Garbage in, garbage out—health-conscious individuals focused on nutrition will nod their heads knowingly. This same aphorism applies to high-end audio, where electrically-powered components draw their sustenance from AC power. Audiophiles often go to great lengths to optimize the power flow to their systems, employing dedicated lines, power conditioners, upgraded power cords, and upgraded fuses.
Aftermarket AC outlets have been available to audiophiles for many years. At the turn of the century, Wattgate was the dominant player; 20 years later, manufacturers as diverse as Cardas, Furutech, and Synergistic Research now offer their own aftermarket AC outlets. Audience-AV, headed up by Company President John McDonald, has recently joined the fray with the introduction of the Hidden Treasure High Definition AC (HDAC) duplex outlet. The Hidden Treasure distinguishes itself from its peers via the application of numerous proprietary technologies. Within the Hidden Treasure's body of thermoplastic nylon are contained two outlets composed of a high-quality copper core plated with rhodium. The outlets are engineered to provide an extra-tight grip and and secure connection, and to maximize AC signal transfer. Unique to Audience, however, is the MORRE (Musically Optimized Reduction of Resistive Technologies) process, made up of a series of technologies that, per Audience, fundamentally alter the baseline of the conductive lattice throughout the conductive materials, reducing electron scatter and providing for greater signal preservation. Additionally, Audience subjects the Hidden Treasure HDAC to its Ultra High Voltage Process (UHVP), which exposes the electrical circuit to sequenced one-million-volt pulses, creating predictable paths through the crystalline grain structure of the various metals, and resulting in enhanced integrity and continuity of the AC signal. Lastly, