Cable Asylum Interconnects, speaker wire, power cords. Ask the Cable Guys.

---

[ Follow Ups ] Thread: [ Display  All  Email ] [ Cable Asylum ]

---

[ Alert Moderator ]

---

REVIEW: Jena Labs Valkyre Cable

Model:	Valkyre
Category:	Cable
Suggested Retail Price:	$3,000
Description:	XLR interconnect
Manufacturer URL:	Jena Labs
Model Picture:	View

Review by Quint (A) on March 03, 2007 at 06:16:02 IP Address: 64.12.116.16

Add Your Review for the Valkyre

---

I’ll preface this review with a confession: I’m a huge fan of Jena Labs products and their designer, Jennifer Crock. IMO, Jennifer makes some of the finest cables on the planet and is an audio “artisan” of the highest order. (She’s soon releasing her own speaker line, makes custom one-off amps and preamps to order, and also makes the highly regarded 3D-X CD treatment.) That said, she has made a few stumbles along the way, and I’m pretty forthcoming with my feelings when I think one of her products doesn’t quite measure up. But the Valkyre interconnect being reviewed here is most emphatically not one of those “stumbles.”

As is the case with all of Jennifer’s cables, the Valkyre is a beautifully “open-braided” design of ultra-high-purity copper that is deep-immersion cryo’d (the most effective method of cryoing, in my experience). The appearance of the copper through the sheath is quite captivating, lending the cable a beautiful, pink glow that is unique in the industry. There’s simply no mistaking a Jena Labs cable for anything else on the market.

The specific Valkyre being reviewed is a 1M interconnect terminated with Neutrik XLRs. Retail is $3,000 for 1M, placing the Valkyre in the middle of some very stiff, Ron Jeremy–like competition. (FYI, the Valkyre is in the middle of the Jena lineup, with the ultra-expensive Pathfinder, Dreamdancer, and the new Awakening above it.)

I compared the Valkyre to two cables I had on hand. They were a varied and elite duo: Nordost Valhalla and Transparent Reference MM. (I’m trying to get my paws on a pair of Virtual Dynamics Revelation 2.0s, as a friend of mine back east did a comparo between the one-level-up Pathfinder and Revs, and said he greatly preferred the Pathfinders. Maybe that’s coming soon.) Both were terminated with XLRs. I was intrigued by the prospect of this comparison, as both the Nordosts and Transparents are significantly more costly than the Jenas.

First up: Valkyre vs. Valhalla

The Valhalla had many hundreds of hours on it, so it was fully burned in. I inserted it between my source and headphone amp, and proceeded to listen. What I heard was generally consistent with what I’ve heard from Valhalla every time I’ve heard them: very fast and detailed, but detailed in a way I didn’t particularly care for. Transients were greatly exaggerated, IMO, and the highs, while extended, sounded a little steely and edgy. The lower registers were tight and quick, but noticeably leaner than what I’m used to hearing on my most trusted recordings.

The Valkyres, on the other hand, and to my amazement, revealed considerably more detail—some buried WAY down in the mix. The bass was just as tight and fast, but warmer and fuller, like I’m used to hearing in live music. It wasn’t rounded off by any means, but possessed a sense of texture and fulsomeness that the Valhallas couldn’t match. Highs were more extended, resolving some HF information on various Dire Straits’ discs that I had only heard with FAR more expensive cables. Whereas I’ve almost always found the Valhalla lean in the midrange, the Valkyre had a sense of, again, texture and weight that the Nordost just didn’t have. Where Jena cables really excel is in the openness department, and the Valkyres did not disappoint. The Valhallas are open-sounding cables, but the Jenas made them sound vaguely shut-in. For me, this A-B was a no-brainer. Jena wins easily.

Next: Valkyre vs. Reference MM

I’ve owned several Transparent cables over the years, and even compared their mighty Opus IC to Jena’s Dreamdancer, but that’s not the subject of this review. My friend is a big Transparent fan, so he loaned me a pair of his Reference MM ICs. In this round, things got a little tougher. Upper-end Transparent cables generally have a black-hole sense of “noiselessness,” and such was the case with the MM. Details popped out of the inkiness with admirable clarity. The Valkyres matched this level of resolution, but images were etched in space a little more cleanly. The Transparents almost put a little “fuzzy” halo around images that the Jenas didn’t. The Valkyres were made to sound almost lean in comparison, but I think what was actually going on was that the Transparents were adding something to the sound—euphonic and pleasing, maybe, but something I had a hunch shouldn’t be there.

In terms of transient speed and reflexes, this is where the Valkyres pulled away. They made the MMs sound slow and thick, particularly in the lower ranges. The Transparents had arguably more weight in the bottom, but the Jenas were significantly faster and tighter.

The Transparents had a very rich, pleasing midrange that was easy on the ear, but the Valkyres were MUCH more open and, ahem, transparent in this crucial region. Listening to music through the MMs was akin to looking through clean glass with a slight buzz on. With the Jenas, the glass was even cleaner and the viewer was dead sober.

The Wrap-Up

This “shootout” proved instructive. It demonstrated (at least to me) that even Jena’s mid-level wires are capable of hanging with, and probably beating, some of the biggest and baddest bullies on the block. Of course, it would’ve been nice to compare Jennifer’s statement products, like the Dreamdancer or Awakening, to similar products from Tara Labs (The Zero), Virtual Dynamics (Revelation or Genesis), Argento, and a few others, but that’ll have to wait. Until then, I’ll just say this: The Jena Labs Valkyre is a MAJOR player in the elite cable league, both in its price class and significantly above. It does everything extremely well and, in terms of openness and dimensionality, is among the very best I’ve ever heard. Yes, Jena’s statement products are better yet, but the Valkyre gets you a looong way there, at a fraction of the price. If you’re shopping in this league (or even well above it), strongly consider Jena Labs. They may not be the biggest name in the biz, but among some connoisseurs, they’re as good as it gets. And the Valkyre, IMHO, goes a long way toward making that point.

---

Product Weakness:	There may be better out there, but they probably cost a second mortgage to afford
Product Strengths:	Openness, dimensionality, overall smoothness and balance, resolution

---

Associated Equipment for this Review:
Amplifier:	Dussun V-8i
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated):	Ray Samuels B-52 (used as headphone amp)
Sources (CDP/Turntable):	Esoteric X-01 (modified)
Speakers:	Sony R10 headphones, Von Schweikert VR-4 HSE
Cables/Interconnects:	Jena Labs Valkyre, Dreamdancer
Music Used (Genre/Selections):	Pop/rock, some jazz
Room Size (LxWxH):	24 x 20 x 7
Room Comments/Treatments:	Minimal
Time Period/Length of Audition:	10 days
Other (Power Conditioner etc.):	Jena Labs Model 6.1
Type of Audition/Review:	Product Owner

---

This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors:

Kimber Kable

---

[ Top of Page ] [ Contact Us ] [ Support/Wish List ] [ Copyright © 2024, Audio Asylum, all rights reserved ]

---

[ General ] [ Speakers ] [ Tubes ] [ Vinyl ] [ Digital ] [ Hi-Rez ] [ Video Asylum ] [ Cables ] [ Tweaks/DIY ] [ Music ] [ Films ]

---