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  • About Cardas | Cardas Audio

    Since 1987, Cardas Audio has manufactured high performance cables, premium connectors, and our proprietary Quad Eutectic Solder, all of which is used in some of the finest audio systems in the world. Learn about our products, and contact us with any technical questions you might have. About Cardas About Cardas Audio A brief history of Cardas Audio is below. However this video, "American Made: Cardas Clear Beyond" , produced by Jana Dagdagan in 2021, tells the story of current-day Cardas Audio beautifully. A Brief History of Cardas Audio Cardas Audio is located in Bandon, a small town (population 3, 321) on the Southern Oregon Coast, about 1.5 hours north of the California border. We specialize in premium audio cables, consisting of multi-stranded Litz conductors, featuring our own ultra-pure copper. We also produce high quality connectors, chassis wire, bulk cable, and accessories for home & pro audio systems. Our company was founded in Ontario, California, in 1987, by George Cardas. George’s previous career was as a line engineer with the telephone company. He had a strong background in challenges of transmitting audio over cable. He was also an avid, and quite successful, semi-pro racing driver. He and his machinist, Mike Colver, came to realize that Golden Ratio proportions could be applied to various aspects of engine and exhaust design. And the results were often so successful that their designs would be banned in their racing league for giving them an unfair advantage. A music lover and HiFi enthusiast, George came to realize that cables were a limiting factor in his audio system. He began experimenting with cable design, applying what he knew from his career with the telephone company, and using Golden Ratio scaling of conductors to reduce resonance, and came up with some very effective designs. His cable consisted of multi-stranded Litz conductors. In a Litz conductor, every strand of wire has an enamel coating to eliminate cross talk, and to prevent oxidation of the copper. George's conductors featured Golden Ratio scaled strands, in which the smallest strands were at the center, with each layer of wire being a Golden Ratio step (1:1.618) larger than the layer beneath it. This stranding is a micro-resonance control technique, and George was awarded two US patents (4,980,517 & 4,628,151) for his cable & conductor designs. He also found the last copper producer in the US who could make ultra-pure, fine copper wire to his specifications. They were on the verge of closing their doors, but George made a deal with them - keep going, and I'll keep ordering copper. The copper they produced with George's method is the purest, highest quality copper wire available. His next challenge was getting a cable factory to take him seriously and produce his designs for him. Most of them dealt exclusively with military contracts, and were accustomed to making many thousands of feet of cable at a time. George just wanted a few hundred feet to see if it would sell. Through persistence, he finally persuaded a vendor in Southern California to produce his designs. He made cables for friends, and got enthusiastic positive feedback. But to make it a business, he had to get his cable into stores. He once again faced resistance. But he finally got his local stereo shop to give his cables a try. The owner was reluctant, but agreed to audition the cables. George came back a few days later, and the guy was blown away. He became George’s first dealer, and sales slowly but steadily grew. At first, George and some friends would terminate cables in the family garage, and George continued to work at the phone company. But soon, the cable business showed signs of becoming self sustaining. He and his wife, Darcy, decided it made sense for him to take early retirement, and focus on Cardas Audio. Before long, the Cardas “factory” moved out of the garage, and into a space in an industrial park. And business continued to grow, with new dealers in the US, and distributors in other countries, signing on to represent the cables. George and Darcy’s oldest daughter, Mary, ran the business side of the company, while George focused on product design. A few years later, in 1992, when the lease came up on the manufacturing space, George and Darcy thought it made sense to consider other options. They could renew the lease and stay put, or… maybe move somewhere else. They decided to drive up the west coast, eventually stopping in Bandon, Oregon. They fell in love with the small town, and decided to move the ocmpany north, bringing with them their staff. Expect Mary. She decided to stay in Southern California. So they brought their middle daughter, Colleen, to take over as manager. Over the years, both Bandon and Cardas grew. Once primary a cranberry farming town, a new golf resort just north of the city, Bandon Dunes, really put Bandon on the map. And George continued to work on new cable ideas. Whereas his early cables, such as Hexlink and Golden Cross, helped tame the edge of early digital recordings, he started to work on more revealing and sonically accurate cables such as Neutral Reference and Golden Reference. And these new cables sold really well. George continued to work on cable designs, most recently receiving US Patent US7674973B2 for what we call the Matched Propagation Conductor. This conductor matches the propagation rate of the signal in the conductor, which is essentially light speed, to that of the dielectric materials, which are generally 30% slower than the speed of light. This mismatch has plagued audio cables since the beginning of the telephone age, causing smeared, unintelligible audio over long distances. Telephone companies attempted to solve the issue using loading coils, developed by Mihajlo Pupin in the early 20th century. George’s solution is much more graceful - and effective - utilizing specific wire-winding pitches and carefully selected dielectric materials, eliminating the issue within the cable, and continuously throughout the cable. Our Matched Propagation Conductors are used in all of our cables within the Clear range, which includes Clear Sky, Clear Cygnus, Clear SE9 MP, Clear Reflection, Clear, and Clear Beyond. Today, Cardas Audio is managed by George & Darcy’s youngest daughter, Angela. George continues to be the head designer of Cardas products, and he and Darcy split their time between Bandon, and Chapala, Mexico. And our capable staff holds down the fort while they’re away

