I've never heard the Siltechs, but by all accounts they are very good. There's no question that cables do sound different, and some types of sound are more appealing to me than others. agree about the Transparent' bass response. I've heard the Nordost Valhalla, and they are very neutral and transparent, but I don;t think they have the same body in the bottom end, especially compared to the Transparent reference. On the other hand they definitely have more 'air' up on top, and are very fast sounding.