• Cables • Connectors • Ultra Pure Copper & Silver • Solder & Flux Save My Spot Heading 3 Cardas cables 101 Speaker Crosslink Iridium Parsec Clear Sky Clear Cygnus Clear Reflection Clear Clear Beyond Nautilus Power Strip Accessories Adaptors Bi-wire jumpers Cable & equipment lifters Contact conditioner Frequency Sweep & Burn-In LP Ground wire RFI/EMI protective caps Turntable items Parts & Connectors Banana Plugs Binding Posts Bulk Cable & Wire Chassis Wire vs Copper Strand Cardas Copper DIN Connectors Headphone Connectors Phone Plugs Power Connectors RCA Females RCA Males Solder & Flux Spades XLR Connectors Information for manufacturers Support Tech support Choosing a cable How-to videos Re-termination & service Trade-in/Upgrade program Dealers & Distributors D About About Cardas Contact Counterfeit cables Deep dive Discontinued products FAQ Speaker placement What goes into a Cardas cable Videos about cardas Why can’t I find Store

Cardas Audio • Cables • Connectors • Ultra Pure Copper & Silver • Solder & Flux Learn More Team Dedication. Expertise. Passion. This is your Team section. It's a great place to introduce your team and talk about what makes it special, such as your culture or work philosophy. Don't be afraid to illustrate personality and character to help users connect with your team. Cables Ashley Jones info@mysite.com 123-456-7890 Tech Lead Don Francis info@mysite.com 123-456-7890 Product Manager Alexa Young info@mysite.com 123-456-7890 Product Designer Robert Rose info@mysite.com 123-456-7890 Customer Support Lead Kevin Nye info@mysite.com 123-456-7890 HR Lead Lisa Driver info@mysite.com 123-456-7890 HR Lead Lisa Driver info@mysite.com 123-456-7890 HR Lead Lisa Driver info@mysite.com 123-456-7890

Cardas Audio offers a simple and generous path towards upgrading to the next level of performance. Trade-in your current Cardas cables, and get trade-credit towards your upgraded cables! Trade-in / Upgrade Program The Cardas Upgrade program provides a simple path to moving up the Cardas product line. To participate, simply trade in your qualifying Cardas cable towards the purchase of a new, higher performance Cardas cable. The higher up the Cardas product line you go, the more value you'll receive for your trade. Qualifying cables The following cables can be traded in towards an upgrade: Parsec, Sky X4, Cygnus, Reflection, and Clear. The following cables can be upgraded to with your trade: Sky X4, Cygnus, Reflection, Clear, and Clear Beyond. Getting Started The trade-in and purchase of your new Cardas Cables will go through a Cardas dealer. To get started either contact your dealer, or click this button to complete the upgrade form: Cardas Upgrade Application Trade-in credit table Restrictions & Fine Details Offer limited to Cardas Cables in our current product line. Legacy cables are not eligible to be traded in, or traded up to. See above for the list of eligible cables. Trade-in credit must be applied to the purchase of a new Cardas cable from an authorized dealer. Trade in value can only be applied to cables of the same type. For example, a pair of interconnects can be traded in on another pair of interconnects. But not a power cable or a speaker cable. A Speaker cable can be traded towards another speaker cable, etc. Traded-in cables must be in reasonably good shape. Even a cable that's been in your system for years should still appear basically brand new. Cables live an easy life. We're not taking cables with inexplicable wear & tear on trade. At least one photo will be required. You can upload a photo using the form above. If that isn't possible, you can email one later in the process. But we do require at least one photo (and we may ask for more) to complete the trade. Traded-in cables must be applied towards the immediate purchase of new Cardas cables. The Cardas orders department must receive a P.O. for the new cables associated with the trade. Trade-ins must be of equal or shorter length than the new cable being purchased. For example, you can trade in a 1 meter cable towards the purchase of a 2 meter. But you can't trade a 2 meter towards the purchase of a 1 meter. RCA interconnects can be traded in for XLR interconnects of a higher-end product. And vice versa. Same with speaker cables with spades vs bananas. Power cables can only be traded in for power cables with the same plug. For example, we're not taking a Euro (Schuko) power cable in on trade for a US cable, nor the other way around. Cardas Upgrade Application

