Warm copper speaker cables under $500 new

Second Alpha Core as a good choice. Quite the bargain to boot.

07-24-08: Tvad
Having read your submissions over the years, I believe it's safe to say that
your definition of warm as it applies to audio is off the scale compared to
how most readers would define warm if they heard the same cabling in the
same system.

Well, at least it's better than the usual line "There is no such thing as a warm cable, or bright cable. They do not exist.....". In this aspect I agree that Mrtennis's participation in this thread or other similar ones, is of no value. No offense intended.

Apart from the universally-accepted Cardas being a warm cable, Van den hul also applies.

i read george cardas description of golden cross. there are two points.

he did not say the cable was colored , or not neutral.

he did not define "warm". perhaps the whole problem is my definition of warm as a coloration disagrees with the connotation that others have of the term, and therefore, the reason that i do not observe components to be warm is based upon my definition of warm.

this is not philosophy, this is definition.

i will agree with one point ,namely if i have not experienced any "warm" sounding cables, it is obvious i cannot recommend any. if tvad, that is indeed your point, you are correct.

I had a pair of golden cross 1 meter RCAs for about two weeks. They were anything but warm. I was pairing them with a Musical Fidelity A308 Integrated and a Benchmark DAC, conditioned through Shunyata Taipan Helix cords and Hydra conditioner. The golden crosses were EXTREMELY bright. I then tried a pair of Acoustic Zen Reference II's that did the trick and tamed the upper frequency while providing great resolve. From what I've heard this is opposite of expectations, as the AZs are a silver/copper blend compared to the Cardas all copper design.

In the end, I sold the A308 Integrated and picked up a Sunfire TGA5200 to simplify my setup. Now I realize just how warm (and truly resolving) the Musical Fidelity A308 really was. For solid state I'm not sure I'll find anythign that matches it and I've tried Rotel, Outlaw, Anthem (A5) and now this Sunfire (which I'm leaning keeping as it's holding the compromise well enough between HT and 2 channel).

fwiw the one time I listened to Cardas Golden Cross with my Maggie 1.6 speakers I hated it. It was the most lifeless sound I ever got from my stereo. Maybe it would be better in someone elses rig who knows...