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Best Cardas cables w/B&W M802's & ARC VT100MkII?

I'm looking to upgrade my speaker cables & possibly my interconnects for my system which consists of: B&W M802 S3's, ARC VT100MkII, VTL TL2.5 pre-amp, Fanfare tuner, Cary 303/200 CDP, & RegaP25 w/Benz Glider. My cables right now are: T-14 Silver Sonic speaker cables (bi-wire), Nordost Blue Heaven (CDP to pre-amp), Straight Wire Chorus between pre-amp & amp, & some cheapo MIT for the tuner.

I'm thinking of upgrading the speaker cables first........am leaning strongly towards Cardas, & buying used either Neutral Reference, Golden Reference, or Golden Cross. Right now I'm thinking I'd go for Golden Reference as my upper limit (about $1000 for a bi-wire pair used?), or maybe Neutral Reference for about 1/2 that. Any advice? Also, I'm thinking of upgrading my pre-amp-to-amp IC, & also upgrading my CDP to pre-amp IC, & using the Blue Heaven for my tuner. Any advice would be appreciated, thanks!
steveaudio
2 responses Add your response
theo's avatar
theo
2,689 posts
 
No question, I recently switched to the Golden Ref's and what a difference. The detailing and extended staging is incredible. I had one dealer say "No they are too analytical"...DUH! No I want the experince of being on stage or in the studio and the Golden Ref's did just that.
Bear in mind they do take some time to break in, but you will love em'. By the way I did try the Nuetral Ref's but the staging wasn't as wide and I felt the bass wasn't as defined.
mrwigglewm
60 posts
 
I have your amp and CDP, but with an ARC pre-amp, Magnum Dynalab FT101A tuner, Sota TT w/Benz Reference. The Cary loves Acoustic Zen Silver Reference ICs, the ARC amp and pre love being joined by Silver Audio Appassionata Balanced ICs, the tuner loves Cardas Golden Reference ICs. Experienced a big improvement when I upgraded the tubes on the amp and pre-amp (you might want to read previous posts about the difficulties I encountered rolling the tubes on the VT100Mk2). Also, if you want your amp to relax and boogie, the stock PC has to go.
Like you, I am looking to upgrade my Audioquest Midnight speaker cables. Am thinking AZ satori or Zcable (bi-wired). About half the price of the Cardas Golden Reference. Great reviews. Have you considered these?
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