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.
128x128b_limo
@jtcf720 posts
10-07-2019 9:46am
I know!Crazy isn’t it?Letting them rest seems to be important too.It’s hard to retain my dignity and keep from gushing.They are very special.
-----------------------------------------
@b_limo OP993 posts
10-07-2019 10:36am
I’ve never noticed cables sounding different by letting them rest as well. I noticed that myself over the past week or two as I’m not running music through my system daily anymore.
"tension released after being coiled up and then sitting for 2-3 weeks in the same position" is one explanation I received years ago from another cable mfg. As in, it flows more evenly once tension is gone and the cable strands are all relaxed. That’s 3 for 3. Either its true or we are all crazy wishful thinkers, haha.
I should add that my cables haven’t been moved for 3 weeks either.  I have all my cables elevated and none touch; I’m a geek like that
Anyone that’s paid an iota of attention to Physics or Cosmology, from modern Astronomy or Astrophysics to Quantum Mechanics, knows: there are much harder to explain/more bazaar things, going on all around us, than the phenomena we observe, regarding our sound systems. A plethora of theorems and theories, but- so few categorically proven facts. The more we’ve measured/discovered/uncovered/learned, the more we’ve realized how little we understand. I’m still waiting, for one of these, "Science" spouting, nay-saying posers, to provide something besides Newtonian-based blather, to disprove what those of us that have been experimenting, listening and experiencing, know to be true. End of rant.
Update#4:  After my updates to a friend who is a very practical and reasonably skeptical audio colleague broke down and bought a pair of AP Crystal Solo 1m interconnects for his triode amp system with horn speakers. He too experienced the overly open and bright sound first few days. Then, notified me and said it started smoothing out some after the first 3-4 days, and changing again (good to bad to good again) after 2 weeks. Today he confirmed they are  "keepers" for him too. However, we agreed - change one thing and it can cause one to look at fine tuning in other areas too. 

Now both of us agree we are hearing "things" we've never heard before in old recordings we've listened to many times prior using other (non-OCC) OFC copper or silver over copper interconnects. 

As a result, both of us are revisiting front-end input signal tubes (again) with our tube preamps to see what we can discover now that our interconnect cables have opened a new door.  Good fun.