Audience FrontRow USB - I’m puzzled

@mclinnguy shipping it back to AUS if I don’t like it is a deal breaker for me. Another deal breaker is the price and what it is, which is essentially a DIY USB cable made by a hobbyist. It’s enough that the US made cable from a well known manufacturer is finicky in my system.

Alternatives I’m researching are Stealth, Purist and few more. 
I have a replacement demo FrontRow on the way from The Cable Co. and I really hope it works fine. I like the sound a lot. 

That’s not a bad idea to test it with a computer. I can use mac mini to stream from tidal snd see if it craps out. I opened a support ticket with Aurender as well. Hope they find something.
 

As to the sound I’m very impressed with it. Relaxed, airy, natural and laid back but very detailed. My AQ Diamond is slightly thinner and more forward sounding in comparison. The Audience is a clear winner - the difference is not subtle. I also prefer the FrontRow over Nordost Tyr 2 that I just demoed, which also worked flawlessly without hiccups. 
I hope it’s just a defective cable.

Thanks!

It’s 1.5m - same as my AQ Diamond. Nordost was 2m and stock USB is probably 1.25m. I don’t think it matters or at least it shouldn’t when we’re talking 1.5m long usb.

@zlone Yes my AQ Diamond and stock USB work fine. I stated that.
The issue is intermittent with the Audience USB

@fthompson251 yes it is a really nice sonic improvement. I’ll be calling Audience later today to see what they say. Hopefully they know what the root cause of the issue may be. 

@fthompson251 thanks! let’s see it it works. this will still be s demo. Hopefully I’ll get it in time for the weekend. Keeping my fingers crossed.
Meantime I’m researching alternatives just in case.

Oh and the FrontRow I’m getting will be the standard copper version. Because I need 1.5m the Reserve (silver) is much more expensive so I have to pass on that for now. 

Spoke with Joe over at Audience who thinks it’s a defective cable.
Plan right now is to get another demo from the cable company.

That is what I’m suspecting as well. 

@jond I hope so!

@asctim yes it’s puzzling to me as well 

I’ll be pissed if the replacement is behaving the exact same way. 

Got the replacement FrontRow. The Cable Co. also shipped Stealth USB.
I had a brief listen with this Stealth cable in the system and I can say the next few days will be very interesting!

Without a doubt it’s a great resource to have. I’m enjoying the comparison between the two USB cables (3 essentially counting my AQ Diamond). Hope to wrap this up soon!

Update

1: the first FrontRow demo was indeed defective. I’ve had the replacement FrontRow USB in for about 36hrs straight playing my playlist on repeat with zero issues. So Joe at Audience was right when he immediately suspected the cable. I’m glad my beloved Aurender and Bricasti are rock solid and were not the culprit here. 

2: I’m really enjoying the Stealth USB. this is somewhat unexpected and needs more listening and evaluation but…I’m really impressed with this USB cable. It’s different from any other USB I ever heard to date. 
 

I have more time to evaluate and compare so I’m not in a hurry to decide. I’ll post an update after I complete the comparison and make a decision  

@fthompson251 and all…the results are in! Stealth USB cable has won the shootout.

As I stated earlier, I really liked the Audience and the second FrontRow demo worked flawlessly. Audience is an improvement when compared to the AQ Diamond that I currently own. There’s a refinement in top end, more relaxed and laid back mids, details galore.
However, when I heard Stealth it left me stunned. I’ve not expected this kind of change. I had no expectations to begin with as Steve from The Cable Co. threw in this USB cable when he shipped me the replacement FrontRow demo.

I’ve had over 8hrs of listening with Stealth and as much with Audience so my decision isn’t based on a quick A/B comparison (I don’t subscribe to that as changes take time to sink in). While Audience is really good, compared to Stealth it sounds forward, hyper detailed, analytical and even slightly dry. I know these attributes aren’t typically associated with Audience cables but that’s what it sounds like when compared to Stealth.

