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CARDAS Fans: Golden vs. Neutral vs. Presence?

I know the Reference series is considered to have less of the traditional house Cardas sound. However, I've read many differing opinions that leave me in the dark as to what they sound like.

Also, one 6moons reviewer liked the Golden Ref IC more than the Golden Ref speaker cable. He found the speaker cable somewhat lean, though detailed and transparent. The most worrisome trait, though, was that he found there to be a loss of "body sound" to vocals and strings, with an emphasis on what he called the "head sound." And the bass a bit overblowsn. This was compared to Nirvana S-L.

Then there is both the Neutral Ref and the Golden Presence. I know what Cardas says about them on their website, so I don't need their descriptions of how they hear them.

Many people find the Neutral Reference too lean with brightness on less than ideal recordings. And the bass seems to be good, but not as deep and tight as it could be.

Then there is the Golden Presence. Few have written about it, but there are a couple of people who like it best of all the Reference series.

Can I get some informed opinions on both the interconnects and the speakers cables of all three models?
zear
moonguy
148 posts
 
Simaudio uses Cardas to demo their systems at stereo shows, specifically Golden Cross. I asked why and the response was everything sounds good through golden cross.

My system comprises of Simaudio, I went with golden reference balanced ic's and golden cross bi wired. The combo sounds excellent. I haven't had much experiece with all kinds of wire so I thought if it's good enough for Simaudio , I will get it as well.
I am waiting to see if they switch up to the new Cardas Clear this year which is suppose to be awesome, but with an awesome price tag as well,
vinylmeister
68 posts
 
I recently got very disappointed with a the KS-1121 which makes the sound of my system very high and grand-piano's almost sounded honky tonk pianos and lost all of the timber. SO i put the Cardas Quadlink's back. Now I am hesitating which IC is best for improving the detail, lift the bass a bit.
naggots
115 posts
 
I had GC ICs for years and never thought I would never change. I did, to Zu Varials. The detail levels are awesome now but still not too bright.

I also had neutral ref digital Ic which bested Stereovox VX 2 and X2 -60 digital, but was eventually ousted by Zu Ash for the moment. I find the Ash bordering on too bright but the treble detail is nice compared with neut ref. I still have the neut ref tho ...... Awesome digital IC, warm and cosy and easy to live with.
Ag insider logo xs@2x
samzx12
1,220 posts
 
Vinylmeister I used to have the Quadlinks. They are decent for the money but I would step up the Cardas chain or try something else like Harmonic Tech Magic Link or something more neutral sounding. The Quadlinks when I had them and I didn't realize that IC's can make or break your system really held mine back. I would upgrade soon. Just my 2 cents.
mitch2
4,079 posts
 
I have owned Neutral, Cross, Golden Cross and Golden Reference. Like some others here, I did not care for NR at all. It seemed to have the weaknesses of the other lines, and none of the strengths. I think maybe it was envisioned as a home theatre type cable. The Cross is sweet sounding and I can see why some actually like that cable best. In general, I think the speaker cables are better than the IC's, and my favorite Cardas SC is the Golden Cross. For IC's, I would pick the GR in the Cardas line, but I went with Purist cables over the Cardas. I also owned the Magic Link II mentioned here and thought it was good across the board, but not special enough to keep. I actually like my DIY IC's using the VH Audio receipe with 24awg solid silver cotton wrapped wire, caulk backer, and Furutech FP-108R terminations. I tend to like solid core wire better than stranded, and I do think there is something to the Cardas litz configuration using solid core enameled wire with air tubes. I wonder if their cables would sound different if they used PCOCC wire?
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