May 15, 2011

  • Cardas Clear, Part 6

    25 years ago, I started hearing 38 Special's "Somebody Like You" on the radio.  The weather was sunny, clear, and warm.  Time ground to a halt, and my classmate and I wished that it would speed up, so that we could get on with summer.  And when summer did start, I went to summer school at Punahou.  Once in a while, no one was available to pick me up after class, so I had to hoof it from Punahou to my grandmother's house near UH.  As I was trying to avoid that blistering Hawaiian sun, I turned on my Walkman.  While walking on Dole Street, I heard 38 Special's "Somebody Like You" and "Like No Other Night."

    "When are we going surfing?" asks Tessa.

    Now that the Cardas Clear interconnect has been Cooked, it still needs regular playing time.  While that's happening, let's wait for some waves.

    With many interconnects, the dCS Puccini can sound whitish, small, and uninspiring.  The Cardas Clear is free from that whitish haze.  For once, the Puccini's images are not 2-dimensional and micronized.  38 Special's Strength In Numbers has a glossy, slick, but not small and hashy, sheen.  And that's how it should be.

    Without grain and haze, the Cardas Clear is like using eyeglasses which are not tinted,  Thus, you can hear more of the music's true instrumental colors.  Or, it is like seeing Waikiki's colors for what they are.