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CARDAS Fans: Golden vs. Neutral vs. Presence?

I know the Reference series is considered to have less of the traditional house Cardas sound. However, I've read many differing opinions that leave me in the dark as to what they sound like.

Also, one 6moons reviewer liked the Golden Ref IC more than the Golden Ref speaker cable. He found the speaker cable somewhat lean, though detailed and transparent. The most worrisome trait, though, was that he found there to be a loss of "body sound" to vocals and strings, with an emphasis on what he called the "head sound." And the bass a bit overblowsn. This was compared to Nirvana S-L.

Then there is both the Neutral Ref and the Golden Presence. I know what Cardas says about them on their website, so I don't need their descriptions of how they hear them.

Many people find the Neutral Reference too lean with brightness on less than ideal recordings. And the bass seems to be good, but not as deep and tight as it could be.

Then there is the Golden Presence. Few have written about it, but there are a couple of people who like it best of all the Reference series.

Can I get some informed opinions on both the interconnects and the speakers cables of all three models?
zear
usblues
1,217 posts
 
And away we go.....
mrtennis
3,295 posts
 
for many years, i owned golden cross, golden hex 5c and hexlink 5c. i would not own cardas cables anymore. i sold them several years ago.

i found the cardas cables somewhat unbalanced. a bit too much emphasis upon the uppper mid/lower treble and not as extended in the bass as other cable.
wireless200
415 posts
 
I just went from Zu Gede ICs to Golden Reference. The improvement was quite noticeable across the spectrum. I'm using it with McIntosh and the Mc is nice and smooth to start with. I was originally planning to buy GC but my dealer talked me into GR. They're about the same price.

I'm happy with the GR. GC are well-known for being smooth. If I still had my Krell I would have got the GC for sure but with my Mc it might have been overdoing it. Spending the $$$ on the GR surely made me a believer that you can keep improving the sound with cables but it costs.

I had tried a lot of $200 and under cables and the GR was a clear step up from all of those. I don't think you could go wrong with GC - they sell almost immediately used on Agon. I could understand reviewers saying GR are bright if their system already tends that way. I spent a lot of time and money getting away from the harsh highs.

Probably any cable would sound decent with the Mcintosh IMO. What components are you using? It really depends on the synergy the cable will have with the components. And Usblues is right - you'll get a slew of responses all recommending something different. I would stick with well-characterized brands where you can read a lot of different opinions on a single model, e.g., Golden Cross. You'll get a feeling about the sound if you read enough different opinions about it. I wouldn't trust a single "professional" review.
qdrone
1,039 posts
 
Having owned the original Golden Cross for over a decade I upgraded to the recent configuration of The Golden Reference last year and noticed more detail in the mid range in my system. Other than that they are about the same but the detail brought fourth by the Golden Reference was worth the money spent having bought them here used on Agon. I also upgraded all my Power Chords from The Hex Chord by Cardas to the Golden Reference. This made the backround more black,more silent for the instruments to emit from.
sns
3,003 posts
 
I've used and auditioned a lot of cables from a lot of companies over the years (top of line to midgrade) and I continue to come back to the Golden Refs. I find the Golden Refs are pretty much neutral sounding cables, perhaps just a touch warm. They pretty much communicate what the rest of your system is doing (wonder why people claim they're anything from overly warm to lean).
They are not a cable that jumps out at you in any department, there are cables that are more detailed, quieter, airy, spacious, etc. The GR's just kind of cover all the bases nicely, you can build a nice musical system around them. Want some more air and spaciousness add a bit of silver somewhere, need more bass, get some PAD Dominus, I could go on and on.
The Golden Cross have always been too warm and lacking in detail when I've tried them, YMMV.
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