Cardas Power Cords / Furutech vs Cardas Terminations

I don't know how different they sound but based on my experience AC plugs plays a big roll on sound quality. Actually, because of its cheaper price, I was going to purchase a couple of Cardas NEMA/IEC. On the ads it says copper metal connector! I called them last week and found out base metal is beryllium copper and plated with Rhodium. Furutech F-15 series (plus or even earlier version used by Cardas) use pure copper as base metal and R or G plating. Conductivity and frequency integration of pure copper is far superior than beryllium-copper.

Thank you fellow members as that's the information that I was looking for. I currently have all Purist Audio Limited Edition power cords on my system. I borrowed one of the Cardas Clear Beyond Power cords from The Cable Company just to listen to it. I have the Cardas Clear Beyond speakers cables which are wonderful by the way just to compare. The Clear Beyond Power cords did not have the resolution or the '' slam '' of the Purist LE's but I will tell you they added a musical impression that was hard to dismiss.....it was really nice. So I know an authorized dealer who has one of the older Clear Beyond Power Cords with the Furutech ends and might just buy it. However, my mind is saying don't as you paid a fortune. I have also put out some thread here as the same thing happened with the Cardas Rev 1 interconnects versus my Purist Audio 20th Anniversary interconnects. My mind is saying I love the music but my wallet is saying no that this can not be happening. I also heard that Cardas will be coming out very shortly with a Clear Beyond interconnect to make the speaker cable and power cords. That will be interesting as these are not like the previous Cardas cables. I digress - thank you for the information on the terminations on the power cord. So no real sonic difference.....        

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.