Cardas, Kimber or Nordost

Cam Baskey -- Tue, 12/21/2010 - 07:16

Can anyone speak to the difference between the Cardas Clear, Kimber Select 1130 and Nordost Valhalla interconnects? Are there other brands of comparable interconnects that I should be considering?

I have Cardas Golden Reference RCA interconnects and am looking to get a pair of XLR interconnects to take advantage of the significantly greater gain I get from XLRs with my Moon i-7 integrated amp. I've tried the Cardas Clear and noticed an improvement in speed and clarity over my Cardas Golden Reference. The Kimber Select 1130 sounds even more clear and fast, with more air and space in the soundstage, making me believe the Cardas Clear still have a touch of the Cardas' warm house sound. However, the Kimbers trade off some of the body and richness of the Cardas Clear to get improved speed, clarity and space. What's driving me nuts is which of these two cables is more "transparent" and true to the recording? Is there an interconnect out there that has the body of the Cardas Clear with the speed, clarity and "airiness" of the Kimber?

Thanks in advance for your advice!

brent -- Tue, 12/21/2010 - 10:17

I have Kimber Select 1030's and I've heard Nordost Odin and Valhalla in my home. I can unequivocally say the Odin is superior to the Valhalla and the Kimber Kable. I didn't directly compare the Valhalla to the Kimber Select 1030, because I think of these wiring looms as systems. I was shocked at how the whole Odin loom totally transformed my system, making every aspect of the sound dramatically better: better, deeper more well-defined bass, far greater speed and transparency, more open and airy treble, far better imaging and soundstaging, etc. The Odin power cords in particular are outstanding and make immediate and very easy to appreciate differences. I've also heard the Transparent Opus MM2 full loom in my system, and it was also outstanding in every aspect. I think that approaching these cable looms as systems is probably as important or more important than which interconnect is better than the other one. I could wholeheartedly recommend either the Transparent or the Nordost Odin systems; both are superior to Kimber Select. - Brent

Cam Baskey -- Sun, 12/26/2010 - 20:37

Thanks Brent. I'm sure the Odin and Opus MM2 are spectacular, but I should have specified that I was hoping to get feedback on cables within the same price range as the Kimber Select 1130s or Cardas Clears (about $2,400 for a 1m pair of interconnects).

You raise an interesting point on approaching cabling as systems. By this I assume you mean running the same cable through out the system, correct? What are your thoughts on keeping the cable system the same brand, even if it isn't the same model? For example, using Cardas Clear interconnect with my Cardas Golden Reference speaker cable rather than switching to a Nordost or Kimber interconnect?

brent -- Sun, 12/26/2010 - 22:32

I do think you'll get best results by sticking with one brand from AC cord to interconnect all the way through to the speaker cables. - Brent