  • All Connectors | Cardas Audio

    In the early days of Cardas Audio, George Cardas realized that there was a lack of high quality connectors for his cables. So he designed and started making his own. We now offer many different audio connectors, plated with silver & rhodium, for cables, speakers, and electronic equipment. Connectors As with all Cardas products, our connectors are available through any Cardas dealer or distributor . This includes any physical store that carries our cables, or any online dealer . However we have dealers that specialize in parts & connectors who may be more knowledgeable about our parts offerings, and are more likely to have our parts in stock. Manufacturers who wish to purchase our parts in large quantities can buy directly from Cardas Audio. Read more about our OEM program at this link . If you have technical questions about our parts, or assistance in choosing the best connector for your product or project, please contact Brian in our tech support department . Spades Bananas RCA Males RCA Females XLR Connectors DIN Connectors Binding Posts Power Connectors Headphone Connectors Phone Plugs Bulk Cable & Wire Cardas Solder How-To Videos

  • What Goes Into A Cardas Cable? | Cardas Audio

    From our Ultra Pure, Grade 1 Cardas Copper, to our Golden Ratio Scaled multi-stranded Litz conductors, and our quality terminations using Cardas Quad Eutectic Solder performed by our talented terminator staff, read about the basic building blocks of a Cardas Cable. Cardas Cables An Overview Of What Goes In To A Cardas Cable Cardas Cables The basic building blocks of a Cardas cable have been constant since day one: Our own, Ultra Pure Copper, produced using our proprietary method. Multi-stranded Litz conductors, with strand size varying in Golden Ratio steps. Top quality dielectric materials and innovative air-tube dielectric suspension techniques. Premium connectors machined from copper & brass, plated with silver, and a flash of rhodium. Terminations performed by skilled craftsmen, using Cardas Quad Eutectic Solder and Cardas Rosin Flux Soldering Paste. These design elements were present in the original Cardas cables, like Quadlink & Hexlink, and former flagships such as Golden Cross & Golden Reference. Our Clear cable line combines all of this with Matched Propagation Technology , thesubject of George’s most recent patent (US Patent 7,674,973), which matches the propaga- tion rate of the conductor to that of the dielectric, eliminating time-smear distortion, improving musical integrity and dynamic range. Cardas Copper At the heart of a Cardas cable is our Ultra Pure Cardas Copper . Mined in the Southwest USA and processed the Northeast, we employ proprietary drawing and annealing techniques to create the highest quality, purest copper strands. A Single Poly-Nylon coating is applied to prevent oxidation, and eliminate crosstalk between strands. To examine the differences in grain structure between standard copper wire, continuous cast copper wire, and Cardas copper, we took examples of each and electrically etched away the outer skin, revealing what lies beneath. Viewed through a microscope, we can clearly see major differences. Standard OFHC copper wire is full of impurities (hence the dull appearance), and has irregular and chaotic grain structure. Cast copper appears more pure than standard OFHC, and has a more uniform, albeit imperfect grain structure, than standard OFHC copper, which is revealed when you look beneath the surface. Cardas Grade 1 Ultra Pure copper is smooth from the surface to the core, owing to our exceedingly slow and methodical drawing process. This is why Cardas copper is featured in many other high-end audio products, and used in laboratories worldwide for its superior electrical and thermal conductive properties. Standard OFHC copper wire Continuous cast copper wire Cardas Grade 1 Ultra Pure copper wire Golden Ratio Scaled Conductors As implied by our Nautilus Shell logo, the Golden Ratio is applied to many Cardas products, including our Litz conductor designs. In a Cardas multi-stranded Litz conductor, the smallest wires are at the cen- ter, with each layer increasing in size at a Golden Ratio step (1:1.618). This innovative micro resonance control technique was the subject of one of George Cardas’ first US patents, and is present in all of our cables & chassis wires. Matched Propagation The subject of George’s 2008 US Patent (7,674,973), our Clear product line features Matched Propagation Technology , in which the propagation rate of the conductor is controlled through its internal geometry to match that of the dielectric material. These conductors overcome challenges dating back to the early days of the telephone. However, whereas those conductor/dielectric mismatches were dealt with using network boxes, Matched Propagation Conductors solve the problem within the cable itself - keeping the signal intact the entire way, rather than attempting to fix it after the fact. Terminations Terminating, or “putting a connector on” a Cardas multi-stranded Litz conductor requires skill and special equipment. We use our own Cardas Quad Eutectic Solder and Cardas Rosin Flux Soldering Paste, along with 800oF (427oC) irons & 700oF (371oC) solder pots. Our flagship speaker cables are terminated with a solder-less, compression die forging process in which the copper of the conductor and connector fuse together as one. These procedures are performed by our talented staff of Cardas Terminators, with decades of combined experience.

