Brand Spotlight – Astral Acoustics Cables

Astral Acoustics – A heavenly light!

PROS: Very good quality and workmanship, good aesthetics and design language, one of the supplest cables in the market, high quality components, sound impact based on pairing.

CONS: Price, cloth cover on Voyager makes it pick up slightest movements (a con of most cloth covered cables).

About Astral Acoustics.

Founded in 2016, Astral Acoustics is an audio company based in Hong Kong specializing in cables and wires. Henry Tik H.Y. joined the world of audio under the influence of his father, but unlike his father, Henry was more into personal audio rather than speakers. His hands-on nature led him to his first cable project in 2014 and laid the foundation of this company. Over the year, Henry has been perfecting his craft and continuously expanding his knowledge of signal transmission. Astral started as a small cable business and have supplied wires and accessory parts for other cable makers and hobbyists. Over the years, Astral Acoustics has built numerous cables and has gained substantial knowledge of cable physics, gauge size, solder, and insulation science. They say they are still experimenting with new formulas to bring the best to those who demand the best.

Official Website – Astral Acoustics

Preamble.

First and foremost, I do not want to start a cable belief war. I being an audio engineer like to rely on the science behind audio and that applies to cables too. I don’t give in to beliefs and opinions without the backing of scientific theory and try to discern the differences in sound quality by testing and hearing stuff for myself. I measure and try to equate a cable’s effects through measurements like resistance, capacitance as well as gauge thickness, shielding, etc. but in my experience, it does not always work linearly. So, I myself am neutral on this particular topic but a fan of cables who likes testing and using them not to prove or disprove a theory but for the fun, curiosity, experience and love of the hobby. Here I’m just going to state what I hear and think. Your experience and opinion might differ from mine and that is absolutely cool. You can take my suggestions if you like, but try the product for yourself to see if it works for you or not.

Technical Specifications.

Voyager ($240).

Material: 4x 26 AWG Compound Litz Structure with LCOFC Copper
Length: 120cm approx.
Stiffness: Soft
Build time: 1 week with 50 hours burn in
Warranty: 1 year

Pulse ($550).

Material: 4x 23 AWG Type 6 Litz Multi-Sized LCOFC Copper
Length: 120cm approx.
Stiffness: Soft
Build time: 1 week with 50 hours burn in
Warranty: 1 year

Reference Silver ($750).

Material: 4x 23.5 AWG Type 6 Litz 5n Silver
Length: 120cm
Stiffness: Very Soft
Build time: 5 days with 50 hours burn in
Warranty: 3 years

Eclipse ($950).

Material: 4x 23.5 AWG Type 6 Litz 5n Silver
Length: 120cm
Stiffness: Very Soft
Build time: 5 days with 50 hours burn in
Warranty: 3 years

Packaging.

Astral cables come in a simple black square box with branding on top and a white cloth carry pouch inside that carries the cable – nothing flashy.

Build Quality and Fit.

All of these cables have very good build quality and look premium. These are definitely a significant step up from cheaper cables priced in the sub-$100 range when it comes to wire quality, wire material, build quality, overall aesthetics as well as workmanship. Something that is exceptional about Astral is how supple their wires are and how light they’ve designed their y-splits. This allows for a very comfortable wearing experience as there is hardly any downward pull and the cables wrap up very easily with retaining much memory. Also, where some copper wires, even UP-OCC, become stuff and start becoming hard, these have remained as supple as they were on day 1 in my 4 months of usage. They have pre-formed ear hooks that go around the ear which are very well shaped and do not pull the IEMs out of the ear. These are definitely some of the most comfortable cables I’ve tried.

Components.

I received all cables with 2-pin connectors and 4.4mm balanced termination.

Connectors – All Astral Audio cables use extremely good quality 2-pin connectors. Astral’s 2-pins are some of the most consistent fitting connectors. The stock connector options include 2-pin, MMCX, Fitear, A2DC, Acoustune, qdc 2-pin, T2/IPX and Sennheirser connectors. If you want any other type of connectors besides these, you can shoot them an email to check if they can make the cables in the type of connectors you want.

Y-Splits – They all mostly have different y-splits with characteristic design specific to the model. What I really like about them is that none of them are heavy and have minimal downward pull, unlike some other brands that use heavy y-splits that have a significant downward pull.

Jacks – They all come with well-crafted, high-quality gold-plated jacks that are offered in 3.5mm as well as balanced 2.5mm and 4.4mm terminations.