Equipment Reviews: Audience Au24 SX powerChord Power Cord


“The Au24 SX cables lent several special qualities to my listening. There were great gains in soundstaging, with improved depth and breadth, but with a new spaciousness and feeling of greater dimension in all kinds of music. I also heard more timbral accuracy and definition in the reproductions of instruments. Textural contrasts become more apparent, and there was a wider, more articulated palette of tones. Pace and timing improved, with gains in rhythmic snap and punch. Finally, dynamic range and contrasts took great leaps, lending expansiveness and majestic scale to orchestral music especially, with more precision in textural and dynamic changes. Dynamic shifts and timbral contrasts at low volume levels also improved. There was no audiophile category that did not get better with the SX powerChords. Like Venus rising from foamy waters and gliding on a half-shell blown by sweet Aeolian winds in Sandro Botticelli’s painting, they really bring, right uptight to you, the sensuous body of the muse.”

Garrett Hongo – February ’18
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Press Release: Audience Introduces Its Next-Generation powerChord Models

NEWS RELEASE

Media Contact:
Frank Doris / Public Relations
631-645-5668
frankdoris@frankdoris.com

Audience
800-565-4390 (US and Canada)
info@audience-av.com

 

Audience Introduces Its Next-Generation powerChord Models:
The New Au24SX, Au24SE-i and SE-i AC Power Chord

San Marcos, CA, March 13, 2017 Audience announced the introduction of its Au24 SX powerChord, Au24 SE-i power Chord and powerChord SE-i, three ultimate-quality AC power cords that incorporate the company’s latest materials and engineering advancements to enable extraordinary levels of sonic improvement in high-performance audio systems.

The all-new top of the line Au24 SX powerChord represents the culmination of 20 years of Audience’s experience in high-end power cord design. It is created to be nothing less than the ultimate AC power cord. Audience president John McDonald and the late Audience engineer Roger Sheker spent a full year developing and testing various configurations of this wire until determining its final configuration.

 

The Au24 SX utilizes newly designed internal wire made from 6-nines-pure OCC copper. Two 13 AWG wires per leg are used in the 10 AWG Au24 SX powerChord. In a departure from previous Audience designs, the Au24SX features shielded construction. “Historically Audience found that shielding power cords resulted in restricted dynamics,” said John McDonald, president of Audience. “However, in the new Au24 SX we obtained the best sonic result by using a shielded design but shielding the ground leg only.”

Each of the power cord’s two ground wires is separately shielded and hand-wrapped with Teflon. The Au24 SX is insulated with the highest-quality XLPE (cross-linked polyethylene) dielectric material available. The Au24 SX is terminated with the Furutech Pure Transmission Fi-50M NCF Piezo Ceramic AC connector, chosen for its sonic superiority and exceptional build quality.

“With the Au24 SX in an audio system, the sound it facilitates is remarkably dynamic and musically compelling, with unparalleled harmonic resolution and rhythmic integrity,” noted McDonald. “The improvement the Au24 SX can make in a high-performance audio system is not subtle – in fact, it’s on the same level as what one of our Adept Response power conditioners can provide.”

The Au24 SE-I powerChord is an evolution of the award-winning Au 24 and Au24 SE powerChords. It has been upgraded with Audience’s all-new, proprietary power cord connectors, which provide a more refined and smoother musical presentation. All previous Audience Au24 SE and Au24 powerChords can be upgraded to the latest Au24 SE-i version.

Audience’s new powerChord SE-i is an improved version of the time-proven standard powerChord. Its six-conductor geometry has been reconfigured, resulting in a much more spacious sonic presentation with greater solidity of vocals and instruments on a wider and deeper soundstage.

All three new powerChords are designed to eliminate or reduce the traditional weak points of conventional power cords: more often than not, power cords will behave in a reactive manner and introduce capacitance, inductance and resistance into the electron flow, which will compromise the interface between the component and the power source. The Au24 SX, Au24 SE-i and SE-I feature a high-current, low impedance, wide bandwidth design for fast response, accurate reproduction of macro and micro dynamics, articulate bass, superior imaging, exceptional harmonic integrity, lower background noise and additional sonic benefits.

The new Audience Au24 SX powerChord, Au24 SE-i powerChord and powerChord SE-i AC power cords are currently available. The 6-foot Au24 SX 10 AWG powerChord carries a suggested retail price of $4,600, +/- $180 per foot. If purchased as an option with any Audience Adept Response power conditioner (in place of the standard powerChord SE-i usually supplied), the optional upgrade price is $4,200.

The Au24 SX MP 13 AWG medium-power version powerChord (for use in audio components that require up to 150 watts of power) is available at $3,500 suggested retail for a 6-foot power cord, +/- $150 per foot.

A 6-foot Au24 SE-i powerChord has a suggested retail price of $2,560, +/- $150 per foot. The powerChord SE-I is available at $915 suggested retail for a 6-foot length, +/- $30 per foot.

All previous Audience powerChords can be upgraded to any of the latest versions.

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About Audience

Audience was formed in November 1997 by John McDonald and the late Richard Smith, as a design and production company focused on building the best possible audio and video equipment. To pass the Audience test, each product must truly make a significant contribution to the reproduction of audio and/or video. Audience offers loudspeakers, electronics, cables, power conditioners, high-resolution capacitors and the Auric Illuminator optical disk resolution enhancement.

Audience’s commitment is to develop the very best products possible, and the company is committed to unexcelled customer service and product support. All Audience cables have an unconditional lifetime warranty and power conditioners have a ten-year warranty. For more information visit www.audience-av.com.