  • Quadlink X | Cardas Audio

    Quadlink X speaker cable. Quadlink was based on our legendary Quadlink speaker cable, offering performance improvements. Quadlink X Interconnect Quadlink X Speaker The original Quadlink speaker cable launched in the mid 80's was one of Cardas Audio's most successful products. It stood the test of time. Quadlink X speaker was designed to offer better performance in all areas. Bigger bass, more detail, more richness. Quadlink X uses a similar geometry with a modified star-quad, larger air tubes, larger conductors, and advanced dielectrics. Quadlink X speaker is suitable for virtually any amp and speaker combination including those with difficult loads. In spite of exceeding our performance goals, Quadlink X became a victim of bad timing, as we had developed Cross speaker cable at the same time, and the two would have occupied similar price & performance points. So we shelved Quadlink X for the time being. Cross being long retired, we decided we'd release Quadlink X into the wild. The supply sold fast, with the only remaining Quadlink X being available through our dealer Music Direct . Standard Terminations: CABE banana Design/Construction: Conductors: Grade 1, 99.9999% pure OFHC with SPN clear coat(Litz), gauge sizes scaled to Golden Ratio proportions. Cross-fieldlayer geometry, insulated in a FEP jacket.Geometry: Star-quad with teflon air tubes. PVC outer jacket. Geometry: Twisted pair with natural cotton filler bound with FEP tape wrap. Tin plated copper spiral shield, PVC outer jacket. Gauge: 4X11.5 AWG Outside Diameter: .5"/13mm

  • Music | Cardas Audio

    Music on LP and CD recorded by George Cardas. Including the Cardas Frequency Sweep LP. Music Music Recorded & Produced by George Cardas 180 Gram Vinyl CD Frequency Sweep & Burn-in LP The Cardas Frequency Sweep and Burn-in Record is a unique tuning tool for system set-up, diagnostics and maintenance. It was produced by George Cardas and mastered by Stan Ricker. The ³Sweeper², in addition to the standard tones, includes relative and absolute polarity checks, vocal channel identification and frequency sweeps that ultrasonically clean the cartridge stylus and degauss the entire system. And, locked, pink noise grooves that repeat endlessly, blank plateaus, even a sync label to check platter speed. All on a 180 gram pressing with a smiling Stan cover. Format: 180 gram vinyl LP Part number: P47.9 Vinyl Pleasure & Pain Ben Harper & Tom Freund Produced & Engineered by George Cardas, March 15, 1992, using Studer A-80 Tape Recorder, Cardas Differential Mics, and Cardas Hexlink Golden 5c cables. This classic Ben Harper album has been re-mastered by Bernie Grundman of Bernie Grundman Mastering, and the results are spectacular. Format: 180 gram vinyl LP Part number: P47.7 Reaching Out From The Inside Kip D obler October 7, 1990, Bridges Hall of Music, Pomona College, Claremont, California USA. Format: 180 gram vinyl LP Part number: P47.14 The Greg Smith Singers November 22, 1991, St. George Catholic Church in Ontario, California USA. Format: 180 gram vinyl LP Part number: P47.10 Twenty-Five Miles To Barstow Prt 1 Jonny Ka llas April 26, 1992, Hill Auditorium, Ontario, California USA. Format: 180 gram vinyl LP Part number: P47.3 Twenty-Five Miles To Barstow Prt 2 Jonny Ka llas April 26, 1992, Hill Auditorium, Ontario, California USA. Format: 180 gram vinyl LP Part number: P47.4 Dream Tracks Kip Dobler Produced by George Cardas and Kip Dobler. Engineered by Kip Dobler. Format: CD Part number: P47.13 CD Sultan of Sultry Bebe Bardot Produced by George Cardas Format: CD Part number: P47.6 Spontaneous Sound Christopher Tree Produced by George Cardas & Christopher Tree Format: CD Part number: P47.31 Smoke House The Trish Turner Group Produced by The Trish Turner Group Format: CD Part number: P47.30 Sisters The Houghton Sisters Produced by George Cardas Format: CD Part number: P47.11 2002 South Coast Dixieland Clambake Jazz Festival Produced by George Cardas, engineered by George Cardas & Stan Ricker Format: CD Part number: P47.2

