Cardas Clear Reflection advice needed

@decooney I have swapped them around before. I preferred the Clear Beyond from pre to power. That was what Cardas advised me to do anyway.

When I tried them the other way, the sound was veiled. I could tell almost straight away that didn't suit me.

@sdl4 ..."especially the fullness, tonal balance, midrange liquidity, richness, and smoothness I hear with the CR. The CR also images great and isn’t rolled off in the highs, but it also doesn’t over-emphasize high frequency detail at the expense of tonal balance.

I guess I just need to resign myself to admitting that I love Clear Reflection, since I can’t seem to find a cheaper cable that is a better match for my preferences and my system."

Well, back for a 2nd try and complete do-over evaluation. I ​​​​received my 1M RCA Clear Reflection interconnects today. They came in a completely different/larger box and packaging this time, drop-shipped direct from Cardas through my authorized dealer. They arrived a little different compared to the first used/return pair of I tried and sent back the first go around over a year ago. Will be taking listening notes starting brand new through settling/relaxing phase and will compare the first 250hrs. I don’t want to make premature judgment this time around yet already noticing some of the same nice characteristics. Gonna run them in a few weeks and see how it goes. A little bit more intrigued this time. We’ll see...

@decooney  I'll be interested in your impressions of the Clear Reflection ICs this time around.

I have only used RCA interconnects and can clearly hear differences when changing brands and levels within brands.

But a search of this forum will find that according to Atmasphere (Ralph), if your components are fully balanced as are the components he builds, there should be little if any difference in the sound presentation of different XLR cables. You would need to read his explanation for the technical reason why.

It appears that a lot of audio equipment with XLR connections does not meet the definition standard of being fully balanced for whatever reason.

@jl1ny @sdl4 do you recall what your early settling-in period was like with your new Clear Ref interconnects?  

Going through it again now, and hours 1-4 was nothing like hour 12 or again at 24+.  The rollercoaster changes were notable at first, and my source has been on uninterrupted. Will report back later once I have a lot more time on them. Logging it as I go. The cycle both good/bad/good is very similar to most of my former Cardas and Analysis Plus cables over the past few years. So far so good though.