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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
stringreen's avatar
stringreen
6,380 posts
 
Personally I hate Cardas products. They just dont work in my system. Thats not to say they wont work in yours, but every time I got rid of a Cardas top of the line cable, the system sounded better. I found the power cords to be really rotten.
luna
235 posts
 
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.
saxo
98 posts
 
Yikes, with all due respect, I question the hearing of some of the posters, but to each his own.

I've had all three Cardas Reference. The Neutral I didn't like at all. It was thin, could sound shrill, the bass was nothing to brag about, neither was the soundstage.

Going to the Golden Presence and Golden Reference is entering another world. This nonsense about being dark and the other criticisms is as far from the truth as can be. Some of you want overdetailed, thinned out sound. The Cardas are natural sounding, yet manage to have much detail. Best to wash your ears out or get a hearing test if you think these obscure detail. I've had silver cables in my system, and they have added a bit more detail, but at the expense of brightness and thinness, some better than others. Perhaps with slow sounding tube equipment such compensation of hyperdetailed interconnects that have thin body would compliment such a system.

Listening to many cables compared to the Cardas Reference (GP or GR) is like listening to a table radio compared to an audiophile system. Do you want body that fills out the images, instead of stripping them of harmonics and creating flat, thinned out voices and instruments? You get this with the Cardas.

There are too many cable 'experts' out there who seem to think they know what music sounds like. Ask someone who plays a musical instrument which sounds more real to them - Cardas or Nordost, for an example.

The problem is the flavor of the month/year club with cables. Cardas got the recipe right, so they don't need constant model updates. I've owned a number of cables mentioned in this thread, and nothing has satisfied like the Cardas Golden Presence or Golden Reference. That's all I use.
kettle7830
31 posts
 
Saxo,

How do you think the GR and GP speaker cables compare? I currently have GP speaker cables along with GR and Golden Cross interconnects. I was wondering what improvements would be realized going to the GR speaker cables.

By the way I am in the I like Cardas camp.
saxo
98 posts
 
Sorry, no experience with Cardas speaker cables. Try to get them on loan from a Cardas dealer.

The GR speaker cables have much more copper and conductors than the GP, but in the end, will this make a big difference? Plan on paying for the GR speaker cable because it's not cheap.
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