Cardas Clear Beyond Phono cable

 

This is such an expensive cable! Yes, but who is going to buy it? Surely no uf you have a $1000 tonearm.

But, for the lucky ones that can own a reference tonearm, is such a cable worthed?

I will put it simple: it is not only worthed but it is a bargain! There are many phono cables in this price range and above, and one thing is sure the Clear Beyond surely belongs to the range above its price.

The most beautiful thing about this cable is its coesive easiness with everything. Everything is expressed without struggle or too much fluidity that can be boring even if at times seducing. 

The one thing that is really Beyond is its silence. It does not pick up any noise and it does not have any noise from its own. Just compare it with any other cable and you will easily realise it. There is also  no trace of metal conductur signature. You cannot guess either it is silver or copper or whatever. 

Its transparency is exceptionally good as its soundstage. But every detail is perfectly integrated in the music message. This is a very uncommon thing to achieve. Generally when you have a very detailed cable, it makes the details sounding like in another dimension in time that is different from the music.

Also their nature can appear to be from another happening. It is difficult to explain, but it is for this reason that details can be too much of a good thing and harsh. It is like a frequency get separated from the whole message. The Clear Beyond achieve the rare thing of being very detailed and musical at the same time as no other cable I have tried so far can.

And it is fast without being dry. And here again the beyond gets "beyond" another paradox in hifi reproduction. When a cable is fast generally is short in reproducing notes decays. And also feels it simplify  the musical message somehow. This generally tends the  rithm of the music to be perceived more easily.  But it can sound a little dry. The Clear Beyond allow a beautifull decay being fast at the same time and never letting the tempo in the second seat. Maybe it is a question of ultimate time control or maybe it is a question of not letting the signal being polluted by noises or by any kind of distortions. Anyway this managing of tempo (PRAT) and decays is unique among cables. Expecially if we add that the reproduction of depth is magnificent. The reproduction of depth most of the times does not go hand in hand with good ritmic capabilities in hifi staff.

All these characteristics allows the instruments timbres to be fully develloped, and also the bad recording to sound bad, but not as bad as with other top cables. Because there is more of everything.

And then its bass... Deep, controlled, fast but breathing at the same time.  The bass has space to breath with this cable. The best reproduction of bass of every phono cable I have ever listened to.

And I guess every of all these most of the time reciprocatly exclusive factors brings at the last for me inesplicable characteristic: this cable has wamth. Most of the times this feeling is given by a curtain effects on the high frequencies, or a slightly fattening of the mid bass region. But in the Clear Beyond the high frequencies are extremely well extended and the mid bass region is the best of any other cable I have tried. I feel it achieve this characteristic avoiding faulse harshness and being true transparent. I guess the true transparency allows timbres to be beautifully portraied and the lack of distortions, even the pleasents ones, togheter with the true transparency brings this wamth out. For this reason I will say it is a different kind of warmth of which we audiophiles are used to. It is a kind of natural warmth, results of lack of intrusion of "bad" things. 

After fews moths of using this cable with few cartridges, phono preamp, amps and speakers  and the needed connecting cables I have come also to one conclusion: whenever you try to identify something that you don't like in this cable you are identifying something that you are not liking somewhere else in the audio chain. Once you think it is forward, then you change preamplifier you realise it is the preamp or the cartridge you are using with it and so on. For this same reason it is absolutely not a fixing cable. It allows you to fix the chain keeping it as a stable actor. If you think it is its fault you are deeply wrong...

This was one of the easiest review for me. 

I have listened to more expensive phono cables that can do something better then the Clear Beyond does, or at least we are more readily aware of these advantages, maybe because umbalanced from the integrity of their total musical portray,  but these "betters" were always less important in comparison of the "betters" the Beyond is capable of. The Beyond generally did better were music count the most.

Without any doubt one of the best cables ever built.

An absolute masterpiece.

I truly compliment Mr. Cardas for this achievement.