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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
muralman1
1,527 posts
 
Zear, are you sure you were reading opinions of the Speltz IC. I have yet to read anything about Speltz ICs. I encourage people to search Asylum for comments on his ICs, not to be confused with the SC.
flkin
21 posts
 
I'm using Golden Ref speaker cables and in my opinion they sound just fine. There are too many variables in the system to say what causes differing sounds, harshness, mouth, head sounds, fat bass etc. It could be caused by so many parts of the entire sound reproduction chain but in my quest for a balanced sound, the Golden Ref have never been found to be at fault to date. If there is a family resemblance of sound, it is not with the other members of the Cardas line but of copper wires in general. Copper has a particular sweetness that mixed or silver cables cannot match. But they can sound dull and be lacking in ultimate resolution. This is what the physical construction of the GR was designed to avoid and I think they have managed it pretty well. So my experience with them is very satisfactory and I have yet to find a more neutral speaker cable.

So to answer your question, try them all in your system and see how they sound. GR is highly neutral and extended so if it turns out sounding otherwise, something else in your system is causing it. But two unbalanced components can be match to sound neutral so ultimately it's still your choice.

I also have tried the Speltz speaker and ic cables (balanced configuration). Burnt them in for a LONG time as per instructions (500 hours) and they still sound like their prices, ordinary - neither extended nor neutral. I gave the speaker cables away and have the ics lying around somewhere because they look cool.
muralman1
1,527 posts
 
Flkn. it may just be as possible it is your system parts that make the Speltz sound wrong. I have had many very expensive cords run through varius systems, including your favorite Golden Reference. The Shunyata Helix fair were very good. The Cerious ceramic ICs also were very good. Nothing I tried though were better than the Speltz ICs.

In my system, matching has to be done with care. Simpleness is the rule I found best to follow.

Other systems will benefit from calming devices like cables that infuse the signal with white noise.

BTW, my copper ribbon SCs are markedly better than Speltz. These ribbons are ruthlessly honest. Any misstep in the system chain will be magnified. They have forced me to upgrade my DAC finally.
opus88
530 posts
 
Flkn: What are you using for interconnect, and what for phono cable if you listen to lps ? Thanks very much.
flkin
21 posts
 
Muralman1, it's entirely possible that it's MY system that is unbalanced and that the Golden Reference speaker cable brought it back to neutral. After all, what we are listening to is the TOTAL SUM of all our components. Faced with too many degrees of freedom, solutions are by necessity empirical only.

But I've dropped the apple many times and each time it falls to the ground in a predictable and correct way, so I believe the Golden Reference is a darn good cable. I'm sticking with it until I find better. Like many others here, I've tested many speaker cables too and I still stand by my comment that speaker cables can be sound grouped by the construction materials ie. pure copper or mixture or silver or gold etc. I would like to add one more significant cable sound contributor - the termination spade material - Rhodium or Silver oxide or Gold or ProGold. And what they are paired to on the speaker and amp terminations.

Not referring to anyone in particular, I find it amazing how audiophiles can pick one item in the equipment chain and make a great number of comments about it and say that it seems to make the difference between Day and Night when one should only be able to describe the CHANGE in sound perceived when the item is replaced and not make ABSOLUTE claims about the item. That's why ultimately it's the entire system all together not the individual components that matter the most. Perhaps I should have said that in MY particular system, the Speltzs, both speaker and balance ics, were ordinary.

Opus88, I use Harmonic Technology Magic Link 2s for all my interconnects. These are hybrid copper/silver designs and again I have yet to find better. I've gone through more cables than I can remember and there is no lending library where I am so it's all purchased between my hifi groupie and swapped around. Tested all kinds including gold hybrid but in my particular setup and system these are the bees knees! They don't make my system sound like playing with harsh silver cables but add just that touch of clarity and excitement in the music. And it's very extended at both ends. For phono cable, I use the original Linn Ittok arm's cable. Just got the old turntable working again after a long sleep and haven't had the time to mess around with it yet.
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