Like many baby-boom-generation audiophiles, I grew up in the era of the BIG speaker cable—a period when one’s commitment to the hobby was measured by the diameter of a run of speaker wire. There was hardly a thought to its appearance or, shudder the thought, practicality. And if you weren’t careful, you were just as likely to trip over them as listen to them. As the high end matured, we found that there were many factors—other than physical scale—that influenced the sonics and musicality of audio cables. Electrical and mechanical properties, the quality of terminations, conductor quality, design formulations and geometry, and, of course, shielding and grounding.
But Crystal Cable’s Gabi Rynveld, the CEO and president of this Netherlands firm, sees things a little differently. Her team produces cable and associated products that are (perish the thought) attractive, even jewel-like, more like something found at a Tiffany & Co. counter rather than a shelf at Ace Hardware. Its latest collection, Diamond Series 2, includes the Piccolo2 Diamond, Micro2, Reference2, and Ultra2. The Reference2 is the subject of this review, and though by no means budget at $4300/2m, it is still a far cry from Crystal’s breathtaking mega-buck Art Series van Gogh and Da Vinci models.
Conductors are Crystal Cable’s uniquely developed silver-gold alloy representing, according to Crystal, a first in the industry. The formulation “eliminates microcracks in the silver conductor’s crystal boundaries by injecting gold atoms to fill them in.” The result is a reduction in boundary distortions and better electrical characteristic than conventional silver conductors alone. They are also more flexible, always a “win” when organizing cables in a system. The solid-core conductors are wrapped in genuine Teflon (no imitators), then Dupont Kapton, then a silver-plated copper shield, and finally an outer transparent Teflon sleeve. Compared with the original Diamond Series, Crystal has targeted RFI rejection with improved insulation and shielding and significantly reduced ground impedance for lower noise.
Since I was going to evaluate these cables through multiple speaker systems including an active one, Crystal Cable’s U.S. Distributor Wynn Audio provided two sets of long XLR interconnects as well as single-wire speaker cables and Reference2 power cords. The interconnects ran the dCS Bartók streaming DAC (having recently received the factory upgrade to Apex status—more on that in a forthcoming issue) through the Pass Labs XP 12 preamp to the ATC SCM50 active tri-amplified towers. In my other listening room, I used ATC SCM20P passive speaker and Dynaudio Confidence 20 stand-mount compacts (review forthcoming). The sources were the Lumin S1 streaming DAC and my Sota Cosmos Eclipse turntable/SME tonearm. Anchoring the passive system was the Aesthetix Mimas integrated amplifier, a reference piece and Golden Ear Award recipient. My reference cables were the Audience frontRow speaker cables and interconnects and the considerably more expensive Analysis Plus Micro Golden Oval interconnects for the active towers.
In terms of sonic performance, the Ref2 Diamond steadfastly refused to be typecast. In fact, these slender, svelte cables played happily against type. Thin, brittle, or bleached? Absolutely not. In fact, tonally Ref2 Diamond conveyed a slightly darker, richer, and more romantic sound, a bit forward but with an element of roundedness in the midrange that lent music a weight and substance that to me was an accurate barometer of the live acoustic experience. For example, the concert grand piano during Kissin’s reading of Glinka’s “The Lark” felt slightly heavier, thoroughly grounded in its lower octaves. The fortissimo upper-treble trills, which ring with harmonics, were piercing but smooth. The tone never hardened, as it captured the velocity as well as the authenticity of the keyboard’s felt-wrapped hammers.
Further, the cable was an honest broker across the frequency spectrum. Treble performance was superior without hints of brightness. Bass reproduction was clean, and in most instances, pitch precise and resonant. The Ref2 Diamonds flattered a good recording but also revealed the letdowns of a poor one. Thus, if a record had an edgy or aggressive top end, the Crystal Cable allowed that stridency to play out, come hell or high water. Conversely, an LP recording like Stravinsky’s Pulcinella [St. Martin in the Fields: Argo]—as airy and extended and natural as any in my collection—was able to fully bloom, even in demanding sections like the piccolo trumpet solo or the amusing duet for trombone and bass violin. An interesting side effect of Ref2 Diamond’s strong midrange presence and harmonic density was that John William’s “Olympic Fanfare” and soundtrack to The Cowboys almost sounded as if their acoustic and ambient worlds was pitched ever so slightly downward and the environment the music occupied had expanded in volume.
Imaging was very strong with little sensation of neighboring images being squeezed or smeared. The attack of the snare during the “Olympic Fanfare” just sat pristinely focused and stable within its environment. On random pop recordings, each drum fill sequence maintained its own place across the soundstage, just as the engineer intended. And there were serendipitous discoveries. I have a recording with a particular flavor of snare drum sound that I thought I knew well, but it was not until I listened with the Ref2 Diamond that I noticed the faint high-hat being struck simultaneously with that snare. Of course, it was always there in the mix, but now I was hearing a higher level of individuation. At least some of that credit accrues to the Crystal Cable.
Transients were clean and without overhang. The sibilance range—especially as it relates to vocals—was held nicely in check. Peter, Paul & Mary’s Mary Travers’ wistful performance of “500 Miles” had good body resonance and took on an almost holographic and physical substance in the listening space—as if you could feel the singer’s breath rising from inside her diaphragm and bringing the note to her lips.
But my key takeaway, the area that left me almost (but not quite) speechless was the Crystal’s ability to elicit finer and finer gradations of timbral and textural color and contrast. From the opening transient of a bow crossing a violin or cello string or a flat-pick upon the steel strings of a guitar or mandolin, the Ref2 Diamond seemed to capture more character from each note. A good example is Melody Gardot’s “Who Will Comfort Me” with its assortment of very specific intro cues from a nylon string guitar and the tactile nature of finger snaps to a terrific muted trumpet solo and the heat of a backing Hammond organ. Another stellar recording that I constantly refer to is Harry Connick, Jr.’s rendition of “A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square.” Buried in the ambience of this deceptively transparent track was the palpability of the random finger snaps near the close of the tune plus the occasional slap of the strings on the fingerboard of the standup acoustic bass. Remarkable too was Branford Marsalis’ accompanying tenor sax, which literally harmonizes with Connick’s vocal in the closing measures of this track. What makes it special is the instrument’s presence and sustain right down to the final exhalation of air flowing over the reed.
Along those same lines many readers familiar with my past reviews know that I can wax at length about how the resolving power of a component can be identified by listening to the distinctive and uniquely gifted voices of background singers in a recording—the backing voices in Norah Jones’ “Sinkin’ Soon,” or the sha-la-las during Holly Cole’s “Jersey Girl,” or Ricki Lee Jones’ backing harmony to Lyle Lovett’s lead vocal during “North Dakota.” All these examples have grown in clarity and naturalism in the years that I’ve referenced them. Yes, it’s partially owing to improved playback equipment, particularly digital sources, but it’s also owed to cable like the Refernce2 Diamond that hangs onto to every breath, sibilance, syllable, and sustain.
Switching to the dCS Bartók Apex/Pass Labs/ATC system, I pitted Ref2 Diamond opposite my XLR interconnect reference in this system, Analysis Plus Micro Golden Oval, which as it happens coats its hollow-core copper conductors with gold. In this “gold-vs-gold” matchup, the Ref2 Diamond was impressive overall and only mildly subtractive in the smallest doses. Take, for example the bouncy opening bass vamp from the Holly Cole Trio cover of “I Can See Clearly.” In this track, the acoustic bass lost a little control and tension. Nor was the soundstage relationship between bass and piano quite as complex or discernable. During Vaughn-Williams The Wasps: Overture (Andre Previn conducting the LSO, a personal well-worn favorite), the Crystal gave up some ground as regards the depth and detail of orchestral layering and the spread of images from section to section. With its richer micro-dynamic energy, the Analysis Plus seemed to draw a shade more raw, heart-rending emotion out of Ronstadt’s soaring vocal on “The Moon is a Harsh Mistress.” However, in most other aspects like overall tonal balance, transient attack, and midrange verisimilitude, the Crystal was a virtual dead heat with leading contenders like the Audience and Analysis Plus.
Yes, the Crystal Cable Reference2 Diamond is slender, lightweight, and easy to handle. But as this evaluation played out, the cable’s look was the least significant aspect of the equation, which is why I often remind myself not to be too quick to judge. And perhaps the true strength of Reference2 Diamond is that you can have it both ways—the external beauty as well the inner beast, the sonic brawn and intense, uncolored musicality to bring out the full potential of your system.
Specs & Pricing
Conductor: Silver-Gold2
Insulation: Kapton Teflon
Shields: Silver-plated copper
Construction: XLR 3 coax; RCA 3 coax (2 coax)
Terminations: XLR or RCA (bananas or spade)
Price: $4890/2.5m speaker; $2000/1m (+$500 per ½ meter) RCA/XLR; Power Cord, $1250/1m
WYNN AUDIO (U.S. Distributor)
20 Wertheim Crt., Unit 31
Richmond Hill, ON, L4B3A8
Canada
(212) 826-1111
crystalcable.com
wynnaudio.com
Tags: CABLE INTERCONNECT CRYSTAL CABLE
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By Neil Gader
My love of music largely predates my enthusiasm for audio. I grew up Los Angeles in a house where music was constantly playing on the stereo (Altecs, if you’re interested). It ranged from my mom listening to hit Broadway musicals to my sister’s early Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Beatles, and Stones LPs, and dad’s constant companions, Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett. With the British Invasion, I immediately picked up a guitar and took piano lessons and have been playing ever since. Following graduation from UCLA I became a writing member of the Lehman Engel’s BMI Musical Theater Workshops in New York–working in advertising to pay the bills. I’ve co-written bunches of songs, some published, some recorded. In 1995 I co-produced an award-winning short fiction movie that did well on the international film-festival circuit. I was introduced to Harry Pearson in the early 70s by a mutual friend. At that time Harry was still working full-time for Long Island’s Newsday even as he was writing Issue 1 of TAS during his off hours. We struck up a decades-long friendship that ultimately turned into a writing gig that has proved both stimulating and rewarding. In terms of music reproduction, I find myself listening more than ever for the “little” things. Low-level resolving power, dynamic gradients, shadings, timbral color and contrasts. Listening to a lot of vocals and solo piano has always helped me recalibrate and nail down what I’m hearing. Tonal neutrality and presence are important to me but small deviations are not disqualifying. But I am quite sensitive to treble over-reach, and find dry, hyper-detailed systems intriguing but inauthentic compared with the concert-going experience. For me, true musicality conveys the cozy warmth of a room with a fireplace not the icy cold of an igloo. Currently I split my time between Santa Fe, New Mexico and Studio City, California with my wife Judi Dickerson, an acting, voice, and dialect coach, along with border collies Ivy and Alfie.
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