Clear Sky “Sky speaker and interconnect hit a sweet spot in terms of price & performance. These cables reveal a level of realism and detail that one would usually spend a lot more to get. Don’t compare these to other cables at the same price point - listen to them in comparison to the high-end cables of other brands.” -R. Coleman, Oakland, CA Sky Interconnect Where To Buy << SE9 MP Sky Speaker FAQ Choosing A Cable Parsec >> Interconnect Sky Interconnect Performance: Transparent, dynamic, and neutral. Lowest priced interconnect using Matched Propagation technology. Excellent in long or short lengths. Suitable for any high-end system. Standard Terminations: Cardas GRMO or Neutrik XLR. Design/Construction: Conductors: Matched Propagation Kevlar core, Grade 1, 99.9999% pure oxygen free copper with SPN clear coat (Litz), gauge sizes scaled to Golden Ratio proportions. Braided cross-field layer geometry, insulated in advanced ultra thin FEP tape wrapped jacket. Geometry: Shielded twisted pair with non conductive poly-e air-tubes bound with advanced ultra thin FEP tape wrap. Outer layer uses compressed poly-e air-tubes to suspend the tin plated copper braided shield and extruded alcryn rubber outer jacket away from the conductors. Gauge: 2x23.5 AWG Outside Diameter: 0.365”/9.27mm Speaker Sky X4 Speaker Performance: Based on its big brother, Clear Cygnus speaker cable, the newly up- graded Clear Sky X4 now offers better resolution than the originalSky, and is more suitable for a wider range of speakers. Our new braided conductors allow reduced production time with minimal sacrifice of performance. The new X4 geometry also allows for internal bi-wire. Finished with Cardas custom printed shrink tubing instead of machined aluminum strain relief, and soldered con- nectors instead of compression die forged terminations, Clear Sky X4 brings serious performance to the most affordable end of the Clear cable line. Standard Terminations: Soldered Cardas CGMS spades or CABD bananas. Design/Construction: Braided Matched Propagation, fibrillated polypropylene core, Grade 1, 99.9999% pure OFHC copper with SPN clear coat (Litz), gauge sizes scaled to Golden Ratio proportions. Cross-field layer geometry, insulated in a low noise PTFE tape and Electro-Dissipative dielectric. Geometry: Concentrically braided four conductor surrounded by anti- static coated fibrillated polypropylene fibers. Outside jacket is very flexible Alcryn Rubber. Gauge: 4x15 AWG Outside Diameter: 0.720”8.30mm

No compromise, ultra high performance audio cables. Intended for the ultimate high-end systems, properly set up, in perfect listening rooms. Clear Beyond "A friend brought his Clear Beyond speaker cable over and insisted I try it with my Alexx V’s. I was reluctant. I was using the ‘correct’ cable (according to my dealer) for the speaker. But to appease my friend, I gave the Cardas cable a try. I was immediately blown away. I lost no detail, but gained so much body and fullness. I had no idea what these speakers were capable of. I’m now the proud owner of my own pair of Beyonds and I’ve never listened to my system so much.” -S. Richards, Lake Forest, IL Clear Beyond Interconnect Clear Beyond Speaker Clear Beyond Power Clear Beyond Power XL Where To Buy << Cables by Product Line Clear Beyond Phono Clear Beyond Phono X2 Clear Beyond Headphone Choosing A Cable FAQ Clear >> Interconnect Clear Beyond Interconnect Clear Beyond Interconnect, our ultimate flagship interconnect and a marvel of modern cable design, features our most advanced Matched Propagation Conductors. Clear Beyond Interconnect brings noteworthy improvements in spatial imaging, dynamics, and low frequency impact while retaining