Cardas Audio Iridium Tonearm Cable - 1.25 Meter - RCA to RCA

A Quarter Meter More Than the Short Run, RCA to RCA

This is Cardas Iridium at 1.25 meters, sold each, RCA at both ends. It is a quarter of a meter longer than the shortest version, which in practice is the difference between a cable that hangs easily and one that is taut.

The most common mistake with a tonearm cable is buying it exactly the length of the gap. A cable measured to the inch ends up under tension, and tension on a turntable — particularly a sprung one — is a mechanical connection you did not intend to make.

Star Quad, Golden Ratio Gauges, and a Jacket That Bends

Fit and Materials

1.25 meters, RCA to RCA. That extra quarter meter over the short version is usually what turns a taut run into a hanging one. Measure the actual path and add slack rather than measuring the gap.

Iridium uses four 24.5 AWG Cardas copper conductors in a star-quad arrangement, with the gauges scaled to Golden Ratio proportions. The dielectric is PFA under a carbon-impregnated tape, the outer diameter is 0.300 inches, and the jacket is an ultra-soft extruded TPR.

What Reviewers Are Saying

StereoLife found that "Iridium outperforms it's price point and offers a great introduction to the Cardas sound" — the role Cardas intends it to play at the foot of its phono range.

Who Is the 1.25 Meter RCA to RCA Iridium Best For?

• One meter comes up short or tight — this is the next length, and usually the right one
• Your junction box presents RCAs — terminated RCA at both ends
• Your deck is on a suspension — slack in the cable keeps it out of the suspension's business
• Your phono stage is a shelf or two away — 1.25 meters covers most racks
• Your run or your sockets are different — Iridium comes in several lengths and terminations and none of them adapts to another; the full set is in tonearm cables

How Do You Fit It?

Route the cable along the path it will actually take and leave enough slack that it hangs in a loop. Seat both ends fully. Check the arm sweeps the full width of a record without the cable tugging, then connect the ground wire.

Pairs Well With

What most owners fitting a tonearm cable shop next.

• Phono preamplifiers — the other end of this cable, and the bigger variable
• Phono cartridges — the signal source everything downstream is serving
• Cartridge alignment tools — geometry first; no cable fixes a misaligned cartridge
• Tonearm cables — the other lengths and terminations in the range

Frequently Asked Questions

How many do I need?

One. A turntable takes a single tonearm cable, and this is sold each.

How much slack should I leave?

Enough that the cable hangs in a loop rather than running taut between the two boxes. On a sprung deck a tight cable becomes part of the suspension, which is not what either was designed for.

Can the terminations be changed later?

Not without re-terminating the cable, which means undoing Cardas's own work. Order the configuration your arm and phono stage actually present.

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