Audience AU24 vs Acoustic Zen Matrix Reference

Dean

Your review has been very helpful to me as I am believer in the 'house sound'.

I think the Audience may be more to my liking as far as the more immediate presentation but, the part about not hearing the cymbol shimmer like the Hologram has me a little concerned. I used to own the Hologram I (single run) speaker cable and sold it for Reynaud HP216A bi wire for my Reynaud Trentes. I think the Hologram beat the Reynaud wire in only one way, and that was the amount of color/hues the cymbols had which is something I really like, the sensation of the cymbols cutting (and floating) through all the other instruments is very inviting too. I guess I am looking for tighter bass and a more open sound, maybe I should look to AZ Silver Ref instead of Audience.

A little note, the Reynaud wire is terrific, I am really getting picky with the cymbol comment because in the areas of detail and focus and definition (especially the bass) the Reynaud wire betters the AZ (single run) Hologram.

At least I am under the impression that the Audience is a sideways step and not going the trounce the AZ anytime soon.

S23Chang

I read a little about the M21 Stealth and they do sound really nice, especially the open quality that came up a few times. Will look into the NBS too. I do not have the money for them right now and consider the AZ and Audience bargain cables. I have heard the Silver Ref MKII quite a few times and think it has quite good detail so the cable you mention must be special.

WRP

Thank you for your input, between your reply, rereading Gunbei's response and correspondence with someone else I feel the Audience may be the way to go as my impression is that it has less bass and favors the midrange.

Anyway I am buying the Audience AU24s and will let you guys know in a week or two how things go.

I had a similar experience switching an AZ WOW (from CD to pre) with an AZ Mat Ref (from pre to power) and the sound became much less focused and more vague with less impact and extension. It was a big difference.

I have listened to the Audience AU24 IC in my system for 3 days now and can say they have quite a bit more detail and nuance than AZ Mat Ref MKII. Also the tonal balance is much more to my liking and seems to favor no particular region where the AZ favored the bass and the high end always seemed recessed. I am not sure if this is a function of soundstage or frequency response (or both), even though I agree the Au24 is more forward I just prefer the perspective it offers. Also on the AU24 I prefer the way the bass integrates with the rest of the sound, gone is the constant bass 'drone' or 'bump' and replaced with articulate bass, the word plumey keeps coming to mind, the bass has pluck, if these words make sense. I guess the bass is more articulate and nuanced and can be quite powerful if the music calls for it. Bottom line is the AU24 is neutral, detailed and refined and the AZ is smooth, tuneful and warm.
In my stereo it is no contest as I think my Reynaud Trentes and the Plinius 8200 MKII are both slightly warm and benefit from the neutral and detailed quality of the AU24. I will not bother with the Silver Ref as I am pretty darn happy at this point and a friend who replaced his Silver Ref MKII with the AU24 confirmed that the AZ has more bass drive, something my stereo does not need.

thanks guys
Happy Holidays

Phil