the classic Cardas musicality. Clear Beyond Interconnect builds on over 30 years of Cardas Audio’s relentless dedication to the perfection of high performance cables. Superior shielding and advanced air-tube suspension geometry result in an O.D. of .511”, which necessitates the use of our XRCA 13 adaptor for single-ended termination, and a re-designed CG XLR for balanced cables. More than anything, Clear Beyond Interconnect is musical. Tonal balance is completely neutral with unsurpassed speed and transparency. Each pair is made to order and hand terminated only by our most experienced technicians. Standard Terminations: Cardas SRCA or CG XLR. Design/Construction: Conductors: Matched Propagation Kevlar core, ultra fine Grade 1, 99.9999% pure oxygen free copper with SPN clear coat (Litz), gauge sizes scaled to Golden Ratio proportions and range from 47 AWG to 39 AWG. Cross-field layer geometry, insulated in ultra thing extruded PTFE jacket. Geometry: Star-Quad 4 conductors with anti-static LDPE air-tubes bound with carbon impregnated PTFE tape wrap. Outer layer uses PTFE air-tubes scaled 1.618 times larger than the core tubes to suspend the composite shield of tinned copper and magnet wire away from the signal carrying conductors. Finished in an ultra soft extruded TPR jacket. Gauge: 4x26.5 AWG Outside Diameter: 0.511”/13mm Speaker Performance: Clear Based on the Clear speaker cable and developed to go beyond reference performance in cost no object systems where the speakers require large amounts of current flow. Clear Beyond speaker is absolutely neutral and transparent. Perfectly balanced with articulate lows and delicate highs. Amazing dynamics with zero compression. This cable is like running two pairs of Clear Speaker inside one jacket and can be internally bi-wired or bi-amped. Standard Terminations: Cardas spades or bananas, compression forged using 10,000psi Design/Construction: Matched Propagation Kevlar core, Grade 1, 99.9999% pure oxygen free copper with SPN clear coat (Litz), gauge sizes scaled to Golden Ratio proportions ranging from ultra fine 41 AWG to 25 AWG. Cross-field layer geometry, insulated in an FEP tape wrapped jacket. Geometry: Concentrically wound eight conductor with anti- static PTFE air tubes and a flexible TPR outer jacket. Gauge: 8x10.5 AWG Outside Diameter: 0.934”/23.72mm See how we perform Clear Beyond Speaker Cable's solder-less forged terminations: Clear Beyond Speaker Clear Beyond Power Clear Beyond Power Designed to take current delivery and power filtration to the next level... Clear Beyond Power takes the “bigger is better” approach. Larger conductors deliver more power and our largest filter scrubs the power line clean. Don’t let the size fool you, it’s right at home powering front end components and giant mono block amplifiers. Completely neutral and transparent. Standard Terminations: Soldered and crimped Cardas E-5 premium power plugs with silver/rhodium plated solid copper contacts. Terminated by hand in Bandon, Oregon. Design/Construction: Conductors: Grade 1, 99.9999% pure oxygen free tin plated copper, gauge sizes scaled to Golden Ratio proportions. Cross-field layer geometry, insulated in a PTFE jacket. Geometry: Double shielded with tin plated copper and magnet wire. Twisted triad mixed with PVC air tubes bound with FEP tape wrap. Super flexible TPR outer jacket. Gauge: 3x10 AWG Outside Diameter: 0.650”16.51mm Clear Beyond Power XL Clear Beyond Power XL To create Clear Beyond Power XL, we took our very popular Clear Beyond Power, and scaled everything up. Bigger conductors, better shielding and improved noise filtering. We then added yet another level of noise filtration, extending the path to ground to three times the length of the cable itself through a simple and graceful geometry that could only come from the mind of George Cardas. This is our most sophisticated power cable ever, and is designed to provide the largest, most power hungry amplifiers with clean, high current, while also giving sensitive source components the stable, clear and noise free power they require for the absolute