  • Come Together | Cardas Audio

    The artwork of Eli Gonzalez. Eli created our Stay Home & Listen To Music image, as well as the What's The Rush, and Come Together illustrations. He's a very talented artist located in southern California, and Cardas Audio is fortunate to get to work with him on occasional projects. Come Together The Artwork of Eli Gonzalez Southern California based artist Eli Gonzalez has a unique style that is at once classic, and ultra modern. His depictions of people evoke an emotional response, whether they're super realistic, cartoonish, or fantastical. His artistic whims run the gamut, but no matter what he creates, it all has a unified look that can only come from Eli. Cardas Audio has been fortunate to work with Mr. Gonzalez, commissioning a series of images in which people are enjoying music together . The love of music is what inspired George Cardas to found our company back in 1987. George's passion for music continues to this day, and we feel that our collaborations with Eli illustrate - literally - the love all of us at Cardas Audio have for music, and sharing it with people. You can follow Eli on Instagram at @eliassar . "Stay Home And Listen To Music" marks our first time working with Eli. This dates back to 2020, during the 'troubles' that had us all spending a lot more time at home. Thinking that one could do a lot worse than be stuck at home listening to music with their family, Cardas marketing director Josh Meredith came up with our "Stay Home & Listen To Music" campaign. Using his comparatively rudimentary art skills, Josh created a block-drawing of a family of three sitting in front of a stereo, and we printed it on a t-shirt. We sold tons of this shirt, locally and around the world, and donated the proceeds to local wait-staff and bartenders who's employment status had been affected by the lockdowns. At some point, Josh contacted his friend Eli, and asked him to create his interpretation of the shirt-design. And Eli hit it out of the ballpark with the illustration shown above. We've since run it in industry magazines, on post-cards, on Cardas product literature, and on posters. Realizing that Eli's previous effort could be the start of a series, we asked him to work with us again. This time we wanted to do something a bit more provocative, with a headline that served as a double-entendre: "what's the rush" might be suggesting that the man in the illustration should reconsider leaving for work in favor of listening to music with the woman. Or maybe it's saying that we need not rush out of the house just because the lockdowns were ending. Sure, we were anxious to resume our normal lives, but staying home and listening to music beats nearly anything we can imagine doing outside of the house. For our latest installment, we asked Eli to create an illustration of a group of friends enjoying time together, gathered around a stereo system. Whether with family, children, or peers, music is a wonderful thing to share with others. It brings people closer, and helps strengthen our connections. We feel so strongly that people should be sharing music-listening time together that we've run ads in stereo magazines such as HiFi Plus and The Absolute Sound, encouraging people do to so, regardless of the cables they're using (see left). However obviously we feel that Cardas cables really enhance the moment 😉

  • Speaker Placement | Cardas Audio

    The Cardas Speaker Placement Guide. Setting up speakers in a golden ratio, golden cuboid, golden trapagon room, etc.. Speaker placement calculators. Speaker Placement The Cardas Speaker Placement Guide Cable / Connector / Etc. FAQ Setting Up Speakers in a Rectangular Room The Near Field Listening Position Golden Cuboid Listening Room Dimensions Expressed in Golden Ratio Dimensions Expressed in Fibonacci Sequence Dimensions Expressed in Fibonacci Progression Horizontal Listening Room Square Listening Room Golden Trapagon Speaker Placement Calculators Acoustic consultants do not offer free advice, however their input is often well worth the cost. A good one in our particular corner of the world is Acoustic Sciences Corporation . However there are likely similar companies in your area. Some helpful forums on this topic: https://www.gikacoustics.com/acoustic-advice/ https://www.acousticfields.com/acoustics-forum/ https://www.audioasylum.com/forums/rives/bbs.html Consultants Rectangular Room The Cardas Speaker Placement Guide Setting Up Speakers in a Rectangular Room Very precise speaker placement can open up a whole new dimension in listening, so I will outline the system that is becoming the standard of the industry. This standardized listening room is a Golden Cuboid and is the model for the math used in this system. This method will work with any box speaker, in any reasonably sized rectangular room. You may find that you have already positioned your speakers this way by ear. Active nodes are the main concern when placing speakers in a rectangular room. A node, or the frequency where speakers and parallel walls interact, is proportional to the speaker to the wall distance. The three most importance nodes, in order of importance, are proportional to the distance between the speaker and: 1. The side wall nearest the speaker 2. The rear wall 3. The side wall across from the speaker A secondary factor is the speaker-to-speaker time constant. When you use this Golden Ratio method to set your room up, the speakers are placed so the three nodes progress or differ from one another in Golden Ratio. This eliminates any unison or near unison resonance in the nodes. Panel or dipole speakers such as Apogees and Magnepans cancel their side waves, so a formula of .618 x the ceiling height can be used for determining placement from the rear wall. Most box speakers radiate low frequencies in all directions thus a formula that places the speaker to rear wall distance at 1.618 the side wall distance should be used. Speaker placement, simply stated: The distance from the center of the woofer face to the side walls is: Room Width times .276 (RW x .276) The distance from the center of the woofer face to the wall behind the speaker is: Room Width times .447 (RW x .447) This is all you need to know to place speakers in a symmetrical, rectangular room! The Near Field Listening Position In the near field position the speakers and the listener’s head are the points of an equilateral triangle. Near field listening gives the perfect stereo field. It is frequently used in the recording studio to position the microphones and the voice in the mix. The near field listening position is determined by the "center to center" distance of the speakers and the distance to the listener’s head. It does not refer to the room in any way. The importance of symmetrical speaker placement in a small room cannot be over emphasized. Once the speakers are set as close to perfect as possible, you must angle them slightly toward the listening position. This can be done by ear and usually a ¼ to ½ inch tweek will do. Box speakers generally require a bit more toe-in than planear speakers. You will be able to hear a center focused voice clarify when the sweet spot is hit. Near Field Golden Cuboid Listening Room Diagram The Golden Cuboid listening room is 10’ x 16’ x 26’ (Read 10.000 x 16.18033989... x 26.18033989... Its dimensions differ in a Golden Ratio or Fibonacci sequence (5-8-13-21-34...). The three major room nodes progress or differ in Golden Ratio and thus null rather than add or beat. Golden Cuboid Listening Room Relationships Expressed in Golden Ratio The Golden Ratio listening room is a relationship of potential nodes or energy storage units and can be expressed as a ratio or Golden Progression, using the speaker to speaker distance as 1. Golden Ratio Listening Room Relationships Expressed in Fibonacci Progression The Golden Ratio room set-up can be seen as a Fibonacci progression. Fibonacci Horizontal Listening Rooms If you are forced to place your speakers on the long side of a symmetrical, rectangular room, create a Golden rectangle in each rear corner. Your speakers can then be placed anywhere along a line extending from the outside rear corner through the inside front corner (Diagram F). Golden Rectangles, 1.618 from the side walls x 1 from the rear wall, create diagonal lines for speaker placement in a horizontal room. Horizontal Square Listening Rooms If you have the misfortune to have a square listening room, as in the previous setup (Diagram F), create Golden Rectangles in the rear corners of the room. Your speakers can then be placed along lines extending from the outside rear corners through the inside front corners (Diagram G). Square The Golden Trapagon The Golden Cuboid (Diagram H) is the best "rectangular" shape for a listening room. If, however, you have full architectural freedom, a Golden Trapagon (Diagram I) is by far the favored shape. A Golden Trapagon has a Golden rectangle for the front wall behind the speakers, and the room progresses to a larger (by Golden Ratio in area) Golden rectangle back wall behind the listener. For example, if the wall behind the speakers is 10 feet x 16 feet, the room would then be 26 feet long and the wall behind the listener would be 13 feet x 21 feet. Ideally, the rear portion of this room would vent into an attic space filled with fiberglass insulation. The trick to a Golden Trapagon shaped room is it eliminates the problem of parallel walls and the slap and sharp nodes associated with them. The "sound" of this room is a decaying hologram of the original, not a slap. This decay is exponential, or higher, at all frequencies. The relationship between the height and the width of the room, at any point, is Golden Ratio. The cross-section area at the rear of the room is 1.618 times the cross-section of the front. In the example above, the ceiling height would be 12.72 feet. The ratio of front height or width, to rear height or width, is 1.272 to 1. 1.272 is the square root of 1.618 or Golden Ratio. The progression of size at the ends of the room is a area relationship. The sound confronts the entire surface of the end walls at the same time, rather than progressively as with height and width. It is like tuning a guitar to a major chord, the side walls become the strings and the end walls are the bridge and tailpiece. Golden Trapagon Speaker Placement Calculators As with the information above, these calculators will provide ideal speaker locations, but do not take into account factors such as asymmetrical rooms, furniture, window & door location, or spousal approval. Use the information generated by these calculators as general guidance , but realize they may give you suggested speaker locations that simply aren't feasible in your room. If you have further questions, please contact an acoustic consultant . Conventional Monopole Speakers Dipole / Planar Speakers Calculators

  • Cardas Copper | Cardas Audio

    Cardas Audio produces copper using a proprietary process that results in copper that exceeds the electrical and thermal conductivity of anything else on the market, including OFHC copper and OCC copper. Cardas copper is used by other manufacturers, and in laboratories worldwide. We also produce ultra pure silver wire. Top Cardas Copper Cardas Copper A Look Below The Surface We eletrically etched three copper strands, and placed them under the microscope (standard OFC copper, Continuous Cast Copper, and our own Grade 1 C opper), to demonstrate that the perfect structure of Cardas copper continues below the surface, which leads to its superior electrical and thermal conductivity. The Story of Cardas Copper, by George Cardas. I was forced into the copper business, when a combination of recycling laws and new "improved" drawing techniques, flooded the market with cheap low grade copper. This began to force traditional plants out of business. I found an "old fashioned" plant that was closing and we began slow drawing and annealing pure copper rod in inert atmospheres. Soon we were supplying most of the specialty drawn high purity metals used in high-end audio. This formula endured for two decades. Recently a series of events lead us to the ultimate knowledge and development of our most amazing metal. Most of our metals are being sold to audio related consumers, however, several non audio customers purchased them for their own unique reasons. My relationship with two of these customers and a boost from Joe Harley (AQ) led to this break through. The first clue came from a customer who we make a custom cable for. He named it Low Thermal because it was used in accurately measuring minute DC variations without temperature induced variation. At the time, we gave little thought to metal, thinking the reason for it's superior performance was low dielectric involvement. In retrospect it is clear that the conductor was a big part of the equation. We had spent considerable time working on eddy currents in the connections, this should have been a clue. The second clue was from a customer that was using miles of fine copper strand to cool micro chips in a detector used in a cyclotron. He didn't even care if it conducted electricity! We shared the most interesting set of information. He had discovered that detectors quite removed from the collider itself were responding at distance to collisions occurring in the device. To reduce the noise in detector chips they were bonding fine copper strands to the chip substrates and immersing the strands in liquid helium to cool them. But commercial copper was loosing its thermo conductivity around 40 degrees kelvin (-387.67° F / -233.15° C). He was interested in our metal for its thermal properties! As it happens, I had just developed a very cool way of looking at strand grain structure under high magnification. I thought I could see his problem in the grain pictures. After viewing them, he agreed and was willing to help me take the next step. I had discovered by ear, that short cuts in the refining and drawing of metals degraded their audio performance. I knew that pure soft metals and meticulous attention to drawing techniques yeilded a quieter strand. For decades we have produced the lion’s share of the copper and silver for high-end audio. I now had the opportunity to better understand the problem. It seemed both our concerns related to grain structure. I had developed methods for viewing grain structure and measuring eddy currents in conductors and now I had a new perspective from a different world and everything was pointing in the same direction. There was a correlation between low temperature thermal conductivity and inter transient noise in room temperature conductors! I was pumped. I asked my customer why he thought the thermo conductivity of some copper was superior to others. He said that thermo conductivity in metals was in free electrons predominantly until about 40degrees Kelvin. At this point the free electron supply dried up and conductivity was phonetic (vibrations directly through the contiguous crystalline structure). This made sense in many ways. What we had discovered in commercial copper was a severe shredding of the crystalline structure. Basically, charges and heat flow are scattered by impurities, imperfections, and inhomogeneous metal structure. The shredding of the crystalline structure was from drawing the strand too fast and the interleaving of impurities (predominantly copper oxide). We saw that casting or extruding pure copper could change that structure. We learned that slowly drawing and annealing very pure copper resulted in less shredding and melded the metal even better. Carrying the process further, we found that using a pure steam or an inert nitrogen atmosphere, help the metal to bond during the processing. It seemed that eliminating oxygen while slow drawing and annealing produced a better structure. Once formed it seemed to self heal as long as there was no oxygen present. I decided to try somthing. We would draw and anneal even slower in a reducing (oxygen scavenging) atmosphere(hydrogen H+) to completely eliminate every trace of oxygen to allow the drawn metal to reform continuously as it was drawn and annealed. The results were beautiful! The new metal was more contiguous in the interior than on the surface. This conductor is the most grain free copper ever produced for audio purposes.

  • Binding Posts | Cardas Audio

    Cardas binding posts feature Copper or Brass base metal, and plating options that include bare copper, or silver & rhodium plating. The single knob CPBP is an innovative and brilliantly simple design. And our standard posts are the best available of their type. Cardas binding posts are found on some of the finest speakers and amplifiers in the world. Binding Posts Single Knob Binding Post Traditional Copper Posts Traditional Brass Posts Binding Post Insulators Binding Post Mounting Plate Where To Buy Back To Parts List How To Use Cardas Connectors CPBP Single Knob Binding Post CPBP Cardas patented binding post system uses smaller amounts of metal and eliminates threads on conductive sur- faces. The design sounds better and is CE compliant for EU import restrictions. Designed to be direct soldered. Posts accept 6.3mm spades but can accommodate 9mm also. Clamp can be modified to work with bananas by drilling 4mm holes where indicated. See slide #2 below. Base metal: High purity copper Plating: Silver/rhodium Termination: Solder This part requires solder. Click here to learn about Cardas Quad Eutectic Solder & Cardas Rosin Flux. Click here for our soldering how-to videos. Part Numbers: P33.83 for complete unit with plastic knob P33.8 for black anodized aluminum knob (CPBP KA) P33.64 for black knob with engraved logo (CPBP KAE) P33.37 replacement plastic knob P33.36 for top clamp P33.79 for top clamp pre-drilled for bananas cpbp exploded CPBP with bananas Drill 4mm holes here for use with bananas. cpbp_drawing cpbp exploded 1/7 Copper Premium Copper Binding Posts Description: Premium binding post made from high purity copper bar stock. Posts and binding nuts plated with silver/ rhodium. Designed to accept standard bananas, spades, and bare wire. 6.3mm/0.25” spades are ideal but can accommodate larger. Comes standard with one dual black insulator with .5” recess on .75” centers and two posts. Base metal: High purity copper Plating: Various Termination: Solder This part requires solder. Click here to learn about Cardas Quad Eutectic Solder & Cardas Rosin Flux. Click here for our soldering how-to videos. Part numbers: P33.26 for CCRR L (Copper base metal, silver/rhodium plated post & top nut, long post) P33.27 for CCRR S (Copper base metal, silver/rhodium plated post & top nut, short post) P33.23 for CCGR L (Copper base metal, silver/rhodium plated post, gold plated top nut, long post) P33.71 for CCGR S (Copper base metal, silver/rhodium plated post, gold plated top nut, short post) P33.46 for CCBP L (Bare copper post & top nut, long post) P33.67 for CCBP S (Bare copper post & top not, short post) ccrr_s_drawing ccrr_l_drawing Image for all binding posts ccrr_s_drawing 1/9 Brass Economy Brass Binding Post (ACBP S) Short binding post made from high copper content brass. Posts plated with silver/rhodium, binding nuts are gold plated. Designed to accept standard bananas, spades, and bare wire. 6.3mm/0.25” spades are ideal but can accommodate larger. Comes standard with one dual black insulator with .5” recess on .75” centers and two posts. Base metal: High purity copper Plating: Silver/rhodium Termination: Solder This part requires solder. Click here to learn about Cardas Quad Eutectic Solder & Cardas Rosin Flux. Click here for our soldering how-to videos. Part number: P33.6 acbp_s_drawing acbp_s_drawing 1/1 Single Binding Post Insulator (SBPI) Insulator Single binding posts insulators fit traditional copper & brass Cardas binding posts. Flats on two sides are useful to prevent the post from spinning as you tighten the mounting nut. Available in red or black. Part numbers: P33.52 for black SBPI P33.51 for red SBPI SBPI in use sbpi_drawing SBPI in use 1/2 Binding post mounting plate. Fits all Cardas binding posts (unless they're being used with the SBPI). Compact and effective for new builds or retrofits. Base metal: Aluminum. Hard anodized black Part number: P33.89 BPMP in use BPMP engraved Custom engraving available bpmp_drawing BPMP in use 1/3 Plate Binding Post Mounting Plate (BPMP)

  • Accessories | Cardas Audio

    High quality audio adapters. RCA to XLR, 1/4" to RCA, 6.355mm to RCA, and many other options and custom adaptors are available. Accessories High Quality Solutions To Connectivity Issues Adaptors Bi-Wire Jumpers Cable Lifters RFI/EMI Caps Turntable Items Turntable Items Frequency Sweep LP

  • Counterfeit Cables | Cardas Audio

    Information about avoiding counterfeit cables, the value of a certificate of authenticity, warranty cards, authentication service. There are many counterfeit cables on the market. This page should help you avoid them. Top Counterfeits Counterfeit Cable Info Certificates of Authenticity Authentication Service Counterfeit Cables We're proud that Cardas cables retain high resale value, even years after their production. But unfortunately, some unscrupulous opportunists prey upon unsuspecting consumers by selling counterfeits of our cables. Some of these fakes are remarkably well done, visually, and even come in authentic looking packaging. Others barely try, slapping "Cardas" on cables that don't look like anything we've ever made. This is a buyer-be-ware situation. Some buyers are able to return their counterfeit products for a refund. But most are left without recourse. Frequently Asked Questions About Counterfeits: How can I identify c ounterfeit s from authentic cables on the second-hand market? Work at Cardas Audio for at least 10 years 😁. Our long-term employees can usually spot a fake about as fast as a mother can recognize her own child. Assuming you don't work here (and statistically, you probably don't), avoid AliExpress . They pretend to have a mechanism for reporting counterfeits, but it is littered with dead links and buttons that can't be clicked. More trustworthy sources of second hand gear are Audiogon in the US and Canuck Audio Mart in Canada. Fakes rarely show up on these sites, and when they do, they're both quick to remove them. There are probably trustworthy audio-focused sites in other countries. If you know of one, send us a link. If it looks good to us, we'll list it here. And of course, consider buying from a Cardas dealer. Many of our dealers take trade-ins, and might have pre-owned cables. Are some cables mo re counterfeited than others? Yes. The two most commonly counterfeited Cardas cables are Hexlink and Clear Light. Hexlink was a flagship cable from many years ago. There were many iterations, all using the word "Hexlink". It is, by far, the most faked cable. So much so that the majority of listings for Cardas Hexlink cables are fraudulent. The counterfeiters have produced more fake Hexlink than we ever made of the real thing. Clear Light is a more recent cable, and for whatever reason, is now quite commonly counterfeited. And whereas Hexlink fakes stand out (to us) like a sore thumb and can almost always be identified from pictures, Clear Light fakes are really well done (on the outside. Inside is garbage wire), including authentic looking packaging and documentation. Be very cautious when considering the purchase of any cable labeled as Hexlink or Clear Light. And be very cautious when the price seems too good to be true. A recent search of eBay for "Hexlink" revealed hundreds of fakes with "Buy It Now" prices of around $50 USD, and one authentic cable with an asking price of $700. You can guess which one is real. What sort of wire is inside counterfeit cables? Bad wire. We've taken apart many counterfeits, and what we find is just hardware-store wire, at best. It doesn't even appear to be up to OFHC or OCC standards, much less Cardas Ultra Pure Grade 1 standards. Why don't you do something to stop the counterfeiters? We have worked lawyers to fight the problem. We've scoured the internet to find & report counterfeits. We've happily checked links submitted by people considering second-hand cables, and told them whether the cables seem authentic or not. And we have this page on our site. There isn't much more we can do. Be cautious when buying second hand cables from private parties, or non-Cardas dealers. Be skeptical when cables are being sold far below market value. Even a long discontinued product such as Hexlink should command $300 to $600 or more for an interconnect or speaker cable. And it won't look shiny & new. It was made at least 20 years ago. It's going to show some wear. If you see a "Hexlink" cable for $30 to $60 and it looks fresh off the production line... it's fake. Countefeit Certificates / Warranty Cards New Cardas Cables come with a numbered certificate / warranty card. Re-terminated cables are issued a new card, which supersedes the cable's original card . The primary function of this numbered card is to track quality control issues with new or recently serviced cables. If a customer receives a cable that has an issue (which is exceedingly rare), the number on the card helps us track down the production date and batch number. Second hand cable buyers often inflate the significance of these warranty cards. While it is nice to buy a used product that comes with all of the original materials, please know that a numbered piece of paper does not guarantee that the accompanying product is authentic. As with any Certificate Of Authenticity, its only value is to the person to whom it was issued. If you purchased an historic artifact or a baseball card that came with a COA, you still wouldn't have full confidence in the item until you submitted it to an authority and received your own COA. Our point is to remind second-hand buyers that while receiving a COA with your cable is better than not, it is not a promise of authenticity. We have seen cables offered for sale (and even received them for inspection) that were obvious counterfeits, yet were sold with a numbered certificate. If you have a second-hand cable and you have concerns , read below about how you can receive your own COA. COA Authentication Service If you have a second hand Cardas cable, you can send it to our facility for inspection. There is a $25 charge, and if your cable passes inspection, you will receive a new warranty certificate along with your returned cable. Please note that cables found to be counterfeit will be indelibly marked or branded as such before being returned. We suggest you only use our authentication service if you are 99% sure that what you have is a genuine Cardas cable, and you just want additional peace of mind. If you are even slightly suspicious that your cable is fake, your best bet is to return it to the seller for a refund. If you'd like to send your cable in for authentication, please obtain a Return Authorization Number by clicking the button below. You are welcome to send us pictures via email of your cable before you send them in. We can't guarantee authenticity from pictures, but we can often identify fakes in this manner, and save you the hassle of sending them in. Return Authorization Form Authentication

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Cardas Audio

480 11th St SE
Bandon, Oregon 97411

(541) 347-2484

info@cardas.com

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