Finally, a conditioner that works with 'little' penalty - the Audience aR1p

TheChairGuy · « **on:** 21 Jun 2008, 01:50 am »

I just got it today, and it bears a lot more listening (both because it is new and requires some run-in time and one tends to focus on the positives without noting downsides at first)...but I have to say that, initially, I am impressed.

I've gone thru many conditioners in the past - and they all scrubbed the sonic landscape free of added noise...but scrubbed the signal, too, and left it more irritating to listen to than without. In the past two years I have used only a $90 Enacom AC filter, a PS Audio Noise Harvester and 2 ZCables 'sleeves' (I forgot what they are called, but they cost $200 each) on my IC lines...and a simple metal power strip (Radio Shack - no longer made, very well made it is

)

I've enjoyed this combination the best of all...very natural indeed, something my Linaeum tweeter in conjunction with a Grado-led vinyl rig is ruthless in revealing. But, I sensed something was out there and the Audience has gotten great reviews.

The combo of Noise Harvester, ZCable Zsleeves and Enacom worked very much more gently than the PS Audio Powerplant, Brickwall, BPT-2 Signature, Monster Cable HT-2000 conditioners I had. Their positive benefit was limited, but they carried with them very little annoying artifacts. Some were worse than others...the Monster Cable being the most guilty (and this is not a free-for-all to pound Monster Cable to the ground...I own, use and like their products, by and large)

This one, the Audience aR1p, seems different. I'll post more as I hear it...I hope to hell it doesn't turn out like all the others

For now, I cannot say it any more eloquent that Positive Feedback's John Acton has: http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue36/audience_ad1p.htm

Time will tell if my finding mirror his...so far, so good tho

Regards, John

Big Red Machine · « **Reply #1 on:** 21 Jun 2008, 01:56 am »

I just got my second one today and I may buy 2 more. They are all I have been told so far. Black backgrounds with no loss of dynamics.

TheChairGuy · « **Reply #2 on:** 21 Jun 2008, 05:24 pm »

I live in an old house - 100 years old - and the listening room (aka, my office) has original molding along the floor and wall about 8" high. The outlet is about 4" above the molding.

If you have your receptacles in the 'normal' way (ie, the ground inlet below positive/negative in the 'triangle' receptacle )...with molding below.....the Audience aR1p cannot be plugged in fully and has a tendency to pop out. Clearly, not a good situation.

If you have this in your home, you will have to shut the circuit breaker off at your outlets and reverse (upside down) the receptacle (so that the ground inlet sits above the positive/negative in the triangulated area)...then you can plug the Audience in safely without it popping out.

The aR1p will sit upright in your duplex, instead of downward in this way (not as good as downward in a sense as it is fighting gravity...but far better than barely able to poke itself into the wall outlet without falling out.

You can see that the reviewer from Positive Feedback has it right side up...he had to change his wall duplex to upside down to get the Audience to sit like that in the sockets as the plug in the back of the Audience is situated normally (ie, the ground inlet below the two positive/negative inlets)

It's a bit of a design flaw that has nothing to do with the inner workings...but nonetheless for the small amount of homeowners in older homes with molding along the floor and wall....it needs to be considered by the make methinks

Anyhow, it's breaking in now and is reported to need hundreds of hours of run-in time to be fully fleshed out...but I thought I'd report things as I find them

John

ted_b · « **Reply #3 on:** 21 Jun 2008, 07:04 pm »

I agree. I love mine. I have their 12 outlet version (AR12), but my main amp is far from the rack, so the AR1p is a perfect low-cost and very effective solution. After talking with Dan at Audience (he designed the form factor) I realize it was first designed for ceiling mounted front pjs (I have one there too) and hence the whacky positioning of the outlet. With my current dedicated outlet (ground pin below the vertical slots) their is no room for a amjority of heavy duty pc's. I trimmed the heatshrink, as per Dan's instructions, from an Audience powerchord so it could bend enough to take the strain and still have enough room, but it eats all my outlets of a double duplex box. When i redo those outlets with my Wattgate 381ag's I'll install them upside down. I then reread the PFE review and see that he did that.

Phil · « **Reply #4 on:** 21 Jun 2008, 08:09 pm »

Interesting about the physical layout. I was interested in AR1p but when I looked at the picture I couldn't see how anyone could plug in the inflexible PCs many of us use. I lost interest.

Perhaps they will consider redesigning it to accept a plug on the side of the unit. Turning the outlet upside down doesn't work for those of us with double-wide racks that are low to the ground. And how many people are going to trim their PCs?

Didn't they have an AR2 at some point? That would solve some of the issues and seems like a good alternative.

AliG · « **Reply #5 on:** 21 Jun 2008, 08:11 pm »

Pete, do these Audience works better than Monarch and Running Springs in your system??

Quote from: Big Red Machine on 21 Jun 2008, 01:56 am

I just got my second one today and I may buy 2 more. They are all I have been told so far. Black backgrounds with no loss of dynamics.

TheChairGuy · « **Reply #6 on:** 21 Jun 2008, 11:35 pm »

I've got about 6 hours on it now and piano, generally the acid test for me and naturalness - sound quite good right now (Marcus Rankin's Elegy for the end of the Cold War)

Quite a performance so far.....

John

zybar · « **Reply #7 on:** 21 Jun 2008, 11:41 pm »

Quote from: AliG on 21 Jun 2008, 08:11 pm

Pete, do these Audience works better than Monarch and Running Springs in your system??

Quote from: Big Red Machine on 21 Jun 2008, 01:56 am
I just got my second one today and I may buy 2 more. They are all I have been told so far. Black backgrounds with no loss of dynamics.

Barry,

I know you were asking Pete, but here is my two cents:

I tried the R1p in my system against the RSA Haley and I preferred my Haley.

