Covers treble grunge

Few

Is this an honest cable? No. Does it alter the waveform? Yes. Is it wonderful? Definitely. The scourge of high end is its unfortunate bias toward treble frequently resulting in harshness. Until more civilized electronics are produced we will have to use products like the Cardas Gold Cross interconnect to make listening what we want it to be. This product will help almost any system. You cant go wrong buying a pair of these cables. Bravo Mr. Cardas.

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PBJ , Music Meter

Great quality.

Expensive,but no guarantee it will improve your system.

Other reviewers here say they like this product,and that is as much out of luck as it is out of experimentation. Remember that things like cables are alway's system-specific,and one or another person's reccomendation(s) may not guarantee your own results,or lack thereof. The reviewer below tried a design from one manufacturer's lower-priced offerings,and only after affirming that design's positive characteristics did he go on to risk spending more dough on a refined model. That was wise,because the only way to find out about cable interaction with your system is by experimentation. Unless you are careful,you could easily spend as much or more money on cables than the amount you have spent on componentry,given the cost of some of these wiresets. So,find something good and go forth along those lines if possible. Sometimes the component-makers can reccomend suitable matchups based upon impedance- charecteristics,etc... Wish us all the luck,Johnny!

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Still experimenting.

Overall performance - balance, warmth and beauty, wothout sacrificing detail or transparency

may not mate well with euphonic tube set-up

Well, I am ecstatic with this cable. In my solid state set up, I found this cable provided a bit of warmth that was welcomed if not needed. However, it did not sound bloated or dark in doing so. The notes are ALL there, and the ease in which they are presented is wonderful. In other words, the details and the images are credible, not overly hyped up.

Could you find a more transparent cable? Yes (e.g., Nordost). Could you find a more "airy" cable? Yes (just about any high end silver). But you'd have to spend quite a bt more to get a cable that strikes such a nice balance between obviously maginificent midrange palpability, harmonic richness and tight, tuneful bass onthe one hand, while not giving up much in the soundstaging, transparency or speed departments.

An obvious choice for solid state systems - Thank you George Cardas - what's silly is how long it took me to stumble across this cable.

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many

Transparancy,Pace and Rhythm, Resolution plus.

Cost!!!

I must admit for a short period of time I had an urge to replace my Maggies. The Maggies have a tendency to reproduce certain sources on the soft side. This of course could be due to the fact I do not have the latest ribbon technology incorporated into their design. Well after trying the most inredible Cardas Golden Cross interconnect,I was curious to see if the Cardas Golden Cross spkr.cable could make as much magic as did the interconnect. Boom, the sound totally appeared in the room without physical borders. The bass was tight and articulate like no panel has a right to sound. The mid-bass was no longer "wooly", the slight nasal flavour was gone. The midrange was so right, horns were so crisp without being forward and bright. Vocals came right out of the soundstage revealing the vocalists' proximity to the mic and the venue. HIghs were pristine. A total sound experience.

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Tara Labs, MIT, Ultralink, Monster.

relaxed, warm, atmospheric presentation of the music. smooth treble, bouncy bass, completely unharsh, makes music fun and involving

not completely transparent...bass is a tad soft, may not be the thing for laid back systems

I won't list my entire setup, but I will say that I have a Bryston 3B-ST running NHT 2.5i's, both are exciting listens, but both can be hard in the treble...so I went on a quest to find a cable that would tame the treble hardness in my system. The worst I tried (again, this is subjective in regards to my system) were Tara Air interconnects...very flat perspective...everything's there, but it seemed to compound my treble problem. Second worst was Transparent...they had a fuller presentation, but the energy seemed sterile, and the treble energy was still too much for me.

MIT seemed to be a step in the right direction, fuller midbass, and rolled off treble, but the energy seemed slow and sluggish. Audioquest brought back the missing energy, and the music had a smooth, listenable quality, but everything seemed a tad too indistinct. Finally, I tried the Cardas Golden Cross, and everything seemed to fall into place. Treble excess gone, great warmth in the midrange, good presence to the performers and their instruments, and the bass gained a bouncy quality that kept the music going with good pace. Voices seemed friendly, too...especially female vocals.

this is subjective, and it's difficult for me to say how one cable sounds against the other, because it's a very system dependant thing. For me, the Cardas seemed to do the trick. I tried the Cardas with my friends Dynaudio 1.3 mkII's and his Proceed amp, and the results weren't as positive...but for me, in my system, I haven't heard anything better. Four stars for value (they're pricy!) and four for overall (five for my system, but their benefits are not consistant from system to system)

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tara air, audiotruth, mit, monster, transparent

Warm, dark, well constructed

Warm and dark can also be a weakness - not as transparent as some more expensive cable

I found my 1/2 meter length warm, dark and generally forgiving. It wasn't bright or offensive, but not as transparent as my Nordost SPM Reference.

