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Cardas Audio Quadlink 5C
12 Reviews
rating  4.42 of 5
MSRP 
Description: 


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Rating
Reviewed by:
raymundo24
(AudioPhile)

Review Date
June 9, 2003

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
1 to 3 months

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 1 votes

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Review NaN of , from Concord, CA. USA

Price Paid:  $375.00 from Audio Advisor

Summary:
I’ve always heard that an upgrade in speaker cable would really boost the sound of a stereo system, so when I had the opportunity to buy a pair of demo models of Cardas Quadlink-5 C speaker cables in 4.5 meter length at about 40% off I couldn’t resist. At that price the cost per foot per single cable was $13.90, alot more than the $1.50 per foot price of the Monster M500 speaker cable I had hooked up to my system, but cheaper than the Cardas $23.20 retail per foot price for 4.5 meter lengths.

The difference between the Cardas and the Monster is like night and day! The Cardas is that much better. It's like someone took the low flow head out of the shower, and one got a full burst of water.

With the Cardas music is much smoother, and neutral. It is also more transparent and one can really tell where musicians are positioned spatially.

Additionally, the instruments sound like they are supposed to, as opposed to a muddy blend even with songs with heavy layering like heavy metal.

As a former amateur roadie and musician I’m fully aware what most musical instruments are supposed to sound like live. It is chilling when instruments like snare drums, cymbals, acoustic violins and guitars and vocals sound life like!

The Cardas helps bring out the true sound of the source material through my JM Lab speakers, and I am able to hear more nuances of the music that I never heard before with the M500. Louder, more natural.

Now one might wonder how I could compare Cardas to a cheaper speaker cable without comparing it to something more comparable like Kimber 8TC or Audioquest Granite? Well the truth is this is not a fair comparison, but who has the time and money to be buying such expensive cables just to do a taste test? Not me, especially when most local electronics stores don’t even carry such exotic cabling, and to do such a in-depth comparison I’d have to special order things that aren't return able mail-order.

If you like your music neutral, detailed and uncolored then I think you will find the Cardas Quadlink-5 C speaker cable is a great choice.

My system is listed below, so you can compare what is used to play through the Cardas Quadlink-5 C speaker cable.


My system is listed below, so you can compare what is used to play through the Cardas Quadlink-5 C speaker cable.

System:
Marantz SR-18 Receiver
JM Lab Electra 915 Speakers
Parasound CD/P-2000 CD (HDCD) Player with Kimber Silver Streak .5m Interconnects,
Denon DVD-2900 DVD-Audio/SACD Player with Audioquest Viper 1.0m Interconnects for left/right fronts,
Adcom ACE-615 Line Conditioner

Strengths:
Sounds very neutral, with large soundstage, transparency, spatial detail and even greater detail that can be heard from the source material.

Weaknesses:
The split part of the cable that separates the positive and negative terminations was terminated kind of short and the spades didn’t quite fit on the binding post comfortably, so on a few connections I had to bind the spades to banana plugs to make the connection work.

Similar Products Used:
Monster Cable M500 Speaker Cable


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Rating
Reviewed by:
Michen
(AudioPhile)

Review Date
May 20, 2003

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 3 of 5

Used product for
Less than 1 month

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Review NaN of , from Germany

Price Paid:  $100.00 from eBay

Summary:
I found this cable to fit best into my equipment after a long search for the right cable. I use an audiolab (camtech) amplifier with audiolab DAC/transport. All cables I tried before (Kimber, Audioquest, wireworld) always sounded a bit too harsh, listening fatigue was very high as the equipment sounds pretty much "on the edge" and sharp itself. So my suggestion to you is to try this one out if you have a similar configuration: Cardas will please your ears. But if you already have a system that sounds warm (like NAD, etc.) you might be thinking twice as it's probably overkill.

Strengths:
Smooth, warm sound. No listening fatigue. Deals great with hardrock/pop music. Also good soundstage and silky vocals.

Weaknesses:
Some details remain hidden, bass is sometimes a bit muddy (it's funny: though it has punch somehow). Here in Germany it's too pricey if you buy it in retail.

Similar Products Used:
Kimber, Wireword, cicable, Audioquest


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Rating
Reviewed by:
miga
(Audio Enthusiast)

Review Date
March 31, 2002

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
Less than 1 month

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Review NaN of , from Hong Kong

Price Paid:  $200.00 from Hong Kong

Summary:
good cable with excellent quality I just
used it from preamp to power amp and find
it very warm (thick sound) good sound stage, with good bass too.

Strengths:
good soundstage good bass good vocals on mid-range and smooth treble .......

Weaknesses:
round off treble, a bit vague for imagine ... but not so important

Similar Products Used:
SO MANY .... XLO VDH Straightwire wireworld gutwire really so many


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Rating
Reviewed by:
Jongky Ku
(AudioPhile)

Review Date
February 23, 2002

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

Used product for
Less than 1 month

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Review NaN of , from Hong Kong

Price Paid:  $190.00

Summary:
My config:
Cary Audio Design CAD A-80
Sony X-A5ES
Audio Note DAC Zero
Rogers LS 3/5A

Strengths:
Crispy n tight bass. Nice soundstage.
Clear.

Weaknesses:
Still, haven't found

Similar Products Used:
Tara Labs Air3


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Rating
Reviewed by:
Jeremy See
(Audio Enthusiast)

Review Date
October 14, 2001

Overall Rating
 3 of 5

Value Rating
 3 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
1.00 of 5, 1 votes

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Review NaN of , from Malaysia

Price Paid:  $220.00

Summary:
This cable is very good in vocal reproduction but bit hard in high. Bass is too loose. Still prefer MIT.
I've try on two AMP, Copland and Marantz. Is sounds better on Copland but AQ and MIT did a greater job.

Strengths:
Forward, bright and good in mid

Weaknesses:
Less setail in high, bass not tight enoug

Similar Products Used:
Mit T2, Ixos 100, AudioQuest


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