Whoever said audio couldn’t “look” as good as it sounds?
How many of you have tried hiding your audio speakers? Those black, cloth-covered boxes usually just aren’t the things that spark conversation. You can put a plant or objet d’art on top, but short of that, let’s face it, they’re just unattractive.
Take for comparison, the Cleer Crescent – a copper-toned, stainless steel fashion statement, with a machined aluminum interface. You’ll no longer worry about how to hide this speaker system. Not only will it spark conversation, people won’t know where to start – talking about its good looks or its amazing sound.
I’m more than my good looks
Just focusing on the quality craftsmanship of the outer shell would be doing this speaker an injustice. In addition to the beauty, there’s a lot going on under the hood.
Unseen, are eight 8W 40mm full-range drivers facing forward and two 25W 84mm woofers with dual bass ports facing the rear.
Three distinct audio modes:
Using Cleer’s advanced beamforming tech, the Crescent has three distinct enjoyment modes depending on the placement of the speaker and the listeners.
Stereo Widening Mode is denoted with a small blue LED atop the speaker. Cycling through the other two options with the Mode button, the light will turn red for 3D mode and green for room fill mode.
In speaking to Aaron Levine, Cleer’s Marketing Director, he suggested that to best take advantage of the beamforming technology, the optimum distance from the speaker in his home was six to nine feet back from the speaker. At the same time, even 14 feet back also performed well. (Obviously, each room will be different depending on hard surfaces versus absorptive materials like carpet and draperies.)
His other hint, which I’ve found to be very true, is that the best bass response seems to come from having the Crescent about a foot back from a wall or cabinet, giving your audio the fullest sound. Placing it in front of my entertainment center, about 15” from the back of the cabinet worked great in our living room.
While it sounded great for movie viewing there, I also tried it in my office with a hi-def Zappiti media server, loaded with some 320 kbps songs and hooked up with an optical cable. Heavenly! Cranking up the volume, I honestly filled the entire house with music, clearly understandable, even 60 feet away at the furthest corner of the building.
My two favorite settings – in the living room, where we are seated about 10 feet away for movie viewing – the 3D setting (Red LED) really filled the room with amazing sound. In my office, where I’m normally sitting closer to the Crescent, I’m smitten with the Room Fill setting (Green LED).
Let me count the ways to connect
To the right of the mode button is the input selector. You’ve got three choices here – Bluetooth, Aux-in, or Optical. A white LED will light up to show your selection.
To the left of the Mode button is the microphone button, which you can turn off if you don’t want to talk to Google Assistant. But why would you? In addition to your normal Google Assistant inquiries, you can even ask Google to help pairing with Bluetooth. When the mic is disabled, you won’t be able to give voice instructions. A red LED lights to show the mics are muted. The two far-field microphones are located along the top control bar and work from quite a distance provided your music is playing at normal levels.
The right edge of the top control bar has physical buttons for play/pause and volume up/down.
Like any push-button volume control, the sound increases or decreases by a set percentage, and you might have to settle for a little bit louder or a little bit softer than you want. Well, there’s an app for that, as they say. Merely go into your Google Home app, tap the Crescent Speaker and you’ve got infinite control of volume.
Wireless comes in all sorts of flavors and the Crescent works with 802.11 b/g/n/ac in both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz.
But there’s more. If you’ve got Chromecast enabled apps on your phone or tablet, tap the Cast icon and select CRESCENT as your device. Select your song or playlist and enjoy.
An iOS aficionado? You will enjoy AirPlay2 with its lossless quality.
On the back of the unit, you’ll find options for Aux-in (3.5mm) and Optical in. There is also a RJ45 Ethernet port for a wired connection.
Overall, the unit is 26 inches wide, 7 inches deep and 5 inches high.
Bottom line on this top-of-the-line speaker system
This is a piece that will architecturally complement your stereo system as opposed to detracting from it. But, its primary purpose is to be heard, and it won’t disappoint there either. With the three audio modes, you’re bound to find one that is just perfect for your room – large or small.
Whether your main purpose is audio only, Hollywood blockbusters, or gaming on the big screen – I venture to say you are certain to enjoy them even more with this award-winning, audiophile’s best friend – the Crescent by Cleer Audio. MSRP is $699.00 on their website.
Disclosure: Cleer Audio provided a Crescent for us to test and review. Opinions, however, are and always will be strictly our own.