I know very well Straightwire Crescendo I interconnect and speaker cables. My system is all solid state Audio Analogue devices with B&W 805S speakers on stand. The interconnect version, both rca and xlr, sound big and bold, dynamic is huge, frequency response is neutral, bass is perfect. Probably there are interconnect cables with a more incisive, detailed high frequency exstension (like some OCC monocrystal silver cable), but often they're much more system dependent, while the Crescendo interconnects are always really musical.
The speakers version (biwiring) have the same similar family sound....what I noted respect to other speaker cables (Kimber 8TC, JPS Superconductor 2 NC and few others) is the huge dynamic and extension of bass frequencies; mids and highs are neutral, not overly warm, not edgy. The best attribute of the Crescendo family is IMHO the balance between different aspects of music reproduction.

perfect highs and mids, extended and controlled bass

no ones at all

I can only speak for the speaker cables.
I use them in bi-wiring. My speakers are Nautilus 802. My amp is a Symphonic Line RG 10 MKIV.
I love these cables. The bass is extended but well controlled. Mids are sweet, for me just perfect. And the highs are very well defined. No harshness anywhere.
I compared the crescendos to Symphonic Line "Schnell" and Silent Wire LS 16. The Symphonic Line cables have a very good and controlled bass but not this mids and highs. The Silent wire cables are very good at all. But in my system and in my opinion, they sounded a little bit bright.
So if you are looking for some very good cables, you should try the crescendos.

Similar Products Used:

Symphonic line Schnell, Silent wire LS 16

smooth highs and trebles, perfect bass, very good soundstage

nothing at all

I only can speak for the speaker cables 2,5m bi-wire. I bought these cables 3 month ago and replaced my Symphonic Line "Schnell" with them. It was the best decission I could make. The sound stage is extended. The sound is smooth and detailed. Trebles are to die for. Bass is full and extended but controlled. I love these cables. I compared them with LS16 cables from silent wire. Very good cables, but in my system (Amp:Symphonic line RG10, CDP Symphonic line Vibrato, Speakers: B&W N 802) I like the Crescendos more.

Similar Products Used:

Symphonic Line "Schnell"
Silent Wire LS 16

Dynamic, smooth while presenting the information.

none so far.

I purchaed a Krell FPB 300 at my local dealer and he was nice enough to GIVE me a pair of XLR interconnects. It took several cd's and movies to achieve the performance levels I'm currently enjoying. I've had these cables for about a year and a half and I'm very happy. Krell HTS Krell FPB 300 & KAV 250/3a Krell DVD Standard Magnum Dynalab Tuner Pioneer Elite Laser Disc Cables Straight Wire Transparent Ultra XLR

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Monster, XLO, Nordost, AudioQuest

For the $, I can't hear any (even compared to The Chorus, but they still kick butt).

No sound difference between this and the Chorus, or even the Realistic cables that came with my awesome system (I kid you not)

I paid half price for these from an audiophile friend who got rid of these for Cardas cables. My equipment consists of Bose 501's, a Realistic CD player, and a Pioneer 50 wpc receiver. I am replacing my Straightwire Chorus cables with these, and I cannot tell the difference! These cables do sound awesome though, and I am hearing details that I never really heard before both with the Chorus and this Crescendo. For example, when listening to Twisted Sister or Kiss, I can actually hear them breathe in between vocal lines.

Similar Products Used:

Chorus, Realistic cables that came with Cd player

Low level detail, dynamic transients, and overall dynamic and visceral cohesion

Seems a bit vieled comapred to my Red Dawns which have a sead silent background

I can't speak as to the affect of the Interconnects, but the crescendo speaker cable is amazing. The price is going to keep me from the musical Nirvana I experianced during my 1 week demo, but I will be saving $ for the Crescendo's and foregoing the Rel for now, which I don't believe Is required with these wicked Pythons. If your system is not giving you the performance you desire, before you do anything else, try some level 4 cable. You will see what you've been missing and you will no longer view cable as merely a means to connect your components, but a seperate component unto themselves, deserving as much attention and consideration as any of the components in your system. For my ears and money the Crescendo is the only cable to consider in their whole line. The performance difference was worth 5x the price of the Serenade at only 2x the cost. Listen to both and then consider saving up for the Pleasure!