Stealth USB cable provides warmth, weight, texture, depth, lower noise floor and is the least hifi sounding cable I ever had a pleasure of evaluating. The bass is absolutely mind blowing with colors and presence that’s unmatched by FrontRow.
It sacrifices nothing in detail retrieval, dynamics and realism. It presents the music in a way no other USB cable I ever heard could match.

When I went back to Audience for probably the 3rd time, I caught myself listening to sounds, analyzing every instrument’s tone, focusing on high frequencies, realizing there’s digital glare in the mids.

Now as we all know synergy is critical, it’s all subjective and system dependent so my conclusion could very well be isolated to my case. Who knows. All I know though is I’m enjoying every minute listening to music with this cable without getting distracted by involuntary analysis of a recording. So that’s it for now!

Thanks!

I have the standard non-tunable USB as a loaner. The tunable version is not much more expensive and I’ll ask about it but I’m leaning towards ordering the standard. The movable collar on the tunable cable may feed the nervosa and OCD and I’m not sure it’s worth it. I’d rather spend time listening to music than moving the collar along the 1.5m cable 1cm at a time looking for that perfect spot. Lol
I’ll see what they say.

@fthompson251 the replacement demo was newer than the first one. I let it run for 48hrs or so. It sounded identical to the first cable with an exception that it was stable and had no issues. Given that and the fact that the Stealth just knocked me down on my ass I ordered the Stealth. 
If Anyone is interested in AQ Diamond 10/10 condition, authentic with sales receipts and all original packaging it is listed on the other site. 

To add…the Stealth I ordered is regular version, non-tunable. I don’t need to have anything that I can tune in my system. Besides the regular Stealth USB is pretty much end game caliber digital cable. 

@benzman 

I have the Select T with the tunable collar. Still tweaking but sounds great in all positions. 

that’s precisely why I opted for the cable I can’t tweak hahaha. I don’t care about the $250 extra cost for the tunable version. It would cost me more in whiskey and sleep. Lol 

As to SX, I used the sp cable for a pretty extensive period of time. Upgraded to FrontRow which I recently compared to Nordost Tyr 2. I prefer the Audience sp cables. I never had good luck using their ICs though  - tried SE, SX, FrontRow. Not for me. 

@fthompson251 thank you!

you also have the higher tier FrontRow Reserve which is a silver cable. What I demoed was the standard OCC copper version. As I mentioned I need 1.5m long USB - my streamer and DAC are flanking the amp and I’m a fan of separating/spreading out components to avoid EMI and RFI. The FrontRow reserve 1.5m long is cost prohibitive as far as I’m concerned when it comes to USB cables. So I didn’t even demo the reserve.

I haven’t tried all USB cables under the sun and I typically stick to major brands for the most part (not a fan of boutique experiments of hobbyists turned DIYers…e.g. Mad Scientist, TWL, etc. based on personal experience). So I will list the USB cables I have used so far just for reference -

Kimber bottom of the line (older model I don’t remember exactly what it was), Wireworld Starlight 8, DH Labs Mirage, Analysis Plus Pure Silver, Audience AU24se+, Audience StudioOne, Audience FrontRow, Nordost Tyr 2, AudioQuest Diamond, Stealth (my favorite so far).

I’m a huge fan of Audience cables and will stand by my assessment of FrontRow speaker cables - they’re ridiculously good…but I’ll go as far as saying the FrontRow USB is not Audiences best effort. Their AU24se+ and StudioOne were exceptional for the price. Again my system my ears my room…all subjective…

My new Stealth USB arrived. Right out of the box gorgeous sound. I’m just enjoying the tunes. Breaking it in by running the streamer and DAC 24/7.
I’m curious about other Stealth cables but exploring that space will have to wait.

Thanks @sls883 ​​​​@mclinnguy !

Yeah the prices are kind of ridiculous. The USB cable is very reasonably priced though.
I’m thinking of giving the Ethernet cable a try next some time later this year. Steve from the cable company said it’s excellent and is better than the Purist Audio I’m using now. I know the curiosity will get the best of me . LOL

Read good things about inakustic.