Cardas Clear Beyond XL PC

I have been comparing and contrasting Cardas (my dealer loves them) with Transparent. I have previously used DH Labs, WireWorld, Shunyata, and a couple other. I eliminated the others on your list by research.

By most recent detailed comparisons I found I like Transparent on all my component boxes over Cardas. Cardas emphasizes the bass ever so slightly while reducing the detail… the Transparent are, well more transparent. However, on my amp Cardas Clear Beyond sounds better than Transparent Ref 8… I believe this is because the Transparent emphasize shielding over massive conductors as in The Cardas (the weight of Cardas is much higher). I have tried all levels of Cardas and I am sure the Clear Beyond XL will be worth it. When I get some more money I will be upgrading my Clear Beyon to XL on my amp.

While this is useful in an all Audio Research system with Sonus Faber speakers (my ID), it might not be right for your system. I found that in general Transparent are just that in all cases… Cardas is a touch warm in all cases… all product lines… but ever so slightly reduces detail. This can frequently be good. But with truly perfectly balanced components (sonically) it takes a bit away.

I have directly compared in my system Cardas Clear Beyond XL power to Shunyata Delta v2 NR. The difference was quite surprising. I found the Cardas to be better on dac, preamp, and amp. The Cardas was much more musical and actually less noise. Even for home theater the Cardas was better. 

I think Jays audio lab (who is normally spot on)did a shoot out with several PC and the cardas clear beyond was shot out of the water...might be wrong but maybe you should seek out  that video.

I have been comparing Alpha NR V2 to Delta NR V2 in my system. I have had the Delta in my system for about a year. The Cable Co is a really great company and their loaner program gives customers a unique opportunity to compare cables head to head. I’m really trying to figure out what direction I want to take my power cables.  The alpha is double the price, thicker, and has a fancier connector. They have the same sonic signature. I have never compared different price points of cables within a company’s line before so I don’t really know how much improvement is typical between levels. My impressions are that the Alpha is more open sounding, less noise, and more detailed- but not by much. On some songs it was actually hard to tell the difference. I wouldn’t say the alpha was any more musical or drew me more into the music. Just my opinion. In my system I found the Cardas clear beyond xl to take me away into the music more. The Shunyata is more of a scientific instrument. I have 4 Shunyata power cables in my system so it’s not that I am not a customer.