Cardas Audio Clear Beyond Interconnects

It’s here! Three decades in the making, and revisiting every electromechanical and musically natural design known to the House of Cardas, has led to the Cardas Clear Beyond Interconnects. With the XL Power Cord and the Clear Beyond Phono Cable covered by me in previous PF reviews, the bigger, extraordinary interconnects are now up to bat. Will they be in the same exalted company as their siblings?

Technical Specifications

Construction

For more information, see http://www.cardas.com/clear_beyond_ic.php

Based on these construction details, the Clear Beyond contain at least 25% more copper and advanced construction materials than the Clear model. Star-Quad four conductors are utilized for the first time, versus three conductors in the Clear Model. These may be the most complex interconnects on the market today.

My conclusion about the Clear Beyond Interconnects, bottom line is that they are: More neutral. More musical. More transparency. More speed. State of the art depth. Glorious imaging.

For the record, with plenty of XLR/RCA Clear Beyond on hand and installed in two cutting-edge systems, I noticed little difference after using the Cable Cooker for 48 hours, versus right out of the box. The design starts out musical and neutral. Other than Kubala-Sosna designs, in my experience no other manufacturer's wire requires so little break-in to optimum. The copper connectors are robust and elegant, easily and quickly snapping on and off.

(A side note from RHL: Did you know that RCA connectors are the only connectors designed to be self-cleaning? Every time you pull out the connector, you clear a bit of grunge. Same with plugging it back in. The exotic locking WBT connectors, though useful in other ways, actually defeat this positive advantage envisioned by the designers. Just so you know.)

My evaluation of the Cardas Clear Beyond Interconnects was done with my best sources, as follows:

Paravicini Disc Master Turntable, with Stein Music Aventurin Benz LPS Modified MC Cartridge
MAG-LEV ML1 Turntable with Ortofon 2M Black MM Cartridge
EAT Forte S with Grado Epoch MI Cartridge
E.A.R. DAC 4 Tube DAC and Transport
Marantz 10B FM Tuner

After listening to these sources for a number of hours, I can sum up my conclusions pretty easily.

In my experience, the Clear Beyond Interconnects are undoubtedly the very best wire ever produced by Cardas, and in every parameter. Plus, in terms of depth perspective, they are the best I have ever heard regardless of brand or cost. Like the Clear Beyond Phono Cable, the Clear Beyond Interconnects set a new benchmark for utter quiet. All this, and they remain flexible and user-friendly, too. The Cardas Clear Beyond level of complexity requires huge specialization to construct, and yet their ability to snake around corners is unmatched at this premium interconnect level.

One can swim in the textural beauty of this cable. Since it is impossible for cables to add anything (although they certainly may alter the transmitted signal), I perceive the nuanced textural definition as coming from my sources and allowed, maybe for the first time, to proceed unimpeded to my speakers. There is plenty of snap and slam, more than Cardas Interconnects have ever produced to these ears, propelling that beauty to a new sense of realism. With each turntable, one clearly hears cartridge differences and vinyl reproduction techniques. With the DAC, music is emphasized while distortion is reduced. I have no idea why, but…so what?!

The Bass

If you have plenty of quality metal on board, the bass usually improves. That is a big understatement with the Clear Beyond. The bass is even, very deep, and textured just as perfectly as the mids. That wonderful air and soundstage depth permeates the bass and enhances tonality. Imaging in the bass range is as specific and rounded as in the midrange. There is a complete lack of noise and phase distortion even on the most high-resolution speakers with all Accuton drivers. Reduced noise is the whole ballgame to me. Everybody makes high-resolution wire more or less, but lowering the noise floor makes the music more alive and imaging more specific.

The techniques for lowering noise vary from brand to brand, but the Cardas Audio method, based on brilliant construction and design parameters, gives you lower noise with a 100% passive method. Whether it is the Clear Beyond phono cable or the interconnects, you will love the quiet.

I review a lot of cables because I am convinced that connectivity is the final high-end audio frontier. The Cardas Clear Beyond gives you wondrous progress in eliminating coloration and distortion. All of this, however, comes at a price. The Clear Beyonds are their most expensive cable design. On the other hand, for the audiophile perfectionist with rather deep pockets, they are a welcome lower-cost bargain compared to most boutique cable brands imported here, which can get really expensive.

Quibbles

There appears to be a trend of not including a locking mechanism in the XLR cable connectors...strictly push in and pull out. The Cardas Clear features this innovation. In my opinion, this locking mechanism is one of the big advantages to the super-stable XLR hookup.

As my mother used to say, please leave well enough alone.

Summary

The Cardas Audio Clear Beyond Interconnects bring Cardas into the rarefied world of super cables, and set the standard for depth reproduction and quiet for them all. They are a leap forward for this prestigious brand and their resident genius, George Cardas. The engineering design is inspired and their neutrality and musicality are exceptional. The extraordinary quiet enhances the imaging, adding snap and realism. Cardas Audio Clear Beyond Interconnects are set-and-forget, giving us fanatics the ability to just listen to our systems and happily conjure up new components to acquire.

I highly recommend the Cardas Audio Clear Beyond Interconnects.

Congratulations, George!

Cardas Audio Clear Beyond Interconnects

Retail: one meter $3750; two meters $5350

Cardas Audio, Ltd.

480 11th St SE

Bandon, Oregon 97411

541.347.2484

www.cardas.com

[email protected]

All images courtesy of Cardas Audio