market for new IC cables.AQ,Cardas,Nordost&Kimber

Some folks want to buy small, one person operation cables.
Others, want the long term and design and research of larger companies.
I am of the buy from a well known manufacturer who has been around a long time.
So I agree with the op that those companies offer great cables.
" Audioquest,Cardas,Nordost and Kimber"
I have owned at one time or another all four brands.
My current favorites in a mid line are Cardas Parsec. ($360 1m)
I use them in combination with Kimber KS1016/KS1116 ($900 1m)
Another cable, with great bass!, but a little grainy (compared to better cables) is Kimber Hero.

Morrow Audio Cables :-) The MA3 or MA4 line is amazing.


http://morrowaudio.com/


Matt

Adg101

"....All the the brands listed make great cables and sound different from each other so best to try them at home first if possible..."

+1 ...Emphasis added ....this is the best advice you will ever solicit in this forum.

 All the rest is just noise to be filtered out for pushing their own heavily biased personal faves with nil assurance that they will be optimal in your bespoke system. 

I would try High Fidelity cable. I believe they have a 30 day money back policy. If you do not like them return them for a full refund. 
         

I’m in agreement with much of the preceding...
Preference for one brand/model of wire over another will depend on gear it’s used with and your ears/tastes. Generalizations about sonic characteristics are, I think, of limited value - though the Cardas wire I’ve had does seem to be weightier in the midrange and slightly rolled off in the high end (300B micro twin SE ICs; Golden Reference XLRs; Parsec speaker cable). The AQ wire I’ve tried or owned, by contrast has seemed a little thin (Rocket 33 speaker cable; Columbia XLR). Borrow from The Cable Co. and try any of those Big 4 at home. Decide for yourself.

I also second JayC’s Clear Day suggestion. I own his Double Shotgun Speaker Cables. Great presence and "meat on the bones" yet neutral with great clarity and nice high end extension. Maybe not quite as much low end extension as the Cardas Parsec speaker cable I have. Depending on speakers and amp used, one or the other (or both in bi-wire) sounds best to my ears. I have a pair of Morrow Audio SP-4 but prefer the Clear Day or Cardas to them. My experience might have exactly no predictive value towards what you or anyone else experiences.