Your metal's mettle

Cardas Golden Reference and Cross Interconnects

It’s weird to want to start a blog post by talking enthusiastically about the sound of metal, but then again, this is to be a blog post about cables.

But when I say metal, I don’t refer to the actual conductor materials in the cable, though they play a big role.
I’m talking instead about the sound of cymbals, the influence of interconnects on the sound, and how that’s one of my go-to testing and evaluating tools.

I’m in the camp that believes subtle audio differences are experienced at least partly subconsciously, and quick A/B comparisons don’t let your brain settle into the sound of any option.

For my sound quality evaluations, I like to sink into a track for a while in one mode, let the thoughts about the sound quality flow, and then not worry so much about hastening the switch between modes or components.

I make the switch, re-queue the track, and then settle in again, with focus on what new thoughts are created in my brain. After the experience, I mentally compare the two sessions, and I repeat if there is ambiguity.

Well, there wasn’t much ambiguity left over today after listening to these Cardas Golden Reference XLR cables. My testing rig cables are really nothing to sneeze at — without naming names, I have two choices for XLR interconnects: one that is of mid-tier pricing and one whose cost is quite up there. One uses air as a dielectric exclusively (the expensive one), and the other uses a special teflon foam as dielectric.

We received a few pairs of Cardas XLR interconnects from a consigner today, and I had the pleasure of running each of them through my testing process to compare to my cables.

The test track was “Imaginary Day,” the first track on the Pat Metheny Group album of the same name. What I heard on both the Golden Reference and the Cardas Cross interconnects that I didn’t hear with mine, was much more accurate metal, er- cymbals.

Drummer Paul Wertico’s work on this track is a little more busy than on others, so it’s a great test piece. What both Cardas cables gave me when Paul hit the splash and crash cymbals was not thoughts of the cymbals themselves, but remarking that what I was hearing really sounded like real metal.

There’s real depth and movement to the tone of real metal ringing out, and you know it when you hear it. While both gave me more of a sensation of that metal realism, the Cardas Cross seemed to compliment the excellent high end with a bit more solid low end.

Both were clear steps up from what I’ve got, and a quick search at www.tmraudio.com reveals quite a few choices of Cardas interconnect and speaker cables available.

I don’t know why anyone would buy new cables when you can find gently used and fully burned-in cables at amazing discounts from us. Take a peek and try a new pair out! They may just bring the realism back to the sound of metal in your system — and a great many other things.