[Canman]

I recently tried the Bogdan Gold/Silver Spirit XLR interconnect cables at Hirsch's house. I had previously been using Cardas Neutral Reference XLR for my Meridian/Stax/KGSS system and I had been happy although I felt that sometimes the music could be congested-particularly with classical music with a high dynamic range.

Right off the bat I liked what they did for the midrange and I immediately bought the cables from Hirsch. I have been enjoying the cables for awhile now and I thought I would switch back to the Neutral Reference to see if there is any significant difference.

Well, the difference is larger than I would have liked. The Bogdan is a funky looking cable and I always thought a little funky cosmetic snake oil was involved, but oh man there is a significant difference between these cables.

The difference in overall detail is subtle. The most important difference is in the depth of soundstage. Listening to the excellent Telarc recording of Charles Rosenkrans and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra playing the Schubert String Quartet "Death and the Maiden" the intonations of the strings and placement of different instruments were more apparent, producing increased realism and a better sense of being in the concert hall. During dynamic peaks, the combination of instruments is cleaner and well separated. The Cardas sounds congested in comparison with the Bogdan. The sound is more liquid all around. I am very happy with how these cables have improved my system. I recommend to anyone to check these out.

 

[immtbiker]

I too, have gone from the Cardas Neutral Ref's (RCA), to the Bogdan Gold/Silvers, but I am using them for my mains and surrounds (pre-amp out to my amps) in my multichannel setup, and it was like coming out of the subway, into the street, into the breeze of a calm spring day.
I tried them in my headphone setup, but mine is shelf mounted, and made me move everything too far away from the wall.
Be advised...these interconnects are not for tight setups. they need room to roam. I also have a pair of Silver/Silvers, and they are a worthy step down in price.
The Gold is used for the return. If you bend the poly tubing, it is bent forever (only downside). After about 200 hours, they become, even more magical.

 

[DarkAngel]

I have a couple pairs of Bogdan Silver Spirit ICs plus BSS speaker cables. Do do sound great, complete simplicity....bare silver wires in plastic tubes with plastic silver bullet RCAs. I think they have the lowest capacitance of any cables you can buy because of thier design. I sold my AZ Silver Reference ICs and used proceeds to buy two pairs of BSS, no regrets.

We have a couple threads at Head-Fi on these ICs 1-2 years ago when they first appeared and a few members bought them. The gold/silver BSS may sound better overall in some systems, but the price increase is very substantial over all silver......I would only buy one if used (and I have never seen one used for sale

)

 

[Canman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DarkAngel I would only buy one if used (and I have never seen one used for sale )

I don't have the all silver to compare to and honestly it doesn't make sense to me that Gold would sound better. But since I got these used for about 50% of retail I am not complaining!

 

[immtbiker]

I can definitely say, that the Gold's are a notch up, from the Silvers.
Perhaps speedier and less traffic on the return.