Audience, located in San Marcos, California, mostly designs and manufacturers home audiophile products. These include cables, power conditioner products, a few system accessories, a loudspeaker, and other items. Though the company also makes several pro-audio goodies such as guitar cables, that’s a story for a different day.
Perhaps somehow knowing that my “career” playing the bass guitar unceremoniously ended in junior high school only a year or two after it began, Audience sent me samples of some their home audiophile wares. Indeed, I’ve previously had the company’s aR-12 12-outlet power conditioner and frontRow power cord in my room. But Audience has just released a new line of flagship cables called frontRow Reserve and John McDonald, Audiences’ President and CEO, asked if I would like to try them. I was eager to do so because Audience does not launch a new flagship line of cables very often. The frontRow cables have served as the company’s top-dog line for about five years.
Included in the rather large box that I received from Audience were several samples from the new frontRow Reserve line: a power cord, single-ended and balanced interconnects, and a USB cable. Plus, there was a sample of the company’s Hidden Treasure CAT 7 Ethernet cable. I think it’s about here that I must mention that Audience calls its power cords “powerChords.”
The AC connector on a frontRow Reserve powerChord.
In getting these products ready to be shot for this photography column, I noticed that they had some weight to them. This was particularly true for the power cord, ummm I mean powerChord, which clocked in at 2.5 pounds.
Having auditioned only one frontRow product (the power cord) in my system quite some time ago, I am in no position to say how, if at all, the new frontRow Reserve products might be better those from the frontRow line. Although I have just begun listening to these newcomers in my audio system, it seems that that they will have no problem competing with other cables I have auditioned in their class. That’s not faint praise. Attributes like transparency, detail, and eerie soundstaging are all there with these cables in my system. And in all fairness, Audience calls for 300 hours run-in for full performance.
The cables are offered in a variety of connection options.
Here's a look at a Hidden Treasure Ethernet cable.
Disclaimer: The editor has done some occasional work for Audience. He did not select the company that would be featured in this photo essay or know its identity until he received the relevant copy and photos from the author.
All images courtesy of Howard Kneller. Howard is the co-founder of The Listening Chair with Howard Kneller, a reviewing and news organization for all things audiophile.
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