The man who inspired Clarus Cables, Gordon J. Gow of McIntosh fame. The company is Gordon J. Gow Technologies, Inc.
In part 1 and part 2 of the Clarus Cable reviews, I talked about who Clarus is and the inspiration for the Clarus Cables. To finish up my reviews of their cables, I’ll share how my system sounded with a whole system of their Crimson Cables. The company makes the Crimson Cables from PCOCC (Pure Copper by Ohno continuous casting), which is for all practical purposes the world’s purest copper. They feel that this is the best way to achieve the lowest resistance cable that introduces the least amount of crystal boundaries.
More than Power Cables
They make the speaker cables with 2x10AWG PCOCC wire, the interconnects with 16AWG PCOCC wire and they sheild the power cables with 12AWG and 8AWG PCOCC wire. The Crimson digital coax cable is different from the rest of the Crimson family. It uses silver to plate an 18AWG conductor core of solid PCOCC that is then sheathed in a skin/foam/skin dielectric. Then they wrap it in a dual-layer, silver-plated shield of OFC copper that permits greater flexibility and provides noise suppression.
Unlike most of its competition, the Clarus Crimson USB cable uses larger-than-normal 22AWG signal conductors of solid, silver-plated PCOCC and separate OFC power conductors of 20AWG. In general, I feel power cables make the biggest difference in a system, and I admit I have no idea why, but that’s what my ears tell me. This why I wrote part 1 and part 2 of this review series on the Aqua and Crimson power cables.
It always surprises me how different cables affect the sound of my system. I just don’t understand how anyone can say a certain cable is neutral when most sound so different. Also, almost everyone agrees that different cables work better in different systems. That’s why I am very pleased when I find a cable that sounds really good with different components and in different systems.
I used the Clarus Crimson cables in my reference system with four different power amps, two tubed and two solid state. I also used them with three different speakers and with three different digital setups. Then, I also used the Clarus Crimsons in my upstairs video/digital system. In each setup and system, I was very pleased with the sound of these cables.
So How Do Clarus Cables Sound?
From the mid-band all the way through the treble, the Crimson Cables were wonderfully musical. To my ears it was as if just the right amount of simple syrup had been poured into all the nooks and crannies of the signal to create a wonderfully sweet, cohesive sound. From the mid bass down to the very bottom end, they reminded me of Elote’s (my favorite Mexican restaurant on earth, which is located in Sedona, AZ). Their Lamb Adobe is rich, warm and sweet with just enough punch.
Strings, especially guitars, had nice big tone with a liquid, colorful sound with real harmonics. I could hear the complexity of the color of the instruments. Voices were also very alive like they were right there in the room. They were articulate, filled out and with lots of air around each voice. The timbre of both voices and instruments seemed so right to me. The result was that Instruments and voices sounded remarkably life-like in my system.
With the Clarus Crimsons in my system, the soundstage was airy and well-organized with great, full-bodied imaging. Image specificity was also solid.
There is a lot of competition at this price point for cables. Two competiors are the Audience SX cables and WyWires Platinum Series cables, and I like both of these. All three of these cable sound different. The WyWires are a little more open, transparent and detailed than the Audience and especially the Clarus Crimson. The Clarus Crimson cables are richer with bigger tones and sound smoother than the Audience and even more so than the WyWires. This places the Audience SX cables directly in the middle of these two in regard to tonality.
Conclusion
Clarus claims they engineer their cables from science. I can tell you that Clarus Crimson cables have a fit and finish that is world-class. They use nothing but the highest-quality materials and components, and the build quality is superb. Truth is, the entire line is worthy competition for the very best in cables. And they are even more impressive when you use a whole system of the Clarus Crimson. If you can’t get an entire set all at once, start with the power and digital cables first. There is something very right about the sound of these cables. Highly recommended.
