@ghdprentice I wondered the same thing, as this was certainly not the sonic effect I was expecting. The seller was a reputable Canuck Audio Mart member, but he may have not known if they were legit or not. The lettering on the cables has all but disappeared, except for the stencil on the XLR sheaths. I've read on the Cardas site that the only way to know if it's counterfeit is to cut the cable open to check the internals. That's an exercise I'm probably not going to attempt at this point.
@audphile1 Thanks for your suggestion, but the DAC jumpers have been properly set for output matching going directly to the AHB2, as per the manual; and have been this way since initial setup. And yes, the lower bass didn't appear over the course of a week of running in, so I doubt that more hours would make a difference.
It's definitely a steep part of my learning curve, thus my reticence to purchase without demo, going forward.
Best, JAMES.