between two cables, and one is better than the other, that reveals a true upgrade, regardless of price. One needs to realize that system synergy is incredibly important in this hobby.

As an example: I had tried the Jena Labs Pathfinder speaker cables, which came immediately after my use of the AU24 cables. They are about the same price as the Valhallas, btw. These cables are very musical, especially through the mid-range, (more so than the Valhallas actually). But they seemed to have a bit of a treble roll off that just did not work well with my Lamm amps, (which are already a bit dark sounding). But in my friend's system, these cables sounded wonderful. I actually preferred my AU24 cables, as there was more system synergy, and so I continued my search for the perfect speaker cable for my system. (Which I believe I have found in the Valhallas.)