 

 

 

Au24 SX PowerChord Testimonial, January 2017

Hello, John and Joe, thanks again for your advice and support. With my recent and latest switch of the Au24-SE powerChords to the Au24 SX powerChords I noticed immediately that the musical enhancement was not subtle, it clearly exceeded the enhancement level of the SE interconnects and speaker wires moving to their SX versions. The Au24-SX powerChords on my conditioner and integrated amp added more weight, more presence, optimal soundstage, transparency and the wonderful tonal balance that I find is a hallmark of Audience cables.
Thanks again
Bob Hansen
Ottawa Ontario

2017, 2016, 2015 TAS Editors’ Choice Award for Audience Au24 SE powerChord

2016tas_award125absolute_editors_choice_2015_review
Audience Au24 SE powerChord
“The SE brings to the table new connectors with higher-quality metallurgy and lower-mass terminations making for an across-the-board sonic improvement to an already excellent line of products.”Offered in three versions: low-power for DACs, preamps, and phonostages; medium-power for lower-powered integrated amplifiers; and high-power for power amplifiers.
NG 219, RH 245, JHb 249
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All 2017 Editors’ Choice Award Products

 

Audience Wins Multiple 2015 Editors’ Choice Awards from The Absolute Sound!

absolute_editors_choice_2015_reviewBelow are quotes from The Absolute Sound 2015 Editors’ Choice Product Awards:

 

 


The ONE, as you might infer from its name, is a single full-range driver shoehorned into a small box. The driver itself is the same unit, the A3S, that Audience uses in its flagship $72,000 16+16 speaker. According to Audience, the A3S has exceptionally flat response, claimed to be +/-3db from 40Hz to 22kHz. Be that as it may, properly set up The ONE is the best desktop speaker reviewer Steven Stone has heard (after the Audience 1+1). SS, 236

 

 

 

 

 

 


 


Audience 1+1
When SS reviewed the single-full-range-driver Audience “The ONE” speakers, he was convinced that they were the best nearfield monitors he’d ever heard. His time with the larger Audience 1+1 speakers has led him to place the 1+1 above the “The ONE” at the top of his own personal “best” nearfield loudspeaker list. Just like “The ONE” speakers, the Audience 1+1 creates a three-dimensional soundstage that allows you to listen deeply into the nuances of a mix or a live performance. SS,246

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

Au24SE cable_no_text_news
Audience Au24 SE Cables
Audience has long insisted that mammoth wires are not only superfluous but can be a hindrance to good sound. Its slender Au24 SE cables and interconnects make a strong case that size does not always matter. While they do not appear to deliver as full a sound as some of their competitors, the Audience Au24 SE assemblage offers some of everything- a wide and deep soundstage, a goodly amount of detail, and superb transparency. When their relatively modest price is factored in, the Audience line only becomes even more impressive for its ability to compete with much pricier top-end cables. JHb, 249

 


 

Au24 SE USB_only

 

Audience Au24 SE USB
This new USB cable is simply sensational in every way. The Au24 SE USB’s clarity, dimensionality, and gorgeous timbre put it in a class by itself. It seems to have no signature of its own, but rather more transparently conveys what’s coming from your computer. The dual-cable design separates the signal-carrying and power-carrying conductors. RH, review forthcoming.

 

 


 

powerchordse_coil

 

Audience powerChord SE
The Audience powerChords offer bass clarity, weight, and pitch resolution that place them at or near the top of the affordable-power-cord pack. Except for a slight treble congestion and somewhat laid-back overall presentation, there is little deviation from tonal neutrality, NG, 208

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

au24se_poweChord

 

Audience Au24 SE powerChord
The SE brings to the table new connectors with higher quality metallurgy and lower mass terminations making for an across-the-board sonic improvement to an already excellent line of products. Offered in three versions: low-power for DACs, preamps, and phonostages; medium-power for lower-powered integrated amplifiers; and high-power for power amplifiers. NG 219, RH 245, JHb 249

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

Audience aR2p Power Conditioner
Used with a CD player, the aR2p-Audience’s compact, dual-outlet power conditioner and isolation device-enhanced soundstaging dimensionality, and depth. The 12-outlet aR12 was also found to be extremely effective, capable of delivering significant improvements in bass definition and depth, overall resolution, and soundstage depth. 162, 179, 186, 235

 

 

 

 

 


 

ar6tss2_backAudience aR6-TSS
Used with a CD player, the aR2p-Audience’s compact, dual-outlet power conditioner and isolation device-enhanced soundstaging dimensionality, and depth. The 12-outlet aR12 was also found to be extremely effective, capable of delivering significant improvements in bass definition and depth, overall resolution, and soundstage depth. 162, 179, 186, 235

 

 

 

 


 

ar12_backAudience aR12
Used with a CD player, the aR2p-Audience’s compact, dual-outlet power conditioner and isolation device-enhanced soundstaging dimensionality, and depth. The 12-outlet aR12 was also found to be extremely effective, capable of delivering significant improvements in bass definition and depth, overall resolution, and soundstage depth. 162, 179, 186, 235
Used with a CD player, the aR2p-Audience’s compact, dual-outlet power conditioner and isolation device-enhanced soundstaging dimensionality, and depth. The 12-outlet aR12 was also found to be extremely effective, capable of delivering significant improvements in bass definition and depth, overall resolution, and soundstage depth. 162, 179, 186, 235

 


 

ar12_backAudience aR-12 TS
Used with a CD player, the aR2p-Audience’s compact, dual-outlet power conditioner and isolation device-enhanced soundstaging dimensionality, and depth. The 12-outlet aR12 was also found to be extremely effective, capable of delivering significant improvements in bass definition and depth, overall resolution, and soundstage depth. 162, 179, 186, 235