Clear Reflection SE Headphone

Cardas · Headphone Cables

Matched Propagation conductors in a dual-mono build like Clear's, with better internal damping and carbon-fibre hardware in the Special Edition, at half the price.

Price is for one complete headphone cable (both channels).

Clear Reflection SE builds on the dual-mono geometry of the Clear Headphone Cable with eight 25.5 AWG Matched Propagation conductors in PTFE tape. The Special Edition adds better internal damping for improved bass and dynamics, and new 3D-printed carbon-fibre hardware.

Cardas describes it as completely neutral and highly dynamic, a great match for virtually any headphone, with better detail and improved dynamics over the standard version. It is available with virtually any headphone connector on the market.

Key technologies

• Matched Propagation Technology. US Patent 7,674,973: the propagation rate of the conductor is matched to that of the dielectric through the conductor's internal geometry, so the signal is not smeared in time.
• Ultra Pure Cardas Copper. Grade 1, 99.9999% pure oxygen-free copper, drawn and annealed slowly through silver dies, then given a single poly-nylon coat to prevent oxidation and crosstalk between strands.
• Golden Ratio scaled Litz conductors. Multi-stranded conductors in which each layer of strands steps up in size by 1:1.618 from the centre outward, a Cardas patent that controls strand resonance.
• Any termination. Cardas stocks a large and growing selection of headphone connectors and amplifier plugs; the selector shows the common ones, and others are available on request.
• Made in Bandon, Oregon. Every Cardas cable is built and hand terminated at the Cardas factory on the southern Oregon coast, and carries a transferable lifetime warranty.

Choosing length and terminations

• Pick the amplifier end to match your amp or DAC: 1/4 in for most desktop amplifiers, 4-pin XLR or 4.4 mm Pentaconn for balanced outputs, 3.5 mm for portables.
• Pick the headphone end by model; if yours is not listed, Cardas almost certainly has the connector — ask us.
• 1.5 m to 2 m suits a desk; 3 m reaches an amplifier on a rack from a listening chair. Cardas prices in half-metre steps and builds any length.
• Clear-range headphone cables are dual-mono: two isolated runs, one per channel, so they are equally at home balanced or single-ended.