If I remember correctly, I had the opposite reaction and didn't find the Audience to be as neutral and natural sounding. It wasn't bad, just liked the Haley more.

Just shows that we all hear differently and that so many things are system dependent.

George

TheChairGuy · « **Reply #8 on:** 21 Jun 2008, 11:44 pm »

George, the RSA is the other conditioner I'd try...or would try if the Audience didn't or doesn't work out.

So far I'm really please with the Audience....but, I haven't played anything loudly yet...nor do I have them on my more revealing speaker yet (the Linaeums).

John

zybar · « **Reply #9 on:** 21 Jun 2008, 11:49 pm »

Quote from: TheChairGuy on 21 Jun 2008, 11:44 pm

George, the RSA is the other conditioner I'd try...or would try if the Audience didn't or doesn't work out.

So far I'm really please with the Audience....but, I haven't played anything loudly yet...nor do I have them on my more revealing speaker yet (the Linaeums).

John

John,

What is plugged into your R1p?

George

arthurs · « **Reply #10 on:** 21 Jun 2008, 11:59 pm »

Quote from: zybar on 21 Jun 2008, 11:41 pm

Just shows that we all hear differently and that so many things are system dependent.

George

I think Geo nails it here.

TheChairGuy · « **Reply #11 on:** 22 Jun 2008, 02:21 am »

George - a six outlet metal box bought at Radio Shack 25+ years ago (it has circuit breaker and on/off, however, so purity is kinda' lost). Next thing to change is the power outlet box to something simpler (PS Audio Juice Bar 2, perhaps?)

I have an isolation transformer on my CDP...the only digital apparatus I have (so it's isolated from 'seeping' back into the other analog components).

The isolation transformer was another conditioner I tried...it mucked up all th analog components (SS preamp/tuner, tube amps & turntable), but works very effectively in front of the CDP (only).

John

zybar · « **Reply #12 on:** 22 Jun 2008, 02:26 am »

Quote from: TheChairGuy on 22 Jun 2008, 02:21 am

George - a six outlet metal box bought at Radio Shack 25+ years ago (it has circuit breaker and on/off, however, so purity is kinda' lost). Next thing to change is the power outlet box to something simpler (PS Audio Juice Bar 2, perhaps?)

I have an isolation transformer on my CDP...the only digital apparatus I have (so it's isolated from 'seeping' back into the other analog components).

The isolation transformer was another conditioner I tried...it mucked up all th analog components (SS preamp/tuner, tube amps & turntable), but works very effectively in front of the CDP (only).

John

How many outlets do you need?

I could loan you a VH Audio Hot Box that has four outlets.

George

TheChairGuy · « **Reply #13 on:** 22 Jun 2008, 03:52 am »

Quote from: zybar on 22 Jun 2008, 02:26 am

How many outlets do you need?

I could loan you a VH Audio Hot Box that has four outlets.

George

George - as it happens, all I need is 4

(CDP, 2 tube amps and preamp/tuner...my TT can plug into the back of the ancient full-featured Mitsubishi preamp/tuner...it needs nor wants AC conditioning as it's DC Servo drive, but it'll get it anyhow from the Audience downstream)

I'll PM ya' and thanks.

John

TheChairGuy · « **Reply #14 on:** 24 Jun 2008, 01:46 am »

Okay, this thing is probably 200 hours from full break-in yet...I think I need to bestow a great honor upon it.

It makes my digital/Redbook sound nearly analog/vinyl-like...truly a remarkable thing that I am gobsmacked with pleasant shock at

I am hearing sweetness to the sound that hasn't existed in my memory with any DCP I've owned.

I still have not tested it with my more revealing speakers (the Linaeum tweeter is ruthless is spotlighting hard or harsh treble), but so far so good in this system

More to come...John

Big Red Machine · « **Reply #15 on:** 24 Jun 2008, 01:57 am »

I just bought 2 more. Now I'll have 4 and total flexibility. They are very nice. Sent my Monarchy back due to the fan noise and 100 watt limit.

TheChairGuy · « **Reply #16 on:** 24 Jun 2008, 02:43 am »

Hey, leave some for others out there, Big Red

AliG · « **Reply #17 on:** 24 Jun 2008, 02:53 am »

Interesting.. do you find that it achieves "vinyl-like" sound by rolling-off the high frequency? (hence you may lose a bit of details, and the bass gets a little loose too)

Quote from: TheChairGuy on 24 Jun 2008, 01:46 am

It makes my digital/Redbook sound nearly analog/vinyl-like...truly a remarkable thing that I am gobsmacked with pleasant shock at I am hearing sweetness to the sound that hasn't existed in my memory with any DCP I've owned.

TheChairGuy · « **Reply #18 on:** 24 Jun 2008, 05:11 am »

Creamy smoothness and less or no grain with a wider and deeper soundstage.

I'm not real precise in pointing out betterment in bass & midrange...but for some reason my mind wanders to treble sounds....and these are no longer irritating with the Audience in place

Much like I hear and or feel with vinyl....that's as big a compliment as I can bestow on a product meethinks

So far so good.....but, again, the imperfections of audio-somethings are largely lost on my in the beginning stages and creep up later (typically). That's why audio get-togethers and or shows are wastes for me for anything except for the friendly banter with fellow audiophiles...almost all the gear sounds good to me while there - it's only if I could live with something for a time would I know it's right for me.

That's how I process things....it's time-consuming with a tendency towards cautiousness.

John

lonewolfny42 · « **Reply #19 on:** 24 Jun 2008, 05:15 am »

Quote

...it's only if I could live with something for a time would I know it's right for me.

That's the best way John...at home...relaxed...and thinking and listening clearly.

Have fun....