Cardas vs Cardas vs Shunyata interconnects

"@jjss49 it amazes me that cardas would make an overtly warm and dull cable in their ’clear’ line"...

Yes, it is confusing, they threw one in the middle of the line to make that so.

I also own(ed) Clear Cygnus and now Clear Reflection, and many other Cardas for that matter. Any of the clear line is clear in different ways. Yes, results are different among the line. And, results can vary depending on the clarity and transparencey of equipment and speakers being used.

Yes, the 4-wire Cygnus is going to be more transparent than the 2-wire Reflection cable (different hybrid design of old/new technology), two different cables. "Overly warm", not necessarily, unless someone’s preamp or dac, speakers, and system is already veiled over to begin with. Clear Reflection, need not apply with overly smoothed over McIntosh systems, time to break out Std Clear or Clear Beyond. Or, check and try other brands. The new clear line is different from old 90s Cardas.

Going up the line of "clear" Clear Cygnus, Std Clear, Clear Beyond increasingly have more transparency cut from more of the same dna. Clear Reflection is not the same (odd man out), it’s a hybrid of the older cross and new clear line. I am running 3 pairs of Clear Reflection, listening to them in my system right now. My system is transparent to begin with. Took 10+ days for them to relax, to lose mechanical tension with the internal dialectric, and then they open up a little more. Bright no. Warm no. Neutral with the high freq slightly more smoothed out, yes.

The whole line is completely misunderstood by folks who’ve not tried or compared them personally in your system for a longer period of time. i.e people can’t be swapping Cardas cables back and forth every 30m, gotta let them sit and play 10-14+ days. No joke, tested this literally 100s of times with brand new and used ones coming out of a box coiled up. Gotta try the different versions of clear to understand the limitations & benefits.Every one if these cables has a different result, fwiw.

I’m re-comparing them to all of my former [other brand] OCC and Silver-Over copper cables, and I’ve owned many. Yep, it’s all weird and makes no sense :) All those others are gone now, off to new owners enjoying them now. Back to Cardas, past 30+yrs. I just tell people to go buy other cables and wish them best of luck, unless they are willing to work with TheCableCo or.a dealer to try them out 1st hand.

Those who’ve tried them [in their system] know, love it or hate it. It’s hard to explain to those who’ve not tried them at all fwiw.  

@w123ale  Probably will put them aside for a couple of days and focus on the Cardas.

When testing gear, always a good test for me is when I just keep listening to my test songs through, rather than jumping around between tracks.

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A couple of days is not enough, give it two weeks with Cygnus, let them relax and settle in and get use to them yourself. I'd try them at your source first, imo.  When there is no need to jump around between tracks any longer, a sign of getting closer.  

@w123ale Update: listening to the Shunyata interconnects to DAC and to amps. Well heck, sounding pretty balanced and getting out of the way. Not wow, but just this sounds like music. Hmm, this won’t be easy to sort out. Both cable sets are quite good.

That’s what matters the most. If you find a synergy that works for you in your system, trust your ears and ask yourself if you are more engaged in the music.

If you like the Shunyata, there you go. No need to look at Cardas Parsec or others mentioned prior. Cardas Cygnus is a more open and detailed IC. Parsec is a tad more veiled over and more grainy than Cygnus. Once you move up the line to standard Clear, it’s a smoother and different sound yet again. As mentioned before, I will share again - flip-flopping back and forth with Cardas and other cables does not work well, you gotta leave them be and not keep moving and messing with them for a few weeks, then rotate back to Shunyata again, will help to decide. Best of Luck.

@w123ale "...detailed but not etched treble".

Did you find the Cygnus interconnects to be etched treble?

They are more revealing or have a tad more over-exposed sound in my system, depending on which dac or source I’m running. imo Cygnus gel better in a softer sounding system. THIS is why I resold them and went with another pair of Clear Reflection ICs, fwiw. However, it seems as if you got what you wanted with Shunyatas. Take extra time with each set of cables before swapping out/in.

@sdl4 "I’m impressed that you took the time and effort to figure that out. I hope that you continue to enjoy the naturalness and tonal richness that Cardas cables can provide."

Agree and it takes patience testing and evaluating the lineup of different cables. Those who make generalized comments are not familiar with the different cables and typically won’t invest or take the time to understand it more.

@classicrockfan "Of course not because they don’t have that facility. in reality they buy bulk cables from an actual cable manufacturer in southern California all they do are cut/terminate/package/add big big profit/resell."

The copper is owned, mined, and sourced by Cardas for manufacturing through their own operation agreement they redeveloped and supported. Yes, there are videos showing the sub-contracted process of manufacturing the cable spools made in SoCal. Spools shipped to Bandon Oregon, cut and terminated there by hand. It’s a business that manages to remain profitable and stay in business 35+ years and employs workers. Anyone who has visited the facility in person is aware of this. Nobody is being fooled.

To @classicrockfan - as they say, you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink. The guy was a telco engineer specializing in transmitting audio over cable. He employées family and locals and they do a fantastic job. Assembly Plant tours available. Or you can call them, ask, and validate first hand the copper mining operation deal he made to source and produce his own fine Grade1 Copper.

When you actually demo more than a few different pairs of Cardas cables report back what you hear. Until then, it’s all just a bunch of pointless babble.

Cardas Copper:

https://www.cardas.com/cardas-copper

The Story of Cardas Copper, by George Cardas.

https://www.cardas.com/about-cardas

Quote;

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• "I was forced into the copper business, when a combination of recycling laws and new "improved" drawing techniques, flooded the market with cheap low grade copper. This began to force traditional plants out of business. I found an "old fashioned" plant that was closing and we began slow drawing and annealing pure copper rod in inert atmospheres. Soon we were supplying most of the specialty drawn high purity metals used in high-end audio.

• "He also found the last copper producer in the US who could make ultra-pure, fine copper wire to his specifications. They were on the verge of closing their doors, but George made a deal with them - keep going, and I’ll keep ordering copper. The copper they produced with George’s method is the purest, highest quality copper wire available".

@classicrockfan "I write posts on this forum not for elon musk but for audio enthusiasts who live on a budget more than 90% of us."

How do you write about something you've never tested before? 

Again, it's all just a bunch of babble until you test it and evaluate it yourself.  No problem here with WBC or Mogami cables, a solid value for the $. When you've actually demoed, tested, and compared them on a good system, it's the only way to know. I have for too long.  Ah, and defaulting to ASR tests aint gonna cut it for most here. Ask NASA why they chose to use Analysis Plus cables instead of Mogami or WBC on some of their design projects.

Enjoy your World's Best Cables, it's great that you found something that works well for you and that's all that matters!