highest fidelity. Terminated with our all new premium Cardas E-5 connectors, featuring silver/rhodium plated copper contact surfaces, Clear Beyond Power XL is designed for the most demanding electronics. Standard Terminations: Soldered and crimped Cardas E-5 premium power plugs with silver/ rhodium plated solid copper contacts. Terminated by hand in Bandon, Oregon. Design/Construction: Conductors: Grade 1, 99.9999% pure oxygen free tin plated copper, gauge sizes scaled to Golden Ratio proportions. Cross-field layer geometry, insulated in a TPE jacket. Each conductor has multiple lay lengths and has it’s own shield. Geometry: Entire cable is double shielded with tin plated copper and magnet wire. Twisted triad mixed with PVC air tubes bound with FEP tape wrap. Super flexible TPR outer jacket. Filtration: A torodial ground filter is built into the termination and works in unison with a ground leg extension system. Clear Beyond Phono Clear Beyond Phono Clear Beyond Phono, a marvel of modern cable design, features our most advanced Matched Propagation Conductors. Clear Beyond Phono brings noteworthy improvements in spatial imaging, dynamics, and low frequency impact while retaining the classic Cardas musicality. Clear Beyond Phono builds on over 30 years of Cardas Audio’s relentless dedication to the perfection of high performance cables. More than anything, Clear Beyond Phono is musical. Tonal balance is completely neutral with unsurpassed speed and transparency. Each is made to order and hand terminated only by our senior technicians. Custom terminations including Cardas R-DIN and SME 90° DIN connections are available. Standard Terminations: Cardas S-DIN to SRCA or RCA to RCA. Hand soldered in Bandon, Oregon. Conductors: Matched Propagation Kevlar core, ultra fine Grade 1, 99.9999% pure OFHC copper with SPN clear coat (Litz), gauge sizes scaled to Golden Ratio proportions and range from 47 AWG to 39 AWG. Cross-field layer geometry, insulated in ultra thin extruded PTFE jacket. Geometry: Star-Quad 4 conductors with anti-static LDPE air-tubes bound with carbon impregnated PTFE tape wrap. Outer layer uses PTFE air-tubes scaled 1.618 times larger than the core tubes to suspend the composite shield of tinned copper and magnet wire away from the signal carrying conductors. Finished in an ultra soft extruded TPR jacket. Gauge: 4x26.5 AWG Outside Diameter: 0.511”/13mm Clear Beyond Dual Phono has been a “secret menu item” for a while. We were asked to prepare a pair of Clear Beyond Interconnects for use with a 5-pin DIN tonearm in an extreme analog system being shown at the Munich High End Show. Then word spread, and those in the know fell in love with it. Now Clear Beyond Dual Phono has escaped into the marketplace. A single run of Clear Beyond Interconnect, with multiple shields, and eight 26.5 AWG Matched Propagation Conductors, is a top performing phono cable. Custom terminations including Cardas R-DIN and SME 90° DIN connections are available. Standard Terminations: Cardas S-DIN to SRCA. Hand terminated in Bandon, Oregon. Conductors: Matched Propagation Kevlar core, ultra fine Grade 1, 99.9999% pure OFHC copper with SPN clear coat (Litz), gauge sizes scaled to Golden Ratio proportions and range from 47 AWG to 39 AWG. Cross-field layer geometry, insulated in ultra thin extruded PTFE jacket. Geometry: Star-Quad 4 conductors with anti-static LDPE air- tubes bound with carbon impregnated PTFE tape wrap. Outer layer uses PTFE air-tubes scaled 1.618 times larger than the core tubes to suspend the composite shield of tinned copper and magnet wire away from the signal carrying conductors. Finished in an ultra soft extruded TPR jacket. Gauge: 8x26.5 AWG Outside Diameter: 0.511”/13mm Beyond Phono X2 Clear Beyond Phono X2 Headphone One of our most challenging and extensive R&D projects has finally come to fruition. The Clear Beyond Headphone Cable project began due to the prodding from a handful of loyal customers who wanted to see us push the envelope, and outdo our vener- able Clear Headphone Cable. This was no small task, and took several years. Clear