CARDAS Fans: Golden vs. Neutral vs. Presence?


I know the Reference series is considered to have less of the traditional house Cardas sound. However, I've read many differing opinions that leave me in the dark as to what they sound like.

Also, one 6moons reviewer liked the Golden Ref IC more than the Golden Ref speaker cable. He found the speaker cable somewhat lean, though detailed and transparent. The most worrisome trait, though, was that he found there to be a loss of "body sound" to vocals and strings, with an emphasis on what he called the "head sound." And the bass a bit overblowsn. This was compared to Nirvana S-L.

Then there is both the Neutral Ref and the Golden Presence. I know what Cardas says about them on their website, so I don't need their descriptions of how they hear them.

Many people find the Neutral Reference too lean with brightness on less than ideal recordings. And the bass seems to be good, but not as deep and tight as it could be.

Then there is the Golden Presence. Few have written about it, but there are a couple of people who like it best of all the Reference series.

Can I get some informed opinions on both the interconnects and the speakers cables of all three models?
zear

Showing 3 responses by luna

The type of sound I am looking for is detailed but not overly high energy in the high freq area. Would the GR speaker cable be like that?
I am also in the search for a Golden Reference speaker cable. Can't find any demo around. I am using GR IC and thiels 3.6 and CJ premire 350. anyone knows would they match?
I just brought the GR speaker cable. In my system, it is a perfect match!!! Best price to performance. It is detailed but not bright and it creates good depth and wide soundstage on my Thiels 3.6. It also creates some tube magic which my CJ premier 350 lacks. To out do this cable, it will take at least 2 to 3 times the price. I think this is a great cable for high power SS amp and low efficiency spks.