Similar Products Used:

?

Extraordinary dynamic range, detail in loer bass and upper treble

Interconnects can sound a bit bright and forward

As (tri-wired) speaker cable, this is as good as it gets, at least in my experience. Dynamics are huge, lower bass detail extraordinary, treble detail very fine and extended. As interconnects, both balanced and single-ended, the character is the same, but can get a bit much, especially on digital source material. As interconnect I prefer balanced Cardas Golden Reference, but for speaker cable om my B&W's I would not give up my Crescendo for anything I've heard.

Similar Products Used:

Cardas Golden Reference

Awesome stuff! If you liked the Virtuoso then you'll love the Crescendo. It gives a HUGE soundstage and is definitely the smoothest, most musical and detailed of all the Straightwire interconnects. I've been using a single .5 meter run in my system just before the amp for 8 months now and I can't wait to get more!
Give it some time for burn in though, or else you will be doing yourself a tremendous disservice. I immediately noticed an expansion in the soundstage and an improvement in detail but instrumental timbres didn’t sound their most natural until at least a week’s worth of continuos music. The highs at first were a bit congested but opened up with time. Everything , including detail and transparency, became better with burn in. The final result is exquisite though!

This interconnect offers wonderful detail without sounding over etched and strident. The best words I can use are just… “Musical and Natural”! I wish I could say that I’ve had the opportunity to listen to lots of different cabling in my system but I can’t. With that in mind, I have to mention that my observations are primarily in relation to how the Crescendo sounds as an upgrade from the Virtuoso.

My system:

Audio Alchemy DDS Pro
Audio Alchemy DTI Pro 32 with Revision 3 software upgrade chip
Audio Alchemy DDEv3.0 – fully modified and upgraded by Dusty Vawter of Channel Islands Audio
Audio Magic Mystic Reference I2sBus cables
Monolithic Sound Monolithic Power Supply – upgrade for the DTI and DDE
Audio Alchemy Digital Line Controller Pre Amp/ Channel Islands Audio HPPS power supply upgrade
True Dimensional Sound Passive Audiophile Harmonic Enhancement System
Source Components Electronic Harmonic recovery System
Audio Research D200 Amp
Straightwire Virtuoso and Crescendo Interconnects
Straightwire Black Silc Speaker Cables
Thiel 2.2 speakers
Audio Power’s Power Pack II with 313 power cord upgrade
Electra Glide power cords
Townshend Seismic Sink and Bright Star Big Rock Three under the DDS Pro
Room Tunes Junior Justarack
Golden Sound DH cones (medium and small) throughout the system except the amp and TDS – amp has rubber balls under it
Home made line filters made by a friend placed in empty wall sockets next to amp and Power pack II

There's a saying in the audio industry, " you can spend more money, but you are not guaranteed better sound " This can be said about Straightwire's Crescendo interconnects.I first heard about this interconnect through a friend who is a stereophile who had by accident heard this cable at a dealer's. Having experienced other models from Straightwire such as the original Maestros and later the Virtuoso Platinums as well as Cardas Golden 5-C's which are all great sounding interconnects, I figured it is about time for me to venture into something new, just for satisfying my curiosity on wires. I bought a pair of Crescendos unheard!
For the first week I hated this cable. It sounded thick, fat and uninvolving. A month later, I had to eat all my unkind words about this wire! It is dynamic, detailed, decisive, clean and outright rich. Yo seem to hear at least half an octave more on the low end. As sweet and nice about the Virtuosos, this is another leap into the direction of perfection, albeit, not the end of the road. But there again, what is ?!
I have not heard a better wire out there for $750, although I have heard many more wires costing more the $750, many of which didn't even come close to the good sound of the Crescendos.
go bring home one and try it out. You will appreciate what I am talking about.
Happy listening!

Balanced and Musical

Really need burning-in

When I first connected it between my ARC PH3 and ML 380S, the sound is terrible. Fat, blunted, muddy...

I use a CD player to burn in it 24 hrs a day for a week. The changes come. A very good balance between Musicality and accurancy. Excellent soundstage and Dynamics. If you love music I will give you more than expected.

Similar Products Used:

Tara labs decade and master, XLO 1.1, VDH the first