Cardas: Clear vs. Golden Reference

Not that this answers your question, but Cardas has just discontinued the Golden Reference, Golden Cross, Golden Preference and the Neutral Reference. They are/will be expanding the Clear line of cables.

Audiogoner Theo tipped me off to this and I verified it on the Cardas website.

http://cardas.com/cables.php

wow. Thanks.

That does leave open the question of why. For example, years ago they used to sell a Golden Reference power strip. I own one. Excellent. When I asked they why they discontinued it, they cited cost of production.

seems Cardas has had the golden reference around for a long time as with the cross,Neutral ect.
I had the reference and liked them alot,but as anything seems you got to have something new so customers keep coming back or maybe they will think Cardas is getting dated.
Look at shunyata,can't believe how many cables they have come up with and the hydra changes and it goes on and on.
Cardas probably figures that to stay in the game and out of the back woods they have to bring in something new to catch the consumers eye.
Not knock as I said I had their speaker cables and rca all reference.

Maybe "Clear" is a breakthrough?

I've heard all three Cardas cables you're asking about in my own system and in a couple friend's systems. I also owned the Golden Ref. interconnects and speaker cables.

To my ears, the Golden Cross is veiled, rolled off at the extremes and rather thick and tubey sounding in a negative way. If you're running bright sounding solid state gear, it would probably make for a nice band aid.

The Golden Ref. is actually quite good and a big step up in clarity and extension yet still retains a warmer, fuller character. I somewhat preferred the speaker cable over the interconnect but did enjoy both while I owned them.

The Clear is as it's name implies, clearer and cleaner sounding with more apparent air on top and a bit more detailed. It's definitely less "warm" than the GR. My brother owns the GR but spent time with the Clear and decided it wasn't worth the extra money.

As for myself and a good buddy who has owned the GR and still owns the Clear(it's presently collecting dust), we both switched to Siltech Classic Anniversary 770i interconnects and 770L speaker cables. That was a couple years ago and neither of us have any regrets.

The Siltech, both interconnects and speaker, sounds way more transparent and open with great extension top to bottom. There's more power and weight to the music and images just seem more fleshed out.

Just my 2 cents. Hope this was helpful.

Thanks Rfogel. I never thought of the Siltech. Need to look into it.

Do you have any idea how Clear Light compares to Clear?

When the Clear line was first introduced, I was intrigued by their new termination technology used on their speaker cables. I sent my GRs in to be reterminated and was very pleased with the results. The cost was about $400.

Clear "Light" has fewer calories. Nyuk, nyuk!

Clear sounds way better. I have had golden ref.

buddy

Clear has better extension in both the highs and lows and is not quite as warm in the mid-bass. It's also a bit faster sounding with better leading edge transient articulation. Overall it is more neutral and "clear" sounding, with a big open soundstage, while retaining a bit of the nice liquid/organic quality that made the GRs so special. Which is better for you depends on your preference and system. I have the Clears now and love them, but sometimes I miss the added warmth and romance of the GRs! Agree that the GR speaker cables were better than the interconnects.

What about the Clear Phono vs Golden Ref Phono?
Any experience?

I've got an all digital rig so no experience on my end.

Hi. Anyone can advise how is the Cardas GR compared to the newest Clear Reflection? Should I get GR or CR if not much difference?

Clear Reflection is a better cable.

I never cottoned on to Golden Reference. I always preferred Golden Cross to it.