AudioQuest vs Cardas XLR


Hello all,

Looking to upgrade my interconnects from my McIntosh C2700 to MC611 monoblocks. I am very interested in AQ Tbirds or Firebirds vs. Cardas Clear Beyond XLRs. I want an end-game cable and would appreciate some feedback. I'm open to any additional suggestions. I do enjoy the prodigious bass/midbass and the smooth midrange that the combo provides. It's a little light on top, though (as McIntosh is). I think Cardas and AQ will preserve my wishes, but is there anything out there that will keep my midrange/mid-bass/bass and improve upon the highs? I think I may be asking for too much, though! I would be very grateful for some direction. 

128x128jeffreyw

My 3, 2nd gen AQ Dragon PCs, soon to be 4 were made in Taiwan and I have no desire to justify the best PCs in the World.

Maybe they could be tied or close to Hijri Combak cables from Japan, but I've never heard those.

The current Cardas top end cables, although good, are over 15 year old designs.

That's not what I want when I'm spending big money.

Audioquest has several manufacturing facilities from what my dealer told me. For cables,from what I remember, he told me that up to the Rocket series of speaker cables, up to the Rivers series for ICs and I don’t remember which series of PCs, the cables are made in Taiwan or China. And for the cables above these ranges, they are manufactured in regional hubs: US, Netherlands or Taiwan depending on your continent. 
So instead of spewing random misinformation on either Cardas or Audioquest, let’s stay on topic.

I don’t want to buy a product from a company if I have figure out which country/ factory/ model cable I need to avoid China. I think the point is very on topic actually. Cardas makes every product in the USA, no matter where you buy it or how much you spend. 

Yes, I agree that consumers should be well informed as to the origins of the products they are purchasing.

Taiwan is not China BTW and it's probably the largest microchip manufacturer in the World. This industry relies heavily on clean rooms and my guess is that the micro polishing of the higher level cable conductors needs to be done in clean rooms.

Just like the assembly of watches, phones etc.

I love Cardas. Superlative quality and Impeccable customer service. Currently using Clear Reflection XLR’s in my rig. Conversely, I’ve never been a fan of AQ with their 1000 different flavors and DBS nonsense…complete turn off.