Any comments on Transparent & Cardas phono cables

Hi, it's been a awhile since I compared these cables. Transparent has upgraded their line up over the years. If you like the interconnect, I feel the same will occur with the Transparent Phono cable. The current MM2 cables from Transparent are very good.

You should hear better timing, lil quieter background, more transparency. Possibly a more organic quality that's hard to descibe.

I think you are stepping up here somewhat. If you're buying new, make sure you breakin the cable, it takes forever on phono only signal.

I can also say, the difference between Ultra and Reference is noticable, if you can stretch a little, this is one of the most critical cables...anything lost upfront can't ever be recovered.

Good luck

A while back I had Transparent phono cable in my system. Can't recall if it was reference or ultra. Replaced it with XLO signature and never looked back...XLO much nicer. I do have Transparent Reference as speaker and a long balanced run from pre amp to amp. Nice stuff, just not impressed with the phono cable.

Have you tried the Cardas Golden Reference before or since using the Golden Cross? It is relatively less dark sounding than the GC, yet it provides very nice texture and detail. I have tried the Furutech AG-12, Hovland 2 and Synergistic Research Tricon, and find the Golden Ref's combination of body and musicality more satisfying than any of the above.

I may have been a bit misleading in referring to the GR as being relatively less dark sounding than the GC. Rather than sounding dark in any real sense, I would characterize the GR as very natural, though I've seen others call it anything from neutral to warm.

Sold my Cardas GR for TA Ref MM2. Sold the TA recently. Both too dark for my tastes. YMMV of course.