For the price, I found the Cardas good value - but not exceptional value. If there are a few of you who think Golden Cross is about as good as it gets I have to say that you are very wrong, in my humble opinion. SPM made a startling difference in my system. It's almost twice the price, but deservedly so and well worth the expense in a comparably expensive system. IMHO, if you have a $10ksystem, the choice of Golden Cross is an effective allocation of investment, but with a $20k system upwards, I know (in my system anyway) that you can and should do far better.

For reference, my system is:
Audio Physic Virgo II Speakers
Blue Circle BC2 Monos
Sonic Frontiers Line 3 Preamp
YBA CD1a Blue Laser CD Player
All Nordost SPM Ref. Interconnects
FIM Gold Speaker Cable

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Nordost SPM Reference, Kimber KCAG, Harmonic Audio Truthlink, Homegrown Audio Silver Lace

I've recently started playing with interconnects again and discovered that they can dramatic improve the sound of a system. I've tried just about every cable on the market; everything from Goertz M2s to Transparent's Music Link Ultra. After listening to most of the cables I could afford in my own system, I narrowed the selection to Cardas's Golden Cross and Transparent's Music Link Super. Both of which offered good values. I chose the Cardas mainly because it sounded a tad more neutral and transparent but it was a hard choice.
The difference between my old Audio Quest Topaz and the Cardas Golden Cross is breath taking. It sounds as though I just bought a new amp and cd player. I never imagined how much of a difference interconnects can make. I'm running the Golden Cross directly between my McCormack DNA 0.5 and my CAL Lab CL15 CD Player and they sound 10X better. If your system is up to Par, make sure to invest in good interconnects, otherwise you're probably missing a ton of musical information that adds to the engagement between you and your music.

This review is actually in reference to the previous generation of Cardas top of the line cables (the Hexalink 5C Golden series). Originally, I had auditioned the Cardas Golden Cross series cable in my all tube system. I liked what I heard in the system and I felt at the time that Cardas and tubes were made to go with each other. There is just so much "harmonic integrity" with these cables. I find that it is this harmonic richness that ties in the separate elements in music to give me the "groove" (along with a tight bass line). As you may know, tubes have very little dampning factor thus not as controlled bass compared to some solid state components.This is due to the low level of negative feedback in most tube designs (rarely above 10dB of feedback). This approach maximizes the microdynamics of the music (air, ambient detail) however at a sacrifice to some macrodynamics (although a high effiency speaker can correct for some of this). Therefore, as owners of tube equipment we must attempt to maximize on the stregnth of our equipment while retaining control of the less than acceptable elements in our systems.
I have found that conventional designs of cables (ie litz, tube, varistrand) were unacceptable in my system because of "ringing" in the high frequencies. Even with the Kimber AG series cables (their reference line) I still experienced some ringing in the high frequencies. The only cable design that I cannot hear this defect in is the Cardas cables (only the Quadlink and above series). Cardas and tubes are made for each other.
To make a long story short, George Cardas and Co. should be congratulated for their contribution to maximizing the performance of tube equipment and making it that much more desirable than solid state. If you haven't heard an all tube setup with Cardas cables I suggest that you listen to one sometime and be prepared to be blown away!
Currently I am using the Hexalink 5C Golden series throughout my system.
Congratulations George!! You've got a winner in our camp!

