Aural Symphonics Chronos interconnect & Hybrid v3 speaker cable

Ed Momkus subjects the Aural Symphonics Chronos Interconnects and Hybrid v3 Speaker Cables to stringent examinations



On today’s audio menu is a review of the Aural Symphonics Chrono interconnects and Hybrid v3 speaker cables. I had them for an extended period of time, and have been able to use them with three sets of monoblock amps, four preamps and two digital front-ends. I’ve had a great time playing with them used together and in mix n’ match configurations with my Silent Source Silver Signature interconnects and speaker cables. This is a short review, because it doesn’t take any effort to tell that these are very good cables. It hits you as soon as you put them into your system.

Design

I didn’t have much background knowledge on the Aural Symphonics when I received them, so I went to the Aural Symphonics website to see what the deal was. The following paraphrases the information from the website.

The Chrono interconnects. All Chrono conductors and connectors are cryogenic infusion processed. The positive conductor is an 8.0awg conductor configured as multiple un-insulated solid cores. The negative is a smaller conductor and there is no outer shield or crushed polypropylene fillers in the design. Aural Symphonics says that the Chrono achieves very low noise without any outer shield. They also cite as a benefit the fact that the absence of an outer shield eliminates the need for any additional resistive load on the ground conductor. Aural Symphonics claims that the Chrono is stable over long cable lengths, exhibits minimal effects on electronic component interfacing, and is appropriate with both vacuum tube and solid-state equipment.

The Hybrid v3 bi-wire speaker cable. The Hybrid v.3 includes a conductor network specifically designed for low frequencies, and one conductor designed for the mid to high frequencies. Both stranded and solid-core conductors are used. This cable design is wound in a helical (cork screw) fashion allowing a precise configuration of the circuits inductive and capacitive values. According to Aural Symphonics, they chose conductors of varying types and diameters that were selected for their individual electrical merits, but combined to maximize performance as a whole. These differing conductors address the challenge of proper signal transfer from amplifier to bi-wired speaker. In addition to reproduction of air and body, they claim that the Hybrid v.3 is designed to enhance the amplifier's ability to control large diameter, low-frequency woofer drivers. The conductors at the amp end are bundled into a pair of spades, while the conductors at the speaker end are divided into two pair of spades – one pair for the bass and one pair for the mid and treble section of the speaker.

The price of the Chrono balanced interconnects is $1,570 for each of the two 1.5-meter pair, and $4,600 for the 5-meter pair, while the price of the 2-meter, bi-wired pair of Hybrid v3 is $2,800. These are obviously not cheap cables. As you would expect from the price, they should be high-end performers. So what do they do?

Initial Impressions & Test Setup

As a general matter, all of the cables were very extended in both the bass and treble. Notwithstanding the top-end extension, they were very smooth in the treble with no glare or glassiness at all. They also went deep into the bass with excellent body, but without losing definition. They also had a warm and natural midrange, with a bit more body and warmth than your typical high-end cable. Finally, they all had excellent PRAT, which is not always the case with cables that have substantial warmth and body.

In order to maintain consistency when evaluating the Hybrid v3 speaker cables, all observations were made using the same speakers, the B&W Nautilus 800Ds. In addition, I used three different amps during the review process: a pair of Plinius References in the bridged monoblocks mode, a pair of Shengya PSM-600 monoblocks (review to follow), and my own Electrocompaniet Nemos. Since the Hybrid v3 brings the cables together into a single pair of spades at the amp end, I was not able to evaluate it with the Plinius References used as stereo amps set up for biamping. As a result, the comparisons with different amps all involved using the amps as monoblocks.

I had more options to test the Chrono interconnects because I had two sources and 4 preamps available. The sources were the Electrocompaniet UP-1 with spider clamp (review to follow) and my own Upgrade Company-modified Esoteric P-70/D-70 transport/DAC. The preamps were the Ypsilon PST 100 (review to follow), the Shengya CS-6 (review to follow), the Pass XP-20 (see review in the July Edition of Dagogo) and the MBL 6010D. In all cases the output of the preamp was processed through my Lyngdorf RP-1 room correction device.

The Aural Symphonics were not as flexible as my Silent Source Signatures, which were the most flexible high-end cables I’ve ever tried. But the AS were way more flexible than several other high-end cables whose stiffness was nothing short of frustrating. The Aural Symphonics were in the middle of the pack, with good flexibility and the ability to reach tough spots if you have enough length and created loops. However, don’t expect to make any 45 degree bends.