Crystal Arabesque Mini (HiFi+ 85)

There are limits – Green Day’s ‘Dookie’ sounds more like hard rock than raw punk, and Ornette Coleman and Eric Dolphy lose some of that screeching randomness – but you have to go to the extremes to find them. Instead, it brings out the character of the instrument and the player behind the instrument in a way that is exceptionally listenable and ‘beauteous’. I also suspect that there will probably not be that many Arabesque Minis being used to play ‘Dookie’ at high volume levels. The combination of design and the nature of the speaker itself selects a different audience, more receptive of the Minis charms.

The overall presentation is one of complete transparency. Not simply in the audiophile ‘listening into the mix’ or ‘analysis of the system’ kind of transparency that engenders a constant stream of ‘not quite’ components in the search for audio perfection. No, the Mini is transparent to the music itself. You get a perfect idea of the musicians, the composer and the conductor’s intent when listening through the Mini. There’s no room for ‘phoning in your part’ here; compare two versions of the same recording and you’ll quickly discover why one is praised and one isn’t. As if it didn’t need retelling, a quick blast of almost any Steely Dan album will highlight why they are musician’s musicians; not in a laid-bare fusty analysis of Steve Gadd’s double-stick drumming technique, but in the way they are all pin-sharp precise and gel together in a way that only top notch professionals can muster. That kind of transparency. The proper kind.

There’s something inherently right about the Arabesque Mini, in much the same way there was something inherently right about legendary standmounts like the Sonus Faber Elector Amator or the Extrema. All three are noteworthy because of their exceptionally big sound, with more bass than you would expect from what is essentially a two-way design. All three live up to that ‘the whole is greater than the sum of the parts’ maxim and I dare say the Mini will join the other two in the sort of hushed tone reverential treatment when they are discussed by audiophiles. Good speakers might not be ten a’penny, but they aren’t that rare. Potential legends don’t come along that often. The Arabesque Mini might just be 2012’s new legend…

Technical Specifications

Two-way stand mount loudspeaker
Drive units: 1x 25mm beryllium dome tweeter, 1x 150mm cone mid/woofer
Frequency Range: 40Hz-40kHz (-3dB) rear wall position
Crossover Frequency: 2kHz
Crossover: second order, low Q
Power Handling: 50-150W
THD: <0.5% (120Hz-20kHz)
Max SPL: 106dB
Efficiency: 86dB @ 2.83V
Impedance: 8 ohm Nominal
Weight: 18kg (excluding stands)
Finish: Natural silver/grey or black
Price: £12,000 per pair (excluding stands)

Manufactured by: Crystal Cable
URL: www.crystalcable.com

Distributed by: Absolute Sounds
URL: www.absolutesounds.com
Tel: +44(0)208 971 3909