Alternative to Cardas Neutral Reference IC


Any suggestions for an alternative to the Cardas Neutral Reference ic? I like the Cardas but I'm looking for something that's a bit smoother while retaining an open sound. Budget is about $200 used/new. Thanks.
jimmymac
Find a used and older FMS cable. If they know what they have you won't hit your price but sometimes people like to change for the heck of it. There may be a few second choises I'm not thinking of right now but one of them would be Apex (ICTL series only). These are down in value but are very rich and smoothe but not colored. They sound a lot like Transparent Ultra's without the networks or price tags.