Cleer Crescent review: Stunning 3D soundbar meets smart speaker

Our Verdict

The Cleer Crescent is a pricey only versatile smart speaker -soundbar philharmonic that puts audio quality at the forefront.

For

• Good sound with distinct playback modes
• Luxe styling
• Google Assistant is reliable
• Lots of ways to connect

Against

• Bigger than most smart speakers
• Expensive
• 3D Mode needs specific seating position

Tom's Guide Verdict

The Cleer Crescent is a pricey only versatile smart speaker -soundbar philharmonic that puts sound quality at the forefront.

Pros

• +

  Expert sound with distinct playback modes

• +

  Luxe styling

• +

  Google Assistant is reliable

• +

  Lots of ways to connect

Cons

• -

  Bigger than nigh smart speakers

• -

  Expensive

• -

  3D Style needs specific seating position

Calling the Cleer Crescent a smart speaker is almost reductive. Yes, it has Google Assistant built in, only it'southward likewise an easy-to-use Bluetooth speaker and can even pull soundbar duties. The Crescent besides boasts spatial playback modes that promise 3D audio just from this unmarried unit, not to mention a hitting pattern that simply demands attention.

Cleer Crescent specs

Speakers: eight x 40mm drivers, 2 x 84mm woofers

Ports: 3.5mm aux in, optical in, Ethernet

Wi-Fi: 802.xi b/m/n/air-conditioning, 2.iv/5GHz

Size: 4.7 10 26 x 7.2 inches

Weight: 12.three pounds

The two catches initially seem to be the $699 cost, and the fact that the Crescent has a footprint several times the size of nearly competitors. Even and so, your greenbacks (and space) investment will be rewarded with something that challenges the best smart speakers and even the best soundbars. Read our full Cleer Crescent review to detect out why.

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Cleer Crescent review: Price and availability

Brace yourself: The Cleer Crescent costs $699. That's more than 10 times the price of our electric current favorite smart speaker, the Amazon Echo Dot with Clock.

Merely once more, the Crescent isn't just a smart speaker, and it's actually cheaper than some soundbars with similar beamforming tech, like the $799 Sonos Arc. In whatever case, it'due south available at numerous retailers, including B&H, Lowe's and Wayfair. You can also buy it direct from Cleer.

Cleer Crescent review: Design

(Image credit: Future)

Ane thing that big lump of cash gets you is a seriously arresting look. The Crescent is no dumpy upright cake, like the Google Nest Audio, nor a tiny cylinder like many of the best Bluetooth speakers. It'south a broad, golden wedge, a gilded orange slice with the controls on a slick-looking strip of brushed aluminum on height. Four LEDs on the base of operations lite up to show when Google Assistant is listening or taking action.

The gigantic metal grill can flex if you press down on information technology, but the whole thing nevertheless has a reassuring solidity and weight to it. Being stuffed with drivers probably helps: there are eight front end-facing, full-range drivers and ii larger woofers pointing backwards, along with a pair of bass ports.

Cleer has gone with physical buttons for the onboard controls, which is fine by me — capacitive touch controls can exist finicky. In that location's a handy mic mute push, should you want to plug Google Banana's ears for privacy, too every bit book upward and down buttons and a combined play/pause button. A dedicated source button switches between Bluetooth, aux and optical connections (information technology seems y'all tin can connect over Wi-Fi regardless of which is selected). Some skip buttons would accept been squeamish, as would a remote, though y'all tin ever command streamed music on your telephone instead.

(Image credit: Future)

Big credit is besides due for the sheer range of connectivity options. The Crescent natively supports both Chromecast and AirPlay two on the Due west-Fi side, and Bluetooth provides an easy wireless alternative if you desire to connect a laptop instead of your Android or iOS phone. For maximum stability yous can also hook the Crescent upwards with an Ethernet cable.

A 3.5mm aux input adds even more flexibility, equally does the optical port. The latter turns the Crescent from a sideboard-dwelling smart speaker to a soundbar that will instantly upgrade well-nigh users' TV sound. However, at nearly 5 inches tall, yous should probably only pair information technology with wall-mounted TVs, to avoid blocking the view.

An HDMI ARC or eARC port would take made another fine addition, though optical is fine for anything curt of the virtually bombastic Dolby Atmos soundtracks. On the whole, at that place are more than enough ways to connect your selection of source devices.

Cleer Crescent review: Setup

(Epitome credit: Future)

The Crescent'south wealth of ports and wireless options makes setup easier, in a sense: to use every bit a soundbar, just plug and play.

