CrystalConnect Art Series Da Vinci - Best Cables of 2020

[CKKeung]

Disclaimer :
Although the title of this thread is Best Cable of 2020, that's my personal view only and YMMV.


In fact Crystal cables are all along not my cup of tea. In the past I considered them too finesse/civilized.
However both Siltech and Crystal have a lot of changes during the recent several years.
- Edwin & Gabi Rijnveld had sold their companies more than 2 years ago to a German investment.
- Gabi has retired but Edwin and their son Viktor are still working for the company.
- Crystal now has a new name of CrystalConnect.

Edwin & Viktor introducing the new CrystalConnect Art Series in this video :

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=3508046369262013

I thought CrystalConnect's new ideas should bring new performance so when the Art Series Da Vinci cables arrived in HK, I immediately went for audition at the Hiendy Club of hiendy.com which was doing a review for the Art Series.
Here are photos taken when I auditioned the Da Vinci for the first time there :





There were a xlr interconnect, a speaker wire and a power cable.
I was awed by their performance despite that the audition was brief.

Luckily Betta, a good audiophile friend of mine is a good friend of the CrystalConnect HK dealer.
We decided to borrow their xlr ic and power cable for home-trial.
And to bring them to home-visit friends and poison them!

Here are the cables we borrowed :

 

[CKKeung]

Betta and I then tested the Da Vinci in several hi-end systems of our friends.

This system is Betta's :


Andy's system with Goebel Divin Noblesse (I will write more about this speaker in another thread) :


Michael's audio system :


Betta was considering the Da Vinci cables for his Trinity dac and/or phonoamp so we tested the borrowed cables only on the frontend components of the above-mentioned systems.

 

[CKKeung]

So including the demo system in Hiendy Club, the Da Vinci xlr ic and pc had been tested in 4 hi-end systems.

All the participants agreed that :
1. The new Da Vinci was much much better than the past flagship Ultimate Dream.

2. Da Vinci is very allrounded, at least when applied on frontend components which don't demand high current/passing large signals.

3. Da Vinci gives the music a very rare continuousness/flow and long & natural decay

That last point distinguishes DV from several top cables they replaced during our home-visits, including Siltech TripleCrown, Nordost Odin2, Shunyata Omega ...etc.

DV in simple words, can make the music more analog-like, more real, more involving yet all the hifi factors are still there.

IMHO, all the above flagship cables were surpassed by DV in these important aspects.

Therefore, even the prices of Da Vinci are ridiculously high, Betta and some of the friends have made the purchase decision.
The saying of "once audiophiles have experienced good stuff, they can't be forgotten easily" is very true.

 

[pweg]

So including the demo system in Hiendy Club, the Da Vinci xlr ic and pc had been tested in 4 hi-end systems.

All the participants agreed that :
1. The new Da Vinci was much much better than the past flagship Ultimate Dream.

2. Da Vinci is very allrounded, at least when applied on frontend components which don't demand high current/passing large signals.

3. Da Vinci gives the music a very rare continuousness/flow and long & natural decay

That last point distinguishes DV from several top cables they replaced during our home-visits, including Siltech TripleCrown, Nordost Odin2, Shunyata Omega ...etc.

DV in simple words, can make the music more analog-like, more real, more involving yet all the hifi factors are still there.

IMHO, all the above flagship cables were surpassed by DV in these important aspects.

Therefore, even the prices of Da Vinci are ridiculously high, Betta and some of the friends have made the purchase decision.
The saying of "once audiophiles have experienced good stuff, they can't be forgotten easily".

Thx for that report. I’ve got some coming next week - hopefully they are good.

 

[CKKeung]

Thx for that report. I’ve got some coming next week - hopefully they are good.

Hi pweg,
Please note that we tested the DV pc only on dac or phonoamps and the xlr ic only for connecting these to preamps.
We didn't test them on other positions.
Not sure if they are as good for higher current/signal components.
On second thought, I should have said that they are my personal "Best cables for Frontends/Premps of 2020" only.

 

[Tintin]

So including the demo system in Hiendy Club, the Da Vinci xlr ic and pc had been tested in 4 hi-end systems.

All the participants agreed that :
1. The new Da Vinci was much much better than the past flagship Ultimate Dream.

2. Da Vinci is very allrounded, at least when applied on frontend components which don't demand high current/passing large signals.

