A $10 Monoprice cable will do just as well as an expensive boutique cable. Honestly! Wire is the last thing you need to worry about!
Are Cardas Parsec cables Overkill for Zen Stream?
Total newbie to better-grade cables here. I’m wanting to put an Ifi Zen Stream plus Zen One Signature DAC into a workspace system built around a NAD 316 BEE V2 going into Klipsch RP 600M speakers and (eventually) an REL “T” series sub. The Cardas Parsec half meter SPDIF and RCA interconnects have caught my eye, are within my budget, and seem to lend some taming of sibillants/forwardness based on available ‘net opinions. Would these be overkill for this system? Any issues of synergy or lack thereof with this setup that jump out to folks with more knowledge in this area than I?
Thanks!
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Probably would not help the sound quality. But, you can try. I would recommend Cardas if you try any. They have different tonal balance depending on the level you purchase. So, purchasing a inexpensive Cardas are going to be designed for your components.
Early on in my pursuit of the high end I purchased very high end cables for my speakers and they sounded bad… interconnects also. My gear was noisy (not the kind of noise you hear directly… but it produces fatigue). So they sounded terrible. Years later with a much better system I tried them again, they sounded great! Really enhanced the sound quality. Typically you must have a certain level of components with their higher level of associated resolution and lower noise before interconnects cables start having a notable effect. Then as quality of components increase the effects become more pronounced. Typically I consider a $200 interconnects to be budget interconnects and those would be appropriate to try with a $2,000 component.
A note, wires typically take about 100 - 200 hours of use to break in. They tend to sound a bit trebly and harsh at first. So, try not to judge immediately. |
I had the Parsec SPDIF and currently have the RCAs. Agree with the majority that's been said on this thread. I can't remember which thread or website that the following was posted, but more or less, the founder (George Cardas) had communicated to a prospective customer by phone stating that Iridium was the "best buy" in terms of performance to value. No way to confirm of course, but found it interesting. I'll add the link if I find. |
@lg1 - Audio Envy cables should outperform the Cardas because...
I’ve had lots of experience using high perofrmance cables on more budget oriented components and it has paid premiums every time. Is it worth it - YES - You also end up owning great cables that will perform even better if and when you purchase components that provide finer resolution capabilities. Audio envy make some very good cables for a very reasonable price Regards - Steve |
