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  3. 150109-24

Analysis Plus Solo Crystal Oval 8...OMG!!

I seriously can’t believe what these cables are doing to the sound in my rig.  I had them awhile ago and couldn’t justify the price (used) so I pulled back and returned them.  I grabbed them again yesterday since my local stereo shop still had them hanging there. 

Well let me say that I’ve always been a believer in cables making changes to the sound because I can hear it but I’ve never had speaker cables that changed the sound as dramatically as this.  The way it’s untangling the music, the way its making everything sound real, the way it’s full top to bottom without any harshness is pretty crazy.  

This is on a system that isn’t highly resolving yet all of these differences are completely noticeable.  I’m not talking about a little more resolution here, a little more top end sparkle there, fuller bass here...  I’m talking about did I just get a different amp, this can’t be the same dac, these can’t be the same speakers, kind of changes.

I’ve had this sound in my systems before but that was with higher end gear for sure... it makes me wonder how much I was leaving on the table without these cables in my rig at that time.


Have any of you had similar experiences with the Solo Crystal 8’s as well?  I’m thinking that these are end game cables for me.
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decooney
1,992 posts
 
The AP Crystal Solos continue to reveal whatever is thrown at them.

This week I changed out vintage Sylvania 6SN7GT preamp tubes for new-production Tung-Sol tubes. A lot more burn-in required I gather. Nice and full sounding right off the bat. Clean but a bit dry and less texture in the first 10-20 hours. The AP Crystal Sol ICs do what they are suppose to do for sure. Hoping 80 more hours of burn-in will help. It’s worth a test I guess...maybe TJ Full Music next.
jtcf's avatar
jtcf
1,617 posts
 
The Tung Sols 6SN7s are clear and a little dry to me also.I am able to use one for the input of my amp and it makes for a good balance with the other tubes.The 6622 gold lions were sounding really too lush in the dac so in went a pair of Amperex(not sure of the year) today.Aaaand the speakers literally disappeared!Finally!They lean a little to the dry side too,so I lost some texture, but damn the music sounded good.Just a drop of midrange warmth is missing.More tweaking....
The speaker cables continue to be amazing,allowing any changes upstream to be clearly heard.
decooney
1,992 posts
 
The AP Crystal Solo interconnect cables are a very nice pairing particularly when the synergy on the front end source is good. This is my conclusion. The AP Solos help it to sound greater when the right component match is achieved in order to take advantage of them.

UPDATE #4:
I’ve been running the new production re-issue Tung Sol 6SN7s in my tube preamp for the past three days solid. After some serious burn-in I like them, a LOT, and better than I thought I would. I’m not sure I’ll be so quick to put my vintage 6SN7s back in my preamp. There is a full triode effect coming through now, and the cables put it in focus for sure. The cables and tubes are staying put for a while. I find I'm not listening to components as much, and back to listening to music. A good sign.
jtcf's avatar
jtcf
1,617 posts
 
@decooney  sounds like progress is being made.Good!
decooney
1,992 posts
 
@jtcf seems so. Thx.  

After these burn in a little more, I'll let them run for a bit (set them a aside a bit) and still have a pair of TJ Full Music 6SN7s coming a buddy talked me in to trying.  He's using them with his new AP  cables and his new DAC tube in his preamp.  He now says his AP solos are keepers but had to tune the front end a bit more to smooth things out since "everything comes through" with the APs Crystal Solos on his system too.  

Some people say cables don't make a difference. :)  In a revealing system they sure do and can make it better or worse when garbage-in garbage out applies. 
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