Crystal Cable Ararbesque
Loudspeakers
Music with see-through quality
 One
of the 2009 Montreal Show’s highlights was the introduction
of the Arabesque loudspeakers — the glass speakers
as everyone called them.
The loudspeakers’ striking see-through appearance
and their unique shape warranted visitors attention and,
as usual, prompted comments that greatly varied. As I walked
around at the show, I heard criticism as well as acclamation
by both, industry players and audiophile visitors. My own
take of the Arabesques is what you are about to read. My
evaluation is based on a few listening sessions spread over
three days and with the help of a compilation CD with a considerable
variety of music.
The first day, upon entering the Audio Basics display, I
thought that the speakers didn’t have enough bass and
a little sizzle at the top frequencies, but DID reveal the
back-up components’ sonic signature — the SimAudio
MOON amp/preamp/CD player. I thought that this was a good
start, as the speaker was revealing enough to enable me to
identify the MOON gear I had reviewed and played with for
quite some time. I was told that all of the gear, including
the top of the line Siltech cables, was new, not burned in,
and I decided to return at the end of the day for another
audition. When I returned, I noticed that the bass had improved
tremendously, the highs were a little more relaxed and the
midrange began to take on the Arabesques’ visual appeal — transparency,
a see-through quality, and a look into musical subtleties.
When I returned the second day, bass was a bit too opulent,
but magical audio effects began to unravel. Highs, though
a bit hot here and there, were markedly more refined in nature
and merged effortlessly with the midrange. Pure midrange
energy didn’t overpower frequencies above and below,
rendering instead a very coherent tonal equilibrium all the
way to the upper bass range.
On the third and final day, I auditioned the Arabesques
with the same musical material used for the earlier auditioning
sessions and soon found that the all-round sound had settled.
The system revealed more of the back-up components and less
of the speakers’ elemental personality. Nevertheless,
the sound stage had improved tremendously and front-to-back,
horizontal and vertical dimensions were clear-cut, superbly
focused, yet with plenty of air and space to mirror a live
musical event.
Though there was this bass issue — a little too much
energy from about 60Hz to the specified 27Hz (-3dB) — it
can be attributed to room configuration/interaction. The
high frequency driver, the RAAA ribbon tweeter, did a great
job with potentially strident information. It reached effortlessly
into the dog-whistle range, remained unwaveringly smooth,
but is unmercifully revealing — when choosing back-up
components, it is wise to remember that.
I had fun listening to Jimmy Smith’s Organ Grinder
Swing (Concord 825 675-2) on the Hammond B-3 and noted how
the speakers perfectly dissolved and recreated a great sound
stage. Jaques Loussier’s Baroque Favourites (Telarc
CD83516) sounded great and portrayed piano (A Steinway),
percussion and a French double bass as realistically as one
would expect from a live performance. Beethoven’s Pastoral
Symphony came to life and Diana Krall never sounded better.
All in all, the Arabesques handled all musical program material
with great proficiency, without imposing its own sonic signature
or — dare I say — colouration. And it is the
lack of colouration that makes it imperative to pay attention
to the system configuration ahead of the loudspeakers. Though
it is always a good idea to consider the sound of each component
when assembling a music/audio system, particular care must
be exercised with high-end components, since high price alone
does not ensure high-end performance.
Synopsis
Without a doubt, reviews of these loudspeakers will be in
all popular magazines and, of course, I expect that there
will be various opinions. Mine is that the amplifier/preamplifier/CD
player combination used to drive these speakers at the show
was not the best complement for the system. In addition,
let’s not forget that these loudspeakers are part of
a sound system where each component adds a sonic imprint.
It is for this reason that I would have chosen a great single-ended
tube amp, such as any of the Weytech Labs, Art Audio’s
single-ended amps, the hybrid Tenor monoblocks, etc. In the
solid state division, I would choose the Avantgarde Model
3 amp or Bryston’s 28B SST. A preamp of superb quality
is also recommended: Wyetech Labs’ Opal or Jade, Simaudio’s
Moon P8, the top of the line Naim are examples.
Another element to consider is the Arabesques’ considerable
importance as art. One may call it industrial art, though
I suppose some people will find the Arabesques visually appealing
enough to consider them art when placed in an avant-garde
style environment.
Are you getting your money’s worth? Well that’s
up to the customer to decide. I can only tell you that these
speakers promise high-end sound. The development cost must
have been extremely high considering the Arabesques’ exceptional
technological design, not to speak of the time it takes to
conceive and execute the designer’s creative imagination.
I think the sum total adds up to the price charged for this
design. |
| MODELS |
MANUFACTURER |
| Ararbesque |
Crystal Cable (Netherlands) |
| RATING |
CONTACT |
♪♪♪♪
|
Audio Basics Inc.
Vaughan, Ontario
Canada
L6A L4L 4G9
Bus. 905-303-9232
Fax. 905 303-8239
www.audiobasics.com |
| PRICE |
| $80,000.00 / pair (CDN) |
| Dimensions |
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TECHNOLOGY
The entire design is rooted in the science of physics and
the comprehension of applied acoustics. The Arabesque glass
enclosures and the absence of almost all dampening materials
makes it necessary to be familiar with the behavior of resonance
and standing waves in an enclosure. The folks at Crystal
addressed these issues by greatly limiting the enclosures’ natural
vibrating frequencies and the buildup of vibration due to
energy storage. The design is based on what Crystal calls
a natural shape. In actuality, the enclosure is mimicking
the shape of the nautilus, but instead of the rounded contours,
a clever arrangement was used to assemble straight glass
walls glued together with invisible bonding material. This
method avoids all parallel walls, with the exception of the
bottom and top panels. To avert problems, a small pad of
absorbing material is placed on the bottom panel of each
enclosure. The entire cabinet is made of 19mm (3/4 inch)
natural glass panels, made by a specialty German company.
The panels are cut and glued together, and are supported
by a heavy base that sports seven adjustable spikes. This
base is made from a stable solid block of high-grade aluminum
to support the four-foot high enclosures and 220 pounds weight.
Great pain must have been taken to obtain all these expensive
parts; not to speak of the time it takes to assemble it all.
The glass enclosures of the Arabesques are not only unique
and artistic; they house some of the best components currently
available.
Each enclosure accommodates three custom-made Scan Speak
Illuminator drivers to handle midrange and bass. A RAAL ribbon
tweeter handles the highs; it’s fast and reaches right
up to 100kHz. A second-order crossover that employs expensive
Tritec Aircoils and silver-foil capacitors divides the frequencies
at 2200Hz.
Speaker specifications do not reveal a sonic personality,
but DO show some elements of importance. The one spec I think
is really outstanding is the total harmonic distortion, quoted
as <0.5% within the audible range from 70Hz to 20kHz — an
outstanding value in the (speaker) business that often hits
more than 10%. Frequency range was originally quoted from
30Hz to 100kHz but later, a more precise quote stated 27Hz
(-3dB) to 100khz. Efficiency is 95dB @.83V. Nominal Impedance
is 4ohms; Power handling is quoted as 315 watts RMS, but
recommended power is 20 watts or more (try 10 watts or more). |
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