CES 2018

Crystal's First Cable for Portables

Jason Victor Serinus  |  Jan 13, 2018

Crystal Cable isn't new to the "portable cable" market—it has manufactured cables for Astell&Kern for the past three years—but its new Crystal Duet (€700 for 1.2 meters) is the first such cable branded and marketed under their own name. Constructed with silver and gold interconnects and a fascinating internal geometry whose innovative braiding renders it suited for both "standard" and balanced listening, the cable comes in a light, soft, hypoallergenic pouch. Custom lengths are available.

Not shown is Crystal Cable's brand new flagship, The Ultimate Dream interconnect (€16,500/1-meter pair), which is the first Crystal Cable to use Oyaide terminations. The monocrystal "rare earth" silver and gold design uses six conductors, and claims to incorporate technology that eliminates magnetic distortion.

COMMENTS
music or sound's picture
Submitted by music or sound on January 13, 2018 - 2:39pm

What does that mean: monocrystal "rare earth" silver and gold design
monocrystalline means one single crystal. Wire like that exist http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/cg1003808 and I understand why they are expensive, ribbons cut out of a single copper or silver crystal. That also means it needs to be a single pure metal. A lot manufactures claim single crystal but they refer to OCC wires which have only less crystal boundaries than ordinary wire but are obviously polycrystalline.
Also why one includes rare earth (because it sounds expensive?)

Jason Victor Serinus's picture
Submitted by Jason Victor Serinus on January 13, 2018 - 3:20pm

are best addressed to the company. This is not a review - there wasn't even a system to listen to - and it is certainly not a product of investigative journalism. Rather, it is a simple report in which I've quoted language used on the company's website.

spacehound's picture
Submitted by spacehound on January 13, 2018 - 9:53pm

Go at all then?
With this 'rare earth' nonsense, neither gold nor silver being rare earths, you obviously haven't a clue whether what you are reading or are told about this very expensive product is valid or not.

And as that applies to this cable it probably applies to most other things you look at.
For example, their braiding on the other cable isn't "innovative" either, it's just standard braiding as used on many wires where braiding is used to aid flexibility.

spacehound's picture
Submitted by spacehound on January 15, 2018 - 11:25am

Rare earths in the other cable? Utter nonsense, they aren't rare earths and if they were it would be of no benefit.

And 'rare earths are neither rare nor notably expensive. Neodymium for example, often used for magnets in electric motors, is as abundant as copper.

music or sound's picture
Submitted by music or sound on January 13, 2018 - 4:51pm

I understand, you are only reporting a company statement and have no problem with your wording

X