Cardas ICs

zingo

Does any here use Cardas interconnects? I have heard very good reviews elsewhere including magazines, but haven't seen much chatter here. Their factory ICs can be pretty pricey, but their bulk wires are more affordable; ie their Crosslink cable.

zingo

Here is a picture of the Crosslink IC cable. How is this wire terminated in an unbalanced cable like they offer from the factory? Where does the uninsulated wire go? :o:confused:

ben62670

You would tie the drain wire to the ground on the source end, and not attach it on the destination end;) It would act as a shield in this fashion.
Ben

zingo

Thanks Ben. That's what I thought and have been doing with the shield on my cables, but the Cardas stuff has the drain wire plus full shielding.
I guess I'm just not used to stuff that fancy...

zingo

I think I'm going to pull the trigger and make a pair of these ICs. I've heard it's good stuff, and it's Cardas, so how bad could it be?

AndyGwis

I have some Cardas G-Series and Microtwin 300B ICs and have had a couple other cables from the over the years. They all sound great to my ears and are really easy to resell on Agon.

I'd buy with confidence if you find a good price on anything cardas.

mantis

We carry Cardas but I have not had a chance to sit and listen to any. We carry a lot of different high end wire that I want to get my hands on. I will report back when I do. I do know this, all the 2 channel guys are way into Cardas. They all use it over everything else we carry.

Dan

zingo

Well, I ended up buying a pair of Crosslink ICs on Ebay from a Cardas OEM dealer since I was able to get them for less then the actually parts would have cost me. I'll report back when I get them hookup. Needless to say, I'm excited...

zingo

I used my new ICs yesterday and they are the best I've used. The finish on them is perfect and the parts themselves are of the highest quality. When I plugged them in and let the tubes warm up, the music sound more alive. It had a subtle warmness and removed all the harsh or shrillness that my penny interim ICs showed. They also reveled slightly more detail and the sound stage was better placed. I am very happy with my purchase and will be a customer of Cardas for life.

Mike Reeter

Sounds like you have picked a winner....I need some new i/c's that will give me the same results.

Have you got a link for that dealer?

Thanks

zingo

http://www.festivalic.com/

Mike Reeter

Are yours anything like these? http://cgi.ebay.com/3-Cardas-Crosslink-interconnects-with-RCAs-or-XLRs_W0QQitemZ120353521535QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item120353521535&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1234%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318%7C301%3A0%7C293%3A1%7C294%3A50

zingo

Mine are very similar except they have marking heat-shrink. Just make sure that they are using Cardas silver solder. I feel it's a waste to use Cardas wire and silver plated connecters with basic solder. Just for a reference, that bare cable retails for around $8 per foot, and the connectors are about $10 each.

Mike Reeter

Their web page states that they use Cardas connectors and Cardas silver solder.

At that price,I think I'll try a pair.

Thanks again,Mike

fbm211

Drew at moon audio aims to please and does very good work.Ive ordered some stuff from him and was very happy with the quality and service.I plan on trying his silver dragonII ICs in the future.

zingo

Here are two pictures i just snapped.

nikolas812

Wow!

Those look really nice. Nice job!






Nick

AndyGwis

Nice cables!

I have some Cardas I'm not currently using if anyone wants to give them a shot. I can post these in FS if there is interest.

1M RCA Interconnects, Cardas 300B Microtwin, excellent condition
.5M RAC Interconnects, Cardas G-Series Reference II, excellent condition

Feel free to PM me if interested and we can try to work out pricing if anyone wants to try some Cardas! May have some Cardas XLRs and Speaker cables around, too.

zingo

PM sent Andy