If you're considering Cardas, you've got to try Ensemble cables, either the Masterflux or the Dynaflux. They are less expensive than top Cardas and often available used on this site for great prices. Many people have left Cardas Golden for Ensemble. I myself left Transparent Ultra XL and Reference for Ensemble. I used the Transparent cables w/my meridian 500 and 566.24/518 setup when I had it, but after many loyal years switched to Ensemble for a fraction of the cost, and better performance.