I use Neutral Reference between DAC and Pre and Between Phono-Pre and Pre. So far they best everything else I try in those positions. While they are "warmish" sounding, I find that with careful listening they tend to have "more detail" than some other seemingly more detailed wires. By this I mean the nuances such as the naturalness of the "full spectrum" sound of cymbals, wire brushes on a snare drum, "air" from a saxaphone, air vibrating off off a concert bass drum, rosin on a violin or cello bow/string interaction, the ambience and power of a pipe organ, etc. I've also heard much of their newer line of product and those seem more neutral (like the neutral reference) and nicely and naturally detailed with a richness that seems more natural for some critical interfaces in the system. I've not used the newer power cords, but the old Quadlink 5C Power cord was one of my all time favorites as it was great for DACS, Pre's, even small integrated amps. I have heard systems (including my very own component compliment) at a local dealer fully wired (power, IC, speaker) with upper line Cardas and it was about as perfect as I could imagine (but pricey). I think George knows what he is doing, but cable technology has come a long way. I've not heard similarly priced offerings from WW and Shunyata, so I don't know how they stack up overall. As a musician since age 3.5 with what i believe to be reasonably well tuned ears, I think the Cardas line has merit and tremendous musicality to it. It does require long break in times, and it does require very careful listening keeping the "live sound reference" in mind to truly appreciate Cardas' Cables IMHO. They are kind of like the speaker you pass over the first time or two that you buy speakers, but then realize that, based upon initial or immediate impression, the "less impressive" speaker is sometimes the "better" speaker.
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