Frequently Asked Questions

  1. What is break-in like with Crimson Audio Cables?
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  2. How can I demo Crimson Audio Cables?
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  3. How can I demo a full set of Crimson Electronics and Crimson Audio Cables in my home?
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  4. What's the best way to "A/B" audio equipment?
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  5. How long has Crimson Electronics been in business?
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  6. How long as Austin Hifi been in business?
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  1. Q: What is break-in like with Crimson Audio Cables?

    A: Crimson Audio Cables have all of their most important qualities in place right out of the box: timing, pitch definition, dynamics, transparency, and the sense of "realness" that they can bring to a really good recording. As you use them in your system, they will gain a bit of what I would call "sweetness".

    Remember, Crimson Products are never going to "soften" anything. They're not going to "roll off the top end" or anything. What they're going to do is to help get the timing of the music right so that the musicians don't sound lazy or sluggish. They're going to help get the attacks lined up with the rest of the note for maximum impact. And they're going to help make the pitches of the tones more apparent. And again, they will do all these things right away.
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  2. Q: How can I demo Crimson Audio Cables?

    A: Just contact one of our Crimson Audio Cable dealers, or call us directly. We want you to try Crimson Audio Cables in your hifi system!
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  3. Q: How can I demo a full set of Crimson Electronics and Crimson Audio Cables in my home?

    A: Great question! Just call one of our Crimson Electronics dealers, or call us directly! We have a Crimson CS710 Preamplifier and a pair of Crimson CS640E-III Mono Amplifiers ready to ship out for in-home demos. We’ll also send a set of Crimson Audio Cables. We believe that in-home demos are crucial for making decisions when purchasing high-end home audio.
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  4. Q: What's the best way to "A/B" audio equipment?

    A: There are a lot of opinions about this, but here are a few tips that we recommend:

    • Change one thing at a time. Get a sense for what happens when you change that one thing, whether it's an amplifier, a pair of cables or a phono cartridge.

    • Select a piece of music. We do not think it's important to use a piece of music that you "know". Listen to about a minute of that piece with your system as it is (this would be "A"). Change what you're going to change, keep the volume the same and listen again (this would be "B"). Then go back to "A".

    • After doing the short A/B listening test, do what we call the "One Week A/B Test". Put the new gear in your system ("B") and listen casually for a week. At the end of a week, put your system back the way it was before("A"). At this point, it should be fairly easy to decide if your system sounds better the way it is or with the new gear. The One Week A/B Test is great because it gives your ears (or your brain, actually) time to acclimate to a different sound. We think it's possible to be more objective this way because it's less likely to favor one sound either because it's new or because it's what you're used to.

    • Listen for timing, pitch definition and solidity. By "timing", we mean that musical passages should play with a sense of effortlessness and coherence. Think "lively" rather than "sluggish". By "pitch definition", we mean that the notes have a very well-described pitch that's easy to follow. When a hifi system doesn't have great pitch definition, your brain has to do more work to follow the tune, and this detracts from one's enjoyment of the music. By "solidity", we mean that the sound of an instrument should be focused and seem like you could almost reach out and touch it. The attacks of the notes should be clear and not "mushy".

    • We have a pretty objective idea about what makes home audio sound good. We like to ask: "When you hear the best hifi system in the world, what will it sound like?" We think one should have a clear answer to this question in mind before thinking about buying audio. If you have questions, please call us at (512) 236-9100.
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  5. Q: How long has Crimson Electronics been in business?

    A: Crimson has been in business continually since 1976. In 1996, ownership of Crimson was acquired by its worldwide distributor, Virtual Reality Audio Systems Ltd. and Crimson Products Ltd. was established.
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  6. Q: How long has Austin Hifi been in business?

    A: Austin Hifi began in 1981 in San Antonio, but was originally known as Concert Sound and was one of the original U.S. Linn/Naim dealers.