I'm also a fan of the Audience Au24 power cords. IMHO what you hearing is a direct result of the fact that the Furutech FI-28(R) plugs cost twice as much as the subject Cardas plugs. |
Hi Raks,
Thanks for your reply. I agree, they are expensive, but you gain whole lot of more then settling for Cardas. Furutech's are currently on sale for $223.00 a pair. So the upgrade cost is the same as Audience. If you're a DIY kind a guy, you can perform this upgrade in less than 30 minutes in your very home :) |
Thanks! for sharing- Lalitk-
this is very interesting. Cardas is ok at best. You put a new spin on an already excellent cable. Perhaps, Mr McDonald will try to strike a deal w/ Furutech plugs on his cables/cords? Keep me posted & Happy Listening! |
What Audience charges for the SE upgrade includes both the plugs and a reasonable upcharge for Audience to re-terminate the cables.
I do agree with you that if I was of the mind to spend $200 to upgrade the terminations, I'd go the Furutech DIY route. |
Just want to reiterate, there is no denying that $220 SE upgrade through Audience is a heck of a deal. The whole point of bringing this conversation is about achieving sonic nirvana and best bang for our bucks. If you're considering SE upgrade for powercord, even at $280.00 retail Furutech's plugs begs for your consideration.
For the record, I got no special consideration for promoting Furutech's :)
In my system, Furutech upgrade delivered the top-end with a beautiful balance. They were open, a bit relaxed in their presentation and totally lacking any harshness or grain. I can best describe their sound as silky smooth and very musical.
Audience deserve big props on continue improving their products at reasonable prices. That's one of the reason they are my No. 1 preference for cables and power conditioners.
Let the music flow!!! |
I went from Cardas to Audience and other brands for power cords a long time ago. Never tried upgrading the plugs of Audience power cords as their power cords are very thick wires that aren't easy to work with.
Furutech FI-28(R) got overall good comments, not the case with the FI-50 (R) that I am eyeing. Anyone wants to chime in on the latter?
/Jafant: great idea and hopefully not just cords/cables. Maybe he will use Furutech's sockets in the adeptResponse series. I once had an Ueberbuss so swapped the standard ones with different sockets (TeslaSE, Maestro, Furutech) to see which ones I liked (more info on my systems page). |
Right On! Jazz-
I was hoping that this thread would not die off.
I think that Keith (Audiolabrynth) over on the Tara Labs Cable thread recently switched over to Furutech and now heartily endorses the plugs and sockets.
To my taste and ears, Cardas, is too rolled-off. I realize that most audiophiles enjoy the type of "sound".
Keep me posted and Happy Listening! |
Guys,
Audience now offers Furutech receptacles and plugs as an option for a reasonable up charge. I have recently purchased aR12-TSSOX with Furutech GTX-D (R) receptcles and after two months of listening, I can say this the best line conditioner to date.
In comparison with Hubble duplexes, the overall sound is smoother with better control over peak frequencies without any hint of blurriness. The vocals are silky in texture, percussions are laser sharp, no bloating or veil over the musical soundscape. The true sense of PRAT, it's all here.
If you already own Audience power cords or line conditioner, the Furutech rhodium plated receptacles and plugs are pretty much no brainer and a small price to pay in big scheme of things. |
Happy listening Lalitk! Must sound excellent. Did you try other types of power conditioning before making such an investment? Straight from the dedicated line or do you have something like a balanced transformer before the aR?
I am thinking upgrading one of my many adeptResponse units (I have three in total) to GTX-D (r), all my wall sockets for my systems have been upgraded to the GTX-D (r). As of late, I have been upgrading the plug and IEC of my power cables to Furutech FI28 (r) or FI50 (r), the latter takes at least 200 hours to break in. I advice only one or two power cords per system as too many of the same may homogenize the character of the overall sound (similar to tube complementing if you have different tube units in the system). |
Hello Jazz... Happy Thanksgiving!
I went straight from a Monster Reference power conditioner and Voltage Stabilizer combo to aR12. If you recall, back in the days Monster was huge in power filtration. I thought of trying RGPC and PS audio at the time but never got around to it.
I kept up with the upgrades over the years and never felt the need to try anything else. My experience with Audience always been first rate, great customer service and no nonsense upgrades.
I recently did A/B comparison, going straight to outlet vs aR6-TSSD vs aR12-TSSOX . Coming straight from wall, I did not like what I heard, it almost felt like someone sucked soul out of my system. The overall dynamics were flat and bit on the harsh end. Plugging everything back into aR6-TSSD improved soundstage and overall dynamics. But I kid you not, TSSOX is the holy grail of power conditioning.
If you're thinking about GTX-D upgrade, make sure you get the latest 3 upgrades, especially OHNO crystal internal wiring.
I am sure folks own top offerings from Shunyata and Synergistic Research feels the same way. In my rig, I can't imagine living without Audience line conditioner.
I am curious to learn your experience with FI-50 (R) vs FI-28 (R)?
I have upgraded all of my cords with FI-28(R) to achieve total uniformity. At the end of the day, you want your cables to disappear and listen to music with absolute synergy. |
Happy Thanksgiving Lalit! I just upgraded my DAC so will need to sell some components before circling back to upgrading my aR units and may attempt to DIY the Furutech sockets upgrade on one unit.
Re FI28 vs FI50. I only have one PC with FI50 which is attached via Neutrik on the other end to an aR unit so can't really A/B. Like you, I like the FI28 though the cheaper FI11 (CU) is pretty good to start with. FWIW, I may not go all the way with one particular type of plug as I believe, like tube matching, there is no plug that has no down side at all so I may throw in some good Oyaide plugs in the mix to keep the system more balanced. |
Hi Jazz,
Makes sense on inclusion of different types of plugs, it will be interesting to know how your system sound after all the upgrades.
I am very close to 'Done for now' and so glad. Now it's time to sit back and enjoy!!! |
Lalitk did you upgrade the au24 pc with furutech fi-28r on the audience conditioner cord or the cord from the Ar to the equipment what was the result |
Jasbirnandra,
i am am using FI-28's on all of my power cords along with GTX-D receptacles in my rig.
Please read my feedback in my previous posts in this thread. |
