Acoustic Zen Absolute Copper vs. Cardas Clear interconnects


I currently have the Cardas Clear interconnects and speaker cables in my system.  I demoed several AES cables from The Cable Co. and the Acoustic Zen Absolute 110 AES/EBU cable won the shootout.  

Has anyone compared the Acoustic Zen Absolute Copper interconnects with Cardas Clear interconnects?  I would like to hear your impressions and this includes any Acoustic Zen speaker cables vs. “Cardas Clear” speaker cables too.  At some point, I would like to demo the Acoustic Zen cable loom from The Cable Co., (e.g., Hologram II or Absolute speaker cables).  I’m on cruise control with HiFi purchases for a little while, however, I like the Absolute 110 AES cable so much, I might want to pursue the Acoustic Zen interconnects and speaker cables at some point.

I know I have to demo the cables in my setup to form my own opinion, but I’m interested in your impressions if you’ve compared the aforementioned.

Thanks in Advance!

128x128dbt

@pinwa 

Hey, another guy with Maggies, Acoustic Zen Absolute XLR's and speaker cables - I can relate 😉

Yes, we have to try ourselves as one person's dark is anothers bright- different amps, different speakers, different DAC's, rooms, and yes ears, but we are all on Audiogon forum here reading everyone elses impressions and opinions, right? I would rather read a few forum posters experiences than a "professional" review. 

@audphile1 found the AZ Absolute speaker cables too dark, yet I am trying a different power cable on my amp to get a little more darkness and warmth, as some tracks are a little too "high frequency tipped" based on my setup, and I'm hoping the Hurricane which is arriving tomorrow adds that and a little body to the mids- @audphile1 and @ghdprentice talked me into it- peer pressure!

@dbt I'm curious which AES cables you demoed against Acoustic Zen's? I didn't even consider Acoustic Zen for digital, and I just got an AES a while ago. 

@mclinnguy I conducted an AES digital cable shootout with the following;

1. Mogami W3080 AES/EBU - Too thin sounding.

2. Synergistic Research - Foundation SX AES/EBU - Too forward in the treble.

3. Snake River Audio - Boomslang AES/EBU - Too veiled compared to the other cables.

4. Analysis Plus - Digital Crystal AES/EBU - Best bang for the buck after breakin, but bass was not as clean and articulate as the Acoustic Zen Absolute 110.

5. Acoustic Zen - MC2=Zen AES/EBU - Bass was exaggerated and boomy.

This was my experience in my system. All cables were broken in except for the Analysis Plus because I purchased it brand new, however I broke it in at 300 hours before making my assessment.

@dbt Cool, thanks for sharing. The Boomslang was one I was considering trying. I assume you know about Audio Bacon's review?- he loved it- it was the BNC not AES, but should be similar findings. He did state something to the fact that is wasn't the most transparent though, some quotes below: 

"So the first thing I noticed about this cable was how natural voices and instruments were presented. It didn’t exude “atmosphere” or “clarity” but it sounded raw, accurate, and unadulterated. In fact, this is the rawest sounding cable I’ve heard so far. It’s a very good thing. It’s also the cable that has rid me of the notion of how silver is supposed to sound. Along with the WAVE Storm Reference, this is one of the warmest sounding BNC cables I’ve reviewed so far. Both of which are made with 5N silver..... 

  • Although the tradeoff for a richer sound is a less present treble, this isn’t the case with the Boomslang. It’s still able to allow cymbals and strings to shine appropriately.
  • It’s not as quiet, treble present, speedy, or as resolving of the lower level details – but from a musicality standpoint, I feel it provides enough of those qualities.
  • Not the most outwardly “dimensional” and “outlined” sound. Some reverb, reflections, and decays aren’t made as apparent – but are still very audible."

Just goes to show one has to try themselves. I wish I could add something regarding a AZ cables comparison but just had some older Transparent speaker cables and XLR's before them.