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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

Showing 2 responses by mrtennis

mrtennis
3,295 posts
 
for many years, i owned golden cross, golden hex 5c and hexlink 5c. i would not own cardas cables anymore. i sold them several years ago.

i found the cardas cables somewhat unbalanced. a bit too much emphasis upon the uppper mid/lower treble and not as extended in the bass as other cable.
mrtennis
3,295 posts
 
one of the problems of elicitingopinions about cables or any other compoents is differences in perception.

two listeners exposed to the same stereo system could voice diametrically opposite perceptions about what they here.
it seems that if you place 4 audiophiles in the same room, there will be 5 opinions.

an experience i had at jabuary ces illustrates this point.

at one of the rooms in the ventian, i midly objected to the treble response. some adjustment of room treatment materials occured. we listened again. i objected again and there was a disagreement between about 6 people in that room.

be careful of eliciting opinions. the same product can be described using opposite terms. in the context of this thread, i am surprised that anyone describes the cardas cable as warm. i don't find any of their cables warm.

let me add one more experience. a friend visited me and described my stereo system as "muffled", where as, i disagreed saying it was quite extended. assuming no hearing loss, such a difference in perceptions is perplexing.
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