$6450 (with 6’ powerChord SE-i; Au24 SX powerChord, add $4200)
I’ve been using the smaller six-outlet version of the Audience TSSOX for a few months and I just can’t seem to quit this thing. I’ll admit that I’ve never been a dedicated fan of this segment. But the Audience suggests something different. Backgrounds are indeed quieter but not airless and dead, as in “digital” quiet. Music emerges from the acoustic silences and natural pauses with a continuousness, an unbroken linkage to those interludes. The tonal character of the system doesn’t change, but the sound is more focused, images more polished and individuated. And this is prior to swapping out the standard powerChord SE-i and replacing it with the Audience’s advanced (and, oy, priciest) Au24 SX powerChord. Though not an order of magnitude dissimilar from the standard SE-i cord, it clearly reveals yet another layer of music and dimension. Images grow even more direct and transparent, and there is further expansion of the ambient aura. I find the differences compellingly musical and addiction.

Greg Weaver – Sept ’17 Issue 268