Cardas ICs are too warm for Tube amp

I just recently upgraded from Cardas Golden Reference (GR) to the Cardas Clear interconnect and speaker cables. I selected the GR after owning and auditioning a variety of cables including MIT Oracle v1.1, Shunyata, Nordost, SilverSmith, etc. In my opinion, the GR did the most things right and the least things wrong. They were most musical, tonally accurate and full bodied cables, but not the last word in resolution and detail.

The Cardas Clear are in a completely different league than the GR. They deliver everything the GR does, but they strip away a huge amount of veiling. Soundstage depth is dramatically increased and even the most subtle ambient cues are rendered with absolute clarity. I strongly encourage anyone shopping for new cables to audition them. They are really quite amazing.

i tried hard to like the Cardas GR xlr's, but couldn't. in fact...i tried twice. just finished my second trial and came to the conclusion that they just aren't for me (or my system). tried them on my cdp and SAT radio hook-up.

i don't use tubes but my experience was similar to what some others have stated about the GR's. in a single word...."vailed" is what i came up. they sounded aweful at first but once broken in...sounded much better. still not good enough to end my search though.

i did like and currently use the cardas cross on my SAT radio hook-up . seem much more "open" and musical imo.

in the process of trying the acoustic zen silver ref II's right now. can tell i like these better already but still need to wait and see how they settle in.

i'm sure Cardas makes an outstanding cable. but as many veterans have pointed out....they are not for everyone and/or every system.

The Cardas Clear are in a completely different league than the GR. They deliver everything the GR does, but they strip away a huge amount of veiling. Soundstage depth is dramatically increased and even the most subtle ambient cues are rendered with absolute clarity. I strongly encourage anyone shopping for new cables to audition them. They are really quite amazing.

I quite agree with you, high definition, warmth & musicality at the same time time, but speaker cables (bi-wiring) too expensive, not in relation with the single wiring.

Cardas is often a tough call. I have used a variety of their older lines and still tend to use Cardas Golden Ref fairly often.

The bottom line for me often is this:
- Objectively, I will sit there and think that the other cable (the non-Cardas) has more detail in the treble, for example, and so my analytic brain will choose the other brand.
- But when I just want to kick back and enjoy the music, ah, Cardas often wins hands down. It makes me wonder whether the extra detail in the non-Cardas cable is actually an exaggeration.

To my ear, live concerts generally sound more like the house sound that Cardas offers than the sound some other cables offer that my analytical brain tries to convince me is more accurate.

Go figure.
Art

I recently heard a system with all Cardas Clear. This was at a dealer playing Wilson Alexandrias driven by VTL electronics.

It had the characteristic Cardas sound, i.e., warm, slow and lacking excitement. I'm sure system synergy plays a role but the cables were not doing this dealer any favors. Try the WyWires Hot Sauce which is designed for warm tube amps.