Cardas vs Synergistic

I use GRs and have heard them on a friends system and later heard some SR he bought on it. Very different, the SR much farther forward and brighter in balance with less bass. It was impressive but tiring after a while. He has replaced it with a higher grade of SR which he likes better but I haven't heard it yet. Since I personally find the Maggies usually a little bright for my taste I would go with the GR but you may feel different. These are very different [and expensive] cables so if you can try some I would go that way. There really ought to be a means of listing members willing to take their equipment over to others houses or having them over for a visit. There are several of us in Louisville who do this and it saves buying something that doesn't work in a system. The sound of speaker cables varies considerably with the amp and speaker used.

The Cable Company can lend you all three of those cables to try in your system. All cables are system dependent and you should try before you buy. If you find the Maggies are a little bright. I suggest trying Synergistic's Acoustic Reference speaker cables. All the newer Synergistic cables are non fatiguing or bright at all.

Do yourself a favor and try the Cardas Clear cable. I have never been a fan of how the other Cardas cables seemed to color the sound, but the Clear has completely blown me away (after about 150 hours of break in). I have listened to many many cables (who in this hobby hasn't!) and I can honestly say I am done with switching cables - I have found the end of the line. In what I consider the best way to test cables, I pulled the Cardas Clear out after having them there for a month to go to my old cables and I could only listen for about 5 minutes before returning to the Cardas Clear.

I have tried both and am not a big fan of either. Quick summary is that Cardas is better suited for an analytical system that can veer towards brightness, while SR is better for darker/laid back systems.

I would follow the advice of others...call the Cable Company, get some recommendations from one of their salespeople, and then borrow the cables they recommend for your system from their "lending library". If you don't like any of them, just return them at no cost or hassle.