FINALLY MY SIX MONTH SEARCH FOR A FIX FOR THE "SOMETHING IS WRONG BUT I DONT KNOW WHAT" BLUES HAS ENDED. THE MAGIC POTION CAME IN THE FORM OF NO LESS THAN THE 6TH CABLE AND INTERCONNECT SETUP I HAVE LISTENED TO IN THE SAME AMOUNT OF MONTHS. THE LAST CABLES AND INTERCONNECTS (MIT MI 330 CVT, MH-750 BIWIRE) LEFT MY SYSTEM AT A CONSIDERABLE LOSS TO ME, BUT I AM GLADLY DOING IT BECAUSE THANK GOD THE MUSIC IS STILL ALIVE A CARDAS AUDIO. OTHER CABLES I HAVE TRIED: TRANSPARENT MUSIC WAVE PLUS (HARSH SOUNDING LEAKING EDGE ON MANY FEMALE VOCALS--BUT INTERESTING), AUDIOQUEST FOREST BI WIRE(CANT SEE THE FOREST FROM THE TREES), STRAIGHT WIRE SILVER SURFER--LOUSEY BUILD QUALITY, QUANTUM TIME SPACE(A $100 DOLLAR USED SPEAKER CALBLE--OK BUT MADE CHAMBER MUSIC SOUND BUZZY, SYSERGYSTIC RESEARCH REFERENCE .5 BIWIRE AND LUMINESENCE INTERCONNECT( BI-WIRE CABLES JUST OK, SEEMED TO LACK BASS PUNCH--MY KRELL AMP DID NOT COME THROUGH--THE LUMINESENCE INTERCONNECT WAS VERY GOOD--MY SECOND CHOICE TO THE CARDAS GOLDEN CROSS. MY OTHER COMPONENTS ARE MARTIN LOGAN SL3"S, AND CAL CL-15 CD PLAYER PROCESSOR. MUSIC LISTENED TO VARIES FROM JAZZ TO ROCK TO CONCERT MUSIC. THE CARDAS IN MY OPINION COULD DO NO WRONG, IT MADE CDS THAT PREVIOSLY SOUNDED DEAD COME ALIVE, IT WAS INTERESTING TO LISTEN TO THE WAY THE MUSIC JUST CAME ALIVE ON CDS I HAVE LIVED WITH FOR YEARS. FOR EXAMPLE: MTV UNPLUGGED, 10,000 MANIACS, THIS RECORDING ALWAYS SOUNDED MUDDY AND TUBBY, UNCLEAR WITH A LACK OF TRANSIENTS, MERCHANTS VOICE BURIED WITHIN A HAZE--ENTER CARDAS GOLDEN CROSS--NATALIE"S VOICE TAKES ON A NEW CLARITY--NOT AN INCREASE IN UPPER FREQ. BUT LIKE SHE JUST TOOK ONE OF THOSE FOAM COVERS OF HER MICROPHONE. WHEN I AUDITIONED THESE CABLES I HAD CDS ALL OVER MY LIVING ROOM FLOOR--I BELIEVE I MUST HAVE LISTENED TO CUTS OF 80-100 CD AND ONLY ONE DID I HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT AND THAT WAS EMMYLOU HARRIS, "WRECKING BALL". HOW IS THIS CD SUPPOSED TO SOUND ANYWAY? THESE CABLES HAVE DONE ONE THING NO OTHER EVEN CAME CLOSE TO: MAKE MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS SOUND REAL. THE BEST I HAVE HEARD AT ANY PRICE-PERIOD. CHECK OUT CARDAS AUDIO WEB SIGHT--HE IS PERFECTLY REVEALING ABOUT HOW THEY ARE BUILT, EVEN COMMENDS OTHE BUILDERS ON THEIR BREAKTHOUGHS, VERY INTERESTING READING. SO IF YOU THINK YOU NEED BOXES ON YOUR CABLES THE SIZE OF YOUR KINDERGARDEN LUNCH BOX, FINK A WAY TO BEG BORROW OF STEAL A PAIR OF GOLDEN CROSSES TO AUDITION--YOU JUST MAY FORGET YOUR LUNCHBOX AT SCOOL.

After listening for countless hours and investing thousands of dollars, I have found "sonic nirvana". The Cardas Golden Cross interconnect simply put my investment in perspective. How could we expect to hear what our eqipment has to offer if we install a elecrical constriction between our hard sought after equipment. The instance the cable was installed it took only seconds to revel in soundstage, imaging, depth and height of instruments. I was at lost for words. My system totally became unstressed. It had a open air that just made the recordings more natural and at ease. Macrodynamics and microdynamics were unveiled to my delight. I own Maggies and the first joy I experienced was the increase in articulate bass. The incredible midrange that these speakers possess simply came to life. The treble region lost its' brittleness and became relaxed allowing for long long auditioning sessions. What more can a music lover ask for. Strong recomendation!!!