Help me understand the Cardas line of ICs

Nice post Dan, my entire system is wired with the Cardas Hexlink Golden Five-C's interconnects & speaker cables (the older series) I was a little curious myself of the newer ones.

Sorry, but I would hardly call Golden Reference "perfectly neutral."

I'm with Drubin. GR is NOT neutral. It is among the warmest sounding cables available. NR is pretty neutral but still has some of the characteristic Cardas warmth. GR is only suitable for matching with bright components or speakers that are a little weak in the bass.

I believe Cardas sells more "high-end" cable of all sorts than anyone else. That fact alone recommends an audition. The hearing impaired and those wishing to voice their home systems like their cars (frequently the same demographic) will certainly choose "neutrality" over "musicality". Only Purist Audio surpasses Cardas for overall listening enjoyment, IMHO

I've gone back and forth between GRef and NRef more times than I care to admit, and I think these are Cardas' best. They both provide a coherent musical picture. I agree with Nighthawk that NR is not neutral on an absolute scale, but is actually somewhat forgiving in the highs, as Mdomnick notes. I like NR for its overall transparency and speed relative to the other Cardas types. It's a good place to start. If you still feel that your system is a bit aggressive, try GR, which preserves most of the detail but is more relaxing, although the bass with GR becomes fatter and slower. I personally find Golden Cross way too syrupy and veiled, and if you find it is necessary for your system, then reassess your electronics.