3. Da Vinci gives the music a very rare continuousness/flow and long & natural decay

That last point distinguishes DV from several top cables they replaced during our home-visits, including Siltech TripleCrown, Nordost Odin2, Shunyata Omega ...etc.

DV in simple words, can make the music more analog-like, more real, more involving yet all the hifi factors are still there.

IMHO, all the above flagship cables were surpassed by DV in these important aspects.

Therefore, even the prices of Da Vinci are ridiculously high, Betta and some of the friends have made the purchase decision.
The saying of "once audiophiles have experienced good stuff, they can't be forgotten easily" is very true.

Many thanks for the report. If you have more specific result between Triple crown and Crystal Da Vinci please update it for our friends here.

Looking at cable geometry, my friends in Thailand expect TC to produce more body/bass while Da Vinci to produce more high and smoothness.

We commit our dealer to purchase either Siltech triple crown or Crystal Da Vinci on both XLR IC and speaker cable. Once arrive, perhaps in the next 4 weeks. I will post my experience here as well.

 

[CKKeung]

Many thanks for the report. If you have more specific result between Triple crown and Crystal Da Vinci please update it for our friends here.

Looking at cable geometry, my friends in Thailand expect TC to produce more body/bass while Da Vinci to produce more high and smoothness.

We commit our dealer to purchase either Siltech triple crown or Crystal Da Vinci on both XLR IC and speaker cable. Once arrive, perhaps in the next 4 weeks. I will post my experience here as well.

Hi Tintin,
IMHO the TripleCrowns is colourful & exciting, but it's like some MSG has been added into it.
The Art Series Da Vinci cables are much more natural!


I had not used the Da Vinci cables onto high current/large signal positions, but my guess is that TripleCrown may be more suitable in these positions.

However, I would suggest you and your friends in Thailand NOT to buy too many TripleCrown.
Edwin of Siltech is not a guy who prefers status quo.
A new Siltech flagship to replace TripleCrown may be available in 2021. I think it will employ some of the new technologies of Da Vinci cables such as the Infinite Crystal Silver …etc.
Therefore, please be patient!

 

[pweg]

Hi Tintin,
IMHO the TripleCrowns is colourful & exciting, but it's like some MSG has been added into it.
The Art Series Da Vinci cables are much more natural!


I had not used the Da Vinci cables onto high current/large signal positions, but my guess is that TripleCrown may be more suitable in these positions.

However, I would suggest you and your friends in Thailand NOT to buy too many TripleCrown.
Edwin of Siltech is not a guy who prefers status quo.
A new Siltech flagship to replace TripleCrown may be available in 2021. I think it will employ some of the new technologies of Da Vinci cables such as the Infinite Crystal Silver …etc.
Therefore, please be patient!

I agree with CK. Ive had Triple Crown and now have Da Vinci. Triple Crown has tremendous bass and tremendous treble but it wears u down and u soon fatigue of it. The DaVinci is the most natural top to bottom cable ive ever had - plus its the quietest cable ever ever heard.

 

[spiritofmusic]

From this narrative, is this why the AE studio and customers blend their hugely pricey cables from different brands into a "final recipe" loom?
From what I've read on AE forums, Chris mixes different brands of phono cables, interconnects, power cables, ground cables, USB...sometimes different brands of power cables depending on the component type it's used on
Is the AE philosophy to view wire as spices and accoutrements for that "final" prepared dish?

 

[Tintin]

Hi Tintin,
IMHO the TripleCrowns is colourful & exciting, but it's like some MSG has been added into it.
The Art Series Da Vinci cables are much more natural!


I had not used the Da Vinci cables onto high current/large signal positions, but my guess is that TripleCrown may be more suitable in these positions.

However, I would suggest you and your friends in Thailand NOT to buy too many TripleCrown.
Edwin of Siltech is not a guy who prefers status quo.
A new Siltech flagship to replace TripleCrown may be available in 2021. I think it will employ some of the new technologies of Da Vinci cables such as the Infinite Crystal Silver …etc.
Therefore, please be patient!

Hi CKKeung,
Thank you for your information.
I am in search of the new interconnect between Vivaldi DAC and Dan Pre amp. Currently, the dealer lend me Siltech Triple crown IC which is the best by far, at least in my set, comparing to Nordost Odin2, Transparent Opus, MIT Oracle MA-X SHD, and Signal project Avaton. Siltech Triple crown to me has a very fascinating mid band; the vocal is so sweet. Very exciting to find out how Da Vinci will perform against .

