Cygnus Phono - Phono cable - RCA
- 0,5m - Cardas Audio

Phono Cable · Analogue Signal Path

The phono cable is the weakest link in the analogue chain — and the most frequently underestimated. Nowhere else in a hi-fi system does an electrical signal travel at such a low level, so far from any amplification: the output of an MC cartridge is less than half a millivolt. Whatever the cable adds at this point — noise, interference, dielectrically stored energy, unequal propagation velocities — will inevitably be audible. The Cardas CLEAR Cygnus Phono was designed with the explicit goal of adding nothing: pure sound through rigorous physics.

As the successor to the CLEAR Light — the best-selling cable in the entire CLEAR series in the United States — the Cygnus had a formidable act to follow. Cardas met the challenge without a significant price increase: with a leaner yet highly engineered four-conductor construction, the Cygnus draws on the same core principles as the full CLEAR and translates them into a cable that surpasses its predecessor in every respect — more open, more holographic, with a stronger low-frequency foundation.

What sets the Cygnus Phono apart sonically can be summed up in a phrase rarely applicable in high-end audio: it does nothing wrong. It does not emphasise any frequency, does not sharpen transients at the expense of sustain, and does not smooth over detail to create a pleasing but ultimately artificial warmth. The result is a natural, effortlessly detailed presentation — instruments are tangibly positioned in space, bass lines gain definition and body, and the treble remains open without ever becoming fatiguing.

Compared to the CLEAR Light, the Cygnus makes its greatest gains in holographic depth staging: voices and instruments are not merely placed side by side, but clearly positioned in front of and behind one another. Those encountering the Cardas sound for the first time may briefly doubt their ears — because the Cygnus sounds less immediately exciting than many competitors. That impression reverses within a few hours of listening: what reads as restraint turns out to be honesty. What other cables sell as liveliness is simply brightness and strain.

With percussive transients — hi-hat, snare, plucked strings — the Cygnus demonstrates what correct cable capacitance and clean shielding achieve in practice: approx. 56 pF per metre keeps the cartridge's high-frequency roll-off well beyond the audible range, without the thin, bleached treble character typical of ultra-low-capacitance designs. The cable benefits from a break-in period — users report an initially slightly restless character that settles into a noticeably more balanced, silky presentation within a few days.

The CLEAR Cygnus Phono is based on the CLEAR Cygnus Interconnect, modified in its termination for phono use and routed as a single strand rather than a stereo pair. At its core are four conductors of 99.9999% pure OFHC copper (Grade 1), produced entirely in-house by Cardas Audio since the mid-1980s: the wires are cleaned and annealed in a hydrogen reduction atmosphere, polished with diamond dies after each drawing pass, and immediately sealed with a urethane Litz enamel coating — a continuous process that permanently excludes oxidation.

These individual strands are wound in multiple opposing layers around a Kevlar core — the Crossfield geometry. Crucially, each layer runs in the opposite direction to the one below it, which cancels the dipole behaviour that causes conventional strands to both radiate and absorb RFI/EMI. The size ratios of the individual strands relative to one another and to the surrounding insulation follow the Golden Section (ø = 1.6180…), the mathematical ratio underlying the Fibonacci sequence: each strand is dimensioned so that its resonant frequency is irrational to those of its neighbours — inter-strand resonance is structurally cancelled rather than merely damped.

Matched Propagation addresses a phenomenon systematically underestimated in conventional cables: magnetic fields propagate within a conductor faster than within the surrounding insulator. This velocity differential creates phase errors that manifest as a softening of focus, a loss of micro-detail, and blurred transients. Cardas equalises both propagation velocities through deliberate choices of conductor diameter, insulation geometry, and shield architecture. The result is a more time-coherent signal transfer — audible as greater resolution in the mid and high frequencies and a more three-dimensional soundstage.

The conductors are held apart by anti-static LDPE air-tubes bound with carbon-impregnated PTFE tape. Air remains the dielectrically most neutral material available — every polymer stores energy; air does not. The outer tube layer is dimensioned 1.618 times larger than the inner layer, following the Golden Section, holding the dual shield of tinned copper and magnet wire physically clear of the signal conductors. The outcome is a double-shielded cable of remarkable flexibility — especially at the free-running connection leads that ease installation in tight tonearm environments.

At the tonearm end, the CLEAR Cygnus Phono is available as standard with a straight Cardas aluminium DIN plug or two GRMO RCA plugs. The 90° Cardas aluminium DIN plug is available at extra cost — ideal for turntables with limited clearance at the arm output. For balanced phono stages, custom configurations are possible: 4-pin DIN with ground via the outer contact, or 5-pin DIN with a ground lead separated from the shield, enabling the cleanest possible earth routing in fully balanced setups.

At the phono stage end, two Cardas GRMO RCA plugs are fitted as standard. Two XLR plugs, or rhodium-plated Cardas XLR plugs at extra cost, are available on request; the ground can be routed separately or connected to pin 1 of the XLR. Cables of 2 metres and longer are custom-made to order — Cardas builds no stock in Bandon, Oregon; every cable is made to specification.

The CLEAR Cygnus Phono sits in the Cardas lineup between the Iridium Phono as a more accessible entry point and the CLEAR Phono, which employs four pairwise-grouped, fully balanced conductors stabilised by air-filled PTFE tubes for an even more transparent and three-dimensional sound. The phono hierarchy continues with the CLEAR Beyond Phono — the flagship of the range, routing each channel in a separate cable strand to achieve the maximum in crosstalk suppression and spatial imaging.

The CLEAR Cygnus Phono hits the sweet spot of this lineup: it delivers the conceptual foundation of CLEAR technology in a cable that demands no audiophile compromises — neither in price nor in day-to-day use. It is equally at home on suspended-chassis turntables and direct drives, and performs with MM and demanding MC cartridges alike.