Headphone Cable required the development of the first miniaturized concentricMatched Propagation Conductor, which presented challenges in both production and termination. Once those were conquered, we had a cable that expanded the performance of every headphone on which we tried it. But the idea of taking it to the next step was daunting. We began, naturally, by looking at ways to improve the conductor. Taking cues from Clear Beyond Interconnect, we refined the stranding and braiding, creating a finer arrangement of Grade 1 Ultra Pure Cardas Copper wire. This yielded notable improvements, but we knew we could take it further by doing something we’ve never done before - adding silver. Our all new Hybrid Metallurgy Matched Propagation Conductor features a 30 awg strand of Cardas Grade 1 Silver Wire, in addition to the many improve- ments we’ve made from the starting point of Clear Headphone Cable. Theresults are spectacular. As with Clear Headphone, Clear Beyond Headphone has two separate cables, one for each channel. Braided blue & black thread, and joined together with beautiful hardware to give it “the look” it deserves. Standard Termination: There are too many options available to list them all. Please contact us to learn about the newest additions to our large selection of headphone terminations. Design/Construction : Conductors: Matched Propagation Kevlar core, Grade 1, 99.9999% pure oxygen free copper with SPN clear coat (Litz), gauge sizes scaled to Golden Ratio proportions. 30 AWG Grade 1 Silver core. Cross-field layer geometry, insulated in an PTFE tape wrapped jacket. Geometry: Concentrically wound two conductor flanked by anti-static fibers. Braided nylon outer jacket with copper plated hardware. Gauge: 8x25.5 AWG + 4x30 AWG (17.5 AWG per polarity) Outside Diameter: 0.182”/4.63mm Clear Beyond Headphone Cable

Watch Jana Dagdagan's awesome video about Cardas Audio, produced for Darko.audio. Watch how a cable is constructed. See George Cardas's listening room. Watch an interview with Angela Cardas. And see beautiful Bandon, Oregon, home of Cardas Audio. Cardas Videos AXPONA 2023 Interview American Made by Jana Dagdagan George Cardas's Listening Room Cable Construction Angela Cardas Interview Scenic Bandon, Oregon Forged Terminations Cool Cleveland's Cardas Interview @ AXPONA 2023 Thomas Mulready of CoolCleveland.com visited our showroom at AXPONA and interviewed us about the rather unusual theme. Cool Clevland American Made: Cardas Clear Beyond Jana Dagdagan from Darko Audio came to Bandon to produce this awesome video about Cardas Audio for her American Made series. American Made George Cardas's Listening Room We produced this video back in 2010 to play in our showroom at CES. Listening Room Cardas Cable Construction This video depicts the production of a Cardas cable. Cable Construction Angela Cardas Interview Interview with John Darko at Rocky Mountain Audio Fest 2018 Angela Scenic Footage of Bandon, Oregon Bandon is inconveniently located. Period. But this video might help you understand why George moved Cardas Audio here in 1992. Scenic Forged Spades See how we terminate Cygnus, Reflection, Clear, and Clear Beyond Speaker Cables Forged Spades Cutting Open Forged Spades See what happens when we cut open a forged termination

Our tech expert, Brian Von Bork, is here to help you choose the best Cardas product for your needs, and answer any technical questions you might have. Contact him by phone at 541-347-2484, M-F 9am-4pm Pacific Time. Or by email. Product Questions Nobody knows more about Cardas cables than us. Especially Cardas tech specialist Brian Von Bork. All cable related questions go straight to Brian. If you need a recommendation, he'll take the time to ask about your equipment, and what you're looking for in a cable, and help you select the best Cardas cable for the application. If you're a manufacturer of any size, or hobbyist of any size, Brian can answer all of your questions about Cardas parts, chassis wire, and bulk cable. Also motorcycle racing, and whatever soccer league the Portland Timbers are in. Brian is available Monday - Thursday 9am-4pm, and Friday from 9am-3pm at 541-347-2484. Or send an email to info@cardas.com . Need answers now? They're probably somewhere on our site. Here are some helpful links: Contact Cardas Choosing A Cable Info For New Owners Cable Installation Re-Termination & Repair Cardas Copper Cardas Solder Deep Dive