For the speaker cable, I never hear the TC yet but even the Double crown that I borrow from my friend performed better than my MIT Oracle MA-X SHD. Therefore, I decided to go for either TC or Da Vinci.

As for potential release of new Siltech cable, I was thinking about this issue as well but my initial thought was that Edwin took so long time between launching Triple crown and Double crown. Perhaps, you are right on this issue.

 

[Tintin]

I agree with CK. Ive had Triple Crown and now have Da Vinci. Triple Crown has tremendous bass and tremendous treble but it wears u down and u soon fatigue of it. The DaVinci is the most natural top to bottom cable ive ever had - plus its the quietest cable ever ever heard.

Hi Pweg,
Thanks for the information. Can you provide more detail?
Which cable did you replace TC with Da Vinci?
How is the bass performance of DV comparing to TC?

 

[Tintin]

From this narrative, is this why the AE studio and customers blend their hugely pricey cables from different brands into a "final recipe" loom?
From what I've read on AE forums, Chris mixes different brands of phono cables, interconnects, power cables, ground cables, USB...sometimes different brands of power cables depending on the component type it's used on
Is the AE philosophy to view wire as spices and accoutrements for that "final" prepared dish?

“Your system will sound best if you use the same brand and to be best the same series of cable in your whole set”
This is the concept that I always receive from audio cable manufacturing and some of well-known worldwide set up guys and reviewers.

To share with you all here, I did have a great chance to try it.
1. MIT Oracle MA-X SHD interconnect 2 joints (DAC->Pre and Pre-Power) and SHD speaker cable in my own system. Once I replace a single Nordost Odin2 IC between DAC and Pre, BOOM, my system sounds better.
2. All of my Digital cables are Odin2. I bought them all because of synergy logic. I did replace one cable with Signal project Andromeda (pricing about 30% of Odin2), BOOM, it sounds better.
3. One of my friend is using Nordost on his whole set:
Odin for almost everything interconnect, speaker cable and power cables
Odin2 for some interconnect.
I bring Avaton - flagship cable from Signal project to replace the joint between his ARC Ref40th phono and ARC Ref10 pre amp.
His system suddenly sounded more lively and more detail on high without any downside.

Therefore, my friends and I have come to conclusion that it may be better, safer and easier to select the same cables than poorly mix any brand of cables in your system. However, if you carefully select/mix a few brands together (maybe 2-4) it will finally give you the best result.

 

[spiritofmusic]

Agreed. I only ask because the Siltech apparently have a very strong flavour, and maybe this applies to Argento, Tripoint, Dalby, Vertere etc, that often get mixed in AE studio and customer systems.

 

[justubes]

Agreed. I only ask because the Siltech apparently have a very strong flavour, and maybe this applies to Argento, Tripoint, Dalby, Vertere etc, that often get mixed in AE studio and customer systems.

I have tried all the cable brands and could say that at a certain level, it is not so much about the overall flavour of the cable, but each seems to have a characteristic house sound and the mre of the brand or model scales up or synergises with their chracteristic strengths.

I have encountered my share of cables which has an bigger wow factor once you plug them in and strongly colour the whole spectrum.

I hear the Argentos and Vertere not sounding spectacular at all compared to more coloured brands. Dalby was only limited to my lan cable.

However, what i find is that with each brand, once you identified what they do magically well, other higly rated cables just cannot compare in that partular area which they do so exceptionally well at.

This strength can be easily be upset, or even negated with another highly acclaimed cable.

By much testing, in more than one system, i do easily identfy the area of strenght coming through and is replicated in a totally different and unfamiliar system.

From a properly balanced sounding base point, matching is just so extremely critical, in which 1 wrong cables can totally negate the area of strength of another cable or the entire presenation of a carefully balanced setup.

I had been testing the Vertere house sound and the Argentos which are both unspectular meaning relatively neutral or odourless otherwise.

The Vertere excels in the midband naturalness with a touch of warmth. The Argentos shines more at the overall clarity and extremes.

I love both for their characteristic strengths, but unable to get the strengths of both by introducing both together which is the perfect presentation for me of each, if it can be acheived together.

But unfortunately, together they subtract from each individuals strengths and their star strength being drowned out.

I do not know if it is acheivable to seek whether with tweaks or a finding the holy grail cable , the pristine clarity, openess and extension of what the Argento cables with the natural midband or the Vertere.

Even the compenent footers work synergistically with certain brand of cables and elevate on their core strengths.

