Nkou

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
3 Months to 1 year

Price Paid:  $600.00 from Audiogon

Summary:
Huge improvement in all the spectrum when replaced monster speaker cables with Super bicable speaker. Extended and deep bass, Mid-range less analytic and more 'tubee'than monster listenning.

Strengths:
Bass and mid-range.

Weaknesses:
none I can listen to.

Similar Products Used:
monster speaker cables

muzz777

Overall Rating
 3 of 5

Value Rating
 2 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
2.60 of 5, 5.00 votes

Price Paid:  $300.00 from intech

Summary:
overpriced. grainy highs, not smooth, poor bass. Good tonal cohesion top to bottom. quiet cables! go listen to acoustic zen and harmonic technologies or nordost. see below because I just spent 1.5 years a/b ing cables.

Strengths:
tonal cohesion top to bottom, fair imaging, quiet

Weaknesses:
grainy highs, poor low bass, not smooth

Similar Products Used:
acoustic zen, harmonic technologies, nordost, audioquest, ultralink, siltech

Price Paid:  $400.00 from www.Audiogon.com

Summary:
This review is for the Transparent Balanced Music Link Super XL. This BMLSXL replaced the non-balanced Transparent Music Link Super XL between my Krell KRC-3 preamp and Mark Levinson 331 power amp. The difference is dramatic, as if the cable disappeared from the system. The entire spectrum is more open and natural, transparency and resolution is 30% better, dynamic contrast is wider, bass is cleaner and more rhythmic, and harmonic accuracy and musicality is markedly improved. For those with preamps and power amps with "well designed" balanced in/outputs, this cable gives you so much improvement over the RCA version that I strongly recommend you to loan a pair from your local Transparent dealer and hear for yourself.

Strengths:
See above.

Weaknesses:
Expensive $900 if bought new. At $400 used for a 1.5m, it is an excellent value.

Price Paid:  $350.00 from Bill Hardy Stereo, Lexington,KY

Summary:
I replaced my Monster Cable interconnects (I forget which model) with Kimber PBJ, then I upgraded to MIT Terminator IIs which I really liked and sounded great with my system. On the advise of Bill Hardy (Bill Hardy Stereo, Lexington,KY in the Chevy Chase Area), I upgraded to Transparent 100s, which were WAY better than the MITs (less harsh, better bass). The move from Transparent 100s to the Music Link Supers is not so much a qualitative change, as the MIT to Transparent switch, but a quantative one...more of a good thing.
These would be the very thing for bright, etched sounding solid state electronics, although my system is all tube pre and post except for solid state subwoofer amps, and the Transparent cables are just great! I got 'em cheap (if you can call $350/pr cheap) because they were an odd 1.5M length and no one else wanted them. I would not trade them for anything, but try before you buy. Find a great dealer like I did, it is so much easier that way.

Strengths:
sounds great, good build quality, looks cool!

Weaknesses:
expensive

Similar Products Used:
MIT terminator II , Kimber PBJ

Price Paid:  $350.00 from Audiogon

Summary:
I recently bought a (3) meter pair of Audioquest Viper ($320)to replace the Emerald cable because I needed a longer run to accommadate a new entertainment center. I kept the audioquest in my system for about (3) months to breakin, but I was never happy with the sound. I happened to stop in my local audio shop and met the Transparent representative who was there for a training seminar for the store. I told him my problem and my system. He said that I needed to try the Transparent Link Plus. I bought the (2) meter pair Plus and replaced the Viper. I was happy at first because the bass seemed to increase and the background got much quieter. I then compared the two cables and found out that the Plus was quieter but it had no highs. The bass was also much deeper but not as tight. I called the Transparent factory for advice and was told that the link Super was much better than the Plus. I found someone on Audiogon that was selling a (2) meter pair of the Super Link ($350). After about 3 weeks of break in I still couldn't hear any difference between the Super and the Plus. I moved my stereo out of the cabinet and moved it into my home office onto a stereo rack that I could easily make cable changes. I tried every configuration with the CD player, Preamp, Amp and the Transparent and Viper cables to no avail. The sound was just not engaging. I then replaced the new cables with the original cables. The minute that I put on the first song the music became enjoyable again. The shimmer of the cymbals was back in spades. The saxophones sounded real and voices leapt out from the background. My feet started to tap to the beat on their own. I listen to alot of live recorded music and own many bootlegs. I listened to the CDs like I had never heard them before. I hadn't heard them sound like that in months. I can't tell you how disappionted in the performance of the Transparent Super/Plus and Viper cables I am. I thought that they were going to be an upgrade, especially considering the healthy prices. Maybe my system was too warm (tubey) for them. My system consists of the following:

Conrad-Johnson PV7 pre-amp
PS Audio 6.0 pre-amp (I tried this as an alternate to the CJ tubey sound)
Musical Design 140i amp (love it)
B&K 140-ST amp (alternate)
Musical Concepts Epoch CD player
KEF 104 Reference speakers
Nakamichi CA-5 tapedeck
Wire World Atlantis III speaker cables (biwired)

Strengths:
Deep but not very tight bass, good looking

Weaknesses:
Completely veiled or rolled off highs.

Similar Products Used:
Audioquest - Emerald and Viper. Kimber KC1s, Mark Levinson HFC, Signet, Van den hul, and a custom made cable by an audio store in Houston, TX