Of course, to get the smart features up and running, it's best to configure the Crescent via the Google Domicile app. This, too, is pleasantly painless. You can add together information technology seamlessly to any smart home network you already have prepare in the same app, and if Google Assistant already recognizes your voice you can kickoff barking orders at the Crescent right away.

Cleer Crescent review: Google Assistant

(Image credit: Future)

There's nothing weird or untoward with how the Crescent implements Google Banana: information technology's the same AI many of us take been bossing effectually for years. It could comfortably control music playback on the Crescent, and once configured in the Google Habitation app the speaker can exist a verbal command center for compatible smart dwelling kit as well.

The far-field microphone array performs well, too. The only time I had to raise my voice to register a command was when I was already playing music quite loudly, and fifty-fifty and then I was hardly shouting. The Crescent even perfectly parsed a query I asked (at normal speaking volume) from my bedroom, which is an angled hallway away from the living room I'd parked the speaker in.

Queries and commands are commonly acted on quickly too as accurate, and I appreciated how vox commands made the lack of a remote even easier to swallow.

Cleer Crescent review: Sound quality

(Prototype credit: Future)

Central to Cleer's pitch for the Crescent is the fix of three distinct playback modes. Room Fill Mode is a general-purpose option that aims to deliver a consistent sound to as large an expanse as possible, whereas Stereo Widening Mode expands the soundstage width to anyone sitting directly in from the Crescent. 3D Mode is the most ambitious: it promises a digital, 3D surround sound effect not different Dolby Atmos or Sony's 360 Reality Audio.

In exercise, it's non a patch on "truthful" environs audio: the kind you'd get with a set of rear satellite speakers. There's not much of a sense of elevation either, as yous'd get from the best Atmos soundbars. Even so, 3D Fashion sounds even wider and more immersive than Stereo Widening Style. Crowd noises on a live recording of Keith Richards' "Fourth dimension is on My Side" were noticeably more enveloping, adding to the live effect, and 3D Motion makes a respectable attempt at v.one TV audio also. Dolby won't be worried but the boxing scenes in Pacific Rim: The Black sounded appropriately apocalyptic with the volume cranked upwards.

Stereo Widening Mode is worth using, also. As the name suggests, the soundstage is tangibly extended across the Crescent's physical dimensions. As such it'southward ideal for songs that brand adept use of the total left/correct stereo spectrum, like David Bowie'due south "Space Oddity" and its split vocal harmonies.

(Image credit: Future)

To my ears, Stereo Widening Manner is warmer, bassier and fuller-sounding than 3D Manner, and also has slightly cleaner instrument separation. However, there is a grab that applies to both modes: you lot need to be in a rather minor sweet spot for the Crescent'southward beamforming to deliver the desired effects.

Beamforming essentially fires sound waves towards a particular location, which in the Crescent's instance is between v and 6.5 anxiety (ane to two meters) in front of information technology, dead center. If y'all're sabbatum hither, everything sounds great, even past the lofty standards of a $699 speaker. Move out of that spot, though, and it all sounds unbalanced and hollow.

This is where Room Fill Mode comes in, to an extent. As promised, it's much more consistent regardless of where you are relative to the speaker, and the Crescent tin become more than loud enough to support longer listening ranges.

Still, Room Fill up Mode sounds flatter than the other two modes, with less depth to multi-instrumental arrangements. Information technology'due south fine for entertaining parties, but for a truly premium sound feel yous'll need to stay in that sweet spot.

Cleer Crescent review: Verdict

The positioning issue is a drawback, especially if your burrow is more than half dozen.5 feet away from your TV, but in the right conditions the Cleer Crescent sounds groovy. And it'southward hard to recollect of many similar products that do such a proficient job of marrying high-end aesthetics with the practicality of Google Assistant and a generous mix of connections.

Once more, the Crescent is far more than than simply some other smart speaker. It's a loudspeaker and a soundbar in one, with multiple spatial playback modes that help elevate it over more compact but less technically sophisticated rivals. Even at $699, it'due south worth checking out.

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James is currently Hardware Editor at Stone Paper Shotgun, but before that was Audio Editor at Tom's Guide, where he covered headphones, speakers, soundbars and annihilation else that intentionally makes noise. A PC enthusiast, he also wrote computing and gaming news for TG, unremarkably relating to how hard it is to find graphics carte du jour stock.

Source: https://www.tomsguide.com/reviews/cleer-crescent

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