Magic, romantic glory, soundstage, focus. The opposite of 'lean'. Very satisfying - the total solution for some systems. Loves precise and detailed solid-states but also magical with tube equipment.

Strange, but I found edge and glare treble at first. Too bold bass regions for some.

First , this interconnect needs at least 200 hours (yes...more than 150 for sure) to sound musical and magic. It may sounds 'romantic' -at first- to your ears but put some violin solo or concerto CDs in your class A smooth,dark,rich,velvetly sounding CD player and you will notice edge, treble glare and hardness = too sharp for violins. But only at the upper regions, strangely not hard/harsh with voices. This will fortunetly dissapear in a great percentage after a lot of playing. Bass is another strange thing with this cable. Its not so detailed and well defined as with other similar-priced cables. Somewhat wooly. But also woody and organic combined with romance. I love this cable for rock , but you may need more transparency and detail. Microdynamically its one of the best ever - macrodynamically I would say, less analytical , more force and boldness with warm, all together. But not muted at all. It prefers solid-state amplifiers. Especially with piano recordings it may adds the needed 'magic' of fullness and woodyness of the right-hand piano notes , previously missing in such degree from your (rather lean) amp. In general, a strange , wonderful, marvellous, romantic and smooth interconnect with somehow a very strange phenomenon at treble: Hard and edgy trebles at the first months of listening but not so in the midrange and somehow not so transparent overall. Class A precise soundstage, image focus, with the very strange antithesis: opacity, extreme fullness that is more obvious with good recordings [of rock or orchestral] with a touch (rather plenty) of warmth , less detail than top silver cables but satisfying in a way that is very rare. Somewhat comfused in the low-regions with complex recordings.

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Many many...

Neutral, Bold, Warm, Perfect, Real-life violin reproduction. Perfect Balance. Top low-end extension.

Cannot think any.

By far the best cable (interconnect RCA 1.0m) for real music lovers. Timing, rythm, right amount of analysis, balance, low extension, real-life presentation. Dont think anything else. Its a top high-end cable - one of the best in the world today - if not the best. Perfect stage reproduction.

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Neutral Hyper Detailed Hyper Revealing Fast Attack

Nothing. Nada. Zip

I bought the Cardas Neutral Reference ICs (0.5m) from an Audiogon member. These cables are known to be close to neutral. They are hyper revealing of details, timbral accuracy, speed and attack in music. They also help me to spot deficiencies in my current audio rig (which prompts me to upgrade yet again). I think that these cables are very valuable in that regard and I will keep them to gauge the overall quality of those future components. Few cables can do that...

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DiMarzio M-PATH ICs (1m)

Astonishing clarity, neutrality and detail

Can sound thin

I can't imagine using this cable throughout a whole system--I use balanced Cardas Golden Reference for that--but as phono cable it is astonishingly detailed and precise, and a real bargain. I would not recommend it for any system which uses (what I at least feel are) bright, thin-leaning interconnects like XLO and Tara, but I have been delighted with one length in the phono circuit.

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Cardas Golden Reference, Straightwire Virtuoso Gold

Very netrual,clear and reasonable price

Very suitable for japan made amp andd cd player.
It doesn't add any color or additive to my system. The best cable that I ever met.

speed, resolution and clarity, able to leap long distances in a single bound...

may not mate well with bright-sounding components

Recently got some 15' bi-wired lengths, and am increasingly blown away with how well these work with my system. I select for speed and timbral accuracy, currently using cj preamp, BEL power amps, and Spendor SP-1/2E speakers with an REL sub. These speaker cables work extremely well with this system, as I get almost the speed of the alpha-cores (which were real fast, but kind of thin in the lower midrange), and surprisingly good truth of timbre. What I find particularly interesting is the nature of the low and mid-bass; compared with other cables these may at first sound thin in this range, but upon closer inspection, you realize that the timbral and rhythmic values are excellent; you simply are not hearing the pad of warm ooze that lesser cables provide through smearing in this range. I'm also downright startled by the image depth I hear on certain recordings, and by the resolution of electronic sounds; I continue to hear newly-revealed characteristics in synthesizer patches that I've heard many times before. Their quality is perhaps best summed up by their ability to convey the tangy sound of the vibraphone: a tough instrument to reproduce given its muted yet sharp attack, cotton-candy-hollow core, and characteristic beat frequencies arsing from the even-tempered overtone characteristics. Yes, these cables are working very well for me, but I can also see where they would not mate well with systems that tend to sound thin in the mid-range, or that have etched high ranges. The lack of euphony inherent in these cables will kill your system if your cables are smoothing out such characterstics in your equipment.

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Dunlavy, Alpha-Core

This is the new kid on the block and inadequate components BEWARE! This latest offeratory from Uncle George is kicking up some dust amongst the golden-eared armchair crowd. Originally created for Cardas's base facility for developmental purposes; this " soundless " design has been endorsed by a large percentage of reviewers and retailers alike. I recently purchased 2, 1 metre pairs of interconnects to replace my Hexlink Golden 5-c in my tube-based system. Although I thoroughly appreciated the Hex, I discovered sounds and artifacts when substituting to the Neutral Ref. This cable is appropriately named and sub-standard components need not apply. Bass response is notably lighter than earlier designs( in my set-up) but soundstaging and tonal balance can be remarkable in the right system. Cardas Neutral Ref. "tells the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. It may not be the right cable for everybody, but if you posess top-dog source and amplification and are tired of your cables dictating how your final sound is achieved,give the Neutral Ref. a try

Very good. They really pickup on the quality of your equipment. So,if you have a problem you'll definitely hear it. Whereas if you don't....

I have just picked up a pair of 1 meter length single-ended Neutral Reference to replace another very good (level 4)interconnects from Straightwire. The NR is just exactly what it's name suggest - neutral reference ! If you have high quality source components, the NR will give you nothing but the truth, no coloration, no exaggeration, no spices, just pure music from your source. I have much more expensive interconnects in my system but I am placing the NR at the very front - the source! Give it a try. The NR represents great value amongst any class of interconnects.

Wonderfully made.

My system includes a single ended tube amplifier and tube pre amp .These speaker cables don't add much or detract from the clarity and bloom of my 2A3 amplifier. That is a beautiful thing.I dont think anyone knows what neutral truly is,but to my ears these cables come pretty close to that ideal.Simply put ,they reveal what your system is all about.For me ,thats the whole point.

Similar Products Used:

Cardas golden reference,JPS,Alpha Core