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

Cardas Quad Eutectic Solder, Rosin Flux Paste, and Cardas Contact Conditioner. They're supplies, because know, they run out. So you gotta re-supply. Solder & Supplies Roll Solder Bar Solder Flux Paste Contact Conditioner Where To Buy Quad Solder Cardas Quad Eutectic Solder Description: A proprietary blend of copper, silver, tin, and lead. Proprietary as in "please don't ask for the recipe because we're not telling, and we don't want it to get weird." No other solder flows as well, solidifies as uniformly, sounds as good or provides as durable and long lasting solder joints. There's a reason Quad Eutectic is considered the best in audio, and is widely used outside of our industry as well. Quad Eutectic Solder was developed in the early days of Cardas Audio when George Cardas realized that the available solders on the market - from hardware store grade to expensive silver-heavy solders - all had shortcomings that lead to degradation in sound quality & long-term reliability. He worked with an English metallurgist to arrive at the perfect blend of elements. The four elements in Qua d Eutectic Solder are in specific proportion to melt and solidify at a temperature lower than that of any of the component metals! Thus the resultant joint is contiguous from wire to connector rather than slurry - this provides a perfect and permanent connection that will never breakdown over time. Quad Eutectic Solder has a rosin core, and has a melting point of 350º F (177º C). Available on 1/4 pound and 1 pound spools. For soldering tips, check out our video series "Soldering With Jesus" , starring our head-terminator Jesus Ornelas. Please note: The label on Cardas Quad Eutectic Solder is changed on occasion. If you have a spool with a label that differs from what you see on this page, that does not mean your solder is counterfeit. As long as you buy from an authorized dealer , you're getting genuine Cardas Quad Eutectic Solder, regardless of the label. Part numbers: P41.6 for 1 pound spool P41.7 fo 1/4 pound spool Bar Solder Cardas Bar Solder Used in solder pots to tin Litz wire, we offer both leaded and lead-free bar solder. Leaded bar solder contains tin & lead, and has a melting point of 360º F (177º C). This is the same bar solder we use in the solder pots at Cardas Audio. Available in 2 pound bars. Lead-free bar solder contains tin & copper, and has a melting point of 440º F (227º C). Available in 1 pound bars. For soldering tips, check out our video series "Soldering With Jesus" , starring our head-terminator Jesus Ornelas. Part numbers: P41.1 for 2 pound leaded bar solder P41.1 for 1 pound lead-free bar solder Flux Cardas Rosin Flux Cardas Rosin Flux Solder Paste aids in the transfer of heat to help solder flow between conductor and connector. Along with Cardas Bar Solder and Quad Eutectic Solder, this flux is used for terminating cables at Cardas Audio. Part number: P41.3 for 2 oz container Contact Conditioner Cardas Contact Conditioner Cardas contact conditioner is a contact enhancer. Use in small quantities to both enhance and lubricate connections. Apply with a small brush or Q-tip to only the conductive surface. Do not apply to any non conductive components. Not for use on power cable connectors. Not recommended for use on TS, TRS, TRRRS, or any other type of multi-surface headphone plug. Cardas Contact Conditioner is not for use on power or USB plugs. In all applications, avoid over-use. Apply conditioner, then wipe off excess. Never insert a connector that is dripping with conditioner, or wet to the touch. Part number: P50.2 for 3 milliliter bottle

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

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