Cardas Power Cords / Furutech vs Cardas Terminations

You could also consider getting Golden Reference power cords. I know it's a minor qualm, but I really don't like bright blue cables everywhere! 

For reference: Clear Beyond use 3x10AWG conductors; Clear use 3x11AWG conductors; Golden Reference use 3x11.5AWG conductors; and Clear M use 3x13AWG conductors.

I keep seeing rumors of a Clear Beyond interconnect, but have not seen anything substantive on the topic. Do you have a source?

Hello Riovendale.......I have had a couple of conversations with some Cardas dealers and who said possibly May of this year. I am looking forward to hearing that cable.

A fellow audiophile did some research and relayed to me that the exact same vendor who makes the FI-15 Furutech IEC connectors has been making the Cardas brand ends, and if you open up one of each and compare their "guts," they are identical. The factory told him the composition and plating are identical.

However, both he and I noticed that the Furutech IEC end grips the IEC inlet on the component more tightly. Whether this is down to the molding, I'm not sure. Maybe the specs on the IEC end are slightly different. He couldn’t tell a significant difference in sound.

I have some late production Cross Power cords, some terminated with the Furutech and some with the Cardas termination. I personally find the Cardas brighter and the Furutech more organic, but the difference is subtle enough that it could be my imagination (and this was before I was told they were "identical."). At the same time, in audiophilia, we are often dealing with liminal perception, so I do not discount such subtleties. I have not done rigorous A-B testing, which can be challenging with Cardas anyway, as their cables do take some settling time. This was just my impression with using several of both cables over time.

He had also heard the Furutech C-11 ends (all copper, no Rhodium plating) with amazing effect in some other brands of cords. He bought the C-11’s from Parts Connexion, and sent two of his Golden Reference Power and two of his Clear Power back to the Cardas factory, paying to reterminate them with the C-11s.

After about 500 hours of break-in, the Furutech C-11 all-copper plug sounded noticeably better than the original. So, as usual with all things Cardas, long break-in is a key factor.

@readargos Cardas used to have the Golden Reference Power terminated with some other connectors before the Furutech ones.
Have you tried those?

I had a full set of Golden Reference Power with the Furutech ends, but didn't keep them. I have an one older one that I've kept with the older termination. I didn't do rigorous comparison, but felt they were similar. 

I have a couple older Quadlink PC with the older terminations, and one late production with the new Cardas branded terminations. Again, I feel the newer one is slightly brighter. 

The older Cardas terminations don't hug the IEC inlet as tightly, similar to their own branded connectors in the current production. The Furutech have better grip without being ridiculously tight. 

I'm currently using all Golden Power with the older terminations.

I wouldn't swear to these differences, as I never did rigorous testing, but these were my impressions. After leaving the cables in place awhile, I kind of forget about it, as the differences aren't that great. But I did tend to use the new Cardas OEM terminated Quadlink and Cross Power cables on the phono preamp, which is slightly darker sounding than my other electronics. 

And Mikey, I have to say, I'm using Golden Cross interconnects presently. I know you have favored those, and I agree: in my system, they're the best of the old Cardas Cross and Reference lines. I've had every interconnect from Quadlink through Golden Reference. Golden Presence is my second favorite, but it has less shielding, so the background is not as quiet as Golden Reference or Golden Cross interconnect.