The Argentos work stunning well with Wellfloat isolations and Vertere with the Arya footers. otherwise in a reverse configuration, become a mitigating band aid application.

Synergy is just so fragile even with top rated cables and accessories.

I hope to be able to hear the new Crystal Da Vinci's but guess they are far and few.

 

[tima]

From a properly balanced sounding base point, matching is just so extremely critical, in which 1 wrong cables can totally negate the area of strength of another cable or the entire presenation of a carefully balanced setup.

Once upon a time in a cable review, I wrote: "Trying to assess the sonic performance of a single cable by inserting it into an existing loom strikes me as being about as cogent as assessing Bridgestone Blizzak snow tires by mounting one on a car otherwise shod with Pirelli Sottozeroes. Sure, something will be different, but not in a usefully describable way to anyone interested in Blizzaks".

 

[tima]

I thought CrystalConnect's new ideas should bring new performance so when the Art Series Da Vinci cables arrived in HK, I immediately went for audition at the Hiendy Club of hiendy.com which was doing a review for the Art Series.

Nice coverage CK. Thanks for the tour.

 

[justubes]

I will add that they were multiple cables ranging from 2 to 4 and in reverse configurations and just to be sure on a cables performance, it was also stress tested in another totally different and well setup system being able to demonstrate, replicate or extract the cables exact same sonic pros and cons.

In a system that was way far and off, imo, they unspectacularly not perform at all, mot in a bad way, but aboslutely zero magicic, which leaves one scratching one head about why these cables cost that much and why my big cost no object systems use and praise them.

But it does take just one small puddle and one tyre over it to send a supercar at 50mph around the track spinning.

Perhaps that one odd, special tyre could have saved the day and writeoff of a few hundred K's!

 

[marmota]

I have tried all the cable brands and could say that at a certain level, it is not so much about the overall flavour of the cable, but each seems to have a characteristic house sound and the mre of the brand or model scales up or synergises with their chracteristic strengths.

I have encountered my share of cables which has an bigger wow factor once you plug them in and strongly colour the whole spectrum.

I hear the Argentos and Vertere not sounding spectacular at all compared to more coloured brands. Dalby was only limited to my lan cable.

However, what i find is that with each brand, once you identified what they do magically well, other higly rated cables just cannot compare in that partular area which they do so exceptionally well at.

This strength can be easily be upset, or even negated with another highly acclaimed cable.

By much testing, in more than one system, i do easily identfy the area of strenght coming through and is replicated in a totally different and unfamiliar system.

From a properly balanced sounding base point, matching is just so extremely critical, in which 1 wrong cables can totally negate the area of strength of another cable or the entire presenation of a carefully balanced setup.

I had been testing the Vertere house sound and the Argentos which are both unspectular meaning relatively neutral or odourless otherwise.

The Vertere excels in the midband naturalness with a touch of warmth. The Argentos shines more at the overall clarity and extremes.

I love both for their characteristic strengths, but unable to get the strengths of both by introducing both together which is the perfect presentation for me of each, if it can be acheived together.

But unfortunately, together they subtract from each individuals strengths and their star strength being drowned out.

I do not know if it is acheivable to seek whether with tweaks or a finding the holy grail cable , the pristine clarity, openess and extension of what the Argento cables with the natural midband or the Vertere.

Even the compenent footers work synergistically with certain brand of cables and elevate on their core strengths.

The Argentos work stunning well with Wellfloat isolations and Vertere with the Arya footers. otherwise in a reverse configuration, become a mitigating band aid application.

Synergy is just so fragile even with top rated cables and accessories.

I hope to be able to hear the new Crystal Da Vinci's but guess they are far and few.

Excellent post!
I have not heard them, but I'm very fond of Argento cables' construction, they are one of the very few brands that go the extra mile and produce their own parts, and use common sense as a core principle (same material for conductors and connectors attached without soldering). Everything has a sound, some less obvious than others at first listen, and always need optimization to shine at it's best. Thanks for taking the time to appreciate those cables' sound and synergies and sharing your finds here!

 

[justubes]

They offer a sound very special and unique, the few reviews online are spot on.

It sonics attained are just so different, nothing i have heard comes remotely close and was one of the hardest cable auditions and countless hours I have ever faced, if equipment, cables and tweaks.

It was a love hate relation, endurement will reveal their truly beautiful sound.

 

[Stereophonic]

A new Siltech flagship to replace TripleCrown may be available in 2021.

2022 at the earliest....