I've used many ICs including Tara Labs master G2/Decade/The One,Cardas Golden Reference,VDH Silver 65G, Siltech FTM-3 G3. Now I'm setteled on XLO Unlimited Edition accompanying with XLO Signature2 PCs for Sony SCD-777ES and Supratek Syrah. What I can say is that the higher tiers of XLO sound like high quality analog. Very balanced, natural, musical. Never lack of dynamic and detail. In my humble audio set, which consists of Apogee Stage/Mentmore M-200/Sony 777 /Syrah, XLO are much better than the ICs I tried before(only The One can peer but with different taste). Now I want know how much better the XLO LE is. |
No one can give you a correct answer. All depends on synergy of your wires with the components.
I would get Solid Core or Ribbon designs though.
I use an Excellent Solid Core design throughout my system which I plan on marketing.
Good Luck! |
both jayctoy & bluswan are correct with their assement of the mentioned cables.
most interconnects fall in the 2 camps:
1. warm / bloom / body ( ie. cardas )
2. fast/ imaging / revealing (ie. xlo)
despite many different opinions- there is connection between price and performance .
interconnects do make a big diference and combining different interconnects is not a bad idea.
interconnects matching is system dependant. the question is where do you want to take your system ?
i use xlo signiture II (revealing,incredbile bass and imaging) between my pre and amp.
good deals can be found...fatwyre has the xlo signiture II ( discolored seconds) for $295 meter vs $600. it is a pretty incredible cable that is transparent, neutral, fast and it clicks in my system.
between the cd to pre - i was using tara decade till i picked up a marantz sacd 8260. the decade was not a good fit, i needed something more revealing. the coinceident worked really nicely here. i am going to try another piece of xlo or maybe wireworld silver eclipse.
if you are looking to warm up your sound, cardas is a good choice. this is a warm cable however it doesnt have image specificity and the newer ones have a midbass bump. the tara decade is similar to the cards but images better imo. they are a slower, warmer cable with bloom.
transparent cables are a little pulled backed on top ( the plus, super, ultra) and is a very coherant ( pretty amazing cable in that regard)
BTW, the coincident is a nice cable also- very neutral with a little pulled back on the top.
i would try to expereiment with as many cables you can get your hands on and in different combinations. you might be surprised.
hope that helps !!
mike |
So far, the Cardas Golden reference have bested all the other cables I have tried, in terms of clarity and nusicality (music coherence). Yes, other cables like the Audience Au24 or the Tara Labs (Decade) have more details, especially in the high range, but I feel that this is actually detrimental to the overall music. The result being lots of details seemingly out of phase, and the playing being cold, strangely all over the place, and hearing noise rather than the instrument themselves playing and listening to the music... I think this phenomenon has been very well described by Peter Qvortrup (http://www.audionote.co.uk/) in his white paper 'Are You on the road to Audio Hell?', paragraph 'Detail and Resolution', which I recommand everyone to read, though I do not necessary agree with all his conclusions or hold his products as the ultimate audio reference...
By the way, any recommandation on what could best my Cardas Golden Reference (increased level of details and bass impact without sacrificing musicality) given the above? (Actually, may be there is none!!!) |
Yes, I have heard the Au24 interconnects in 2 different systems. Overall, they are a nice cable. To me, they come across as being slightly laid back & have a slightly inferior transient response compared to my TARA Labs RSC Master Gen 2 interconnects.
To me, the Au24 & the TARA Labs RSC Master Gen 2 are the ying & the yang of cables. BETWEEN THESE 2 CABLES: the Au24 is laid back & seems to emphasize the music, glosses over some of the inner details & forgoes some of the transient attack. The TARA Labs RSC Master Gen 2 is more immediate, has better transient attack, better inner details & is truer to the recorded music. It is a more accurate cable of the two.
So, it depends on what your electronics are. Are they bright? Is your system very revealing as it stands now? If so, then you might want some balance i.e. the Au24. OTOH, if your system is already laid back/musical then the Au24 will take you deeper into that realm - may become excessive & artificial. In that case TARA cables are better.
BTW, my understanding is that XLO Signature cables are of the same flavour as the TARA cables & the Cardas cables are of the same flavour as the Au24.
Hope this helps. FWIW, YMMV, IMHO. |
I have been told that Audience Au24 IC cable might be the solution: very natural and transparent cable. Any one heard those. By the way, meanwhile I got hold of a Cardas Golden Cross Reference IC. |
The Tara Labs Air-1 and Air-2 are an overall improvment over the Decade. The Air-1 is faster and more detailed, but the Air-2 is more open and musical. The Decade comes off slow and muddy in comparison with either of these. |
Looking at your system. I will go for cardas, in
terms of musicality, XLO speed,no grain,good bass,
vocal sweet.IMO,I have master gen tara,Use to own
MIT for my taste they are dry sounding,master gen
with grain but big soundstage.XLO they are fast. |
I'm a believer of wiring everything with the same cable - especially an ultra-linear cable like MIT. I would stick with your 350's, get 350 reference, or EVO, or oracles to finish out your IC's and get the best MIT speaker cables you can afford. My only question with this recommendation is your speakers, I don't know how Maggies and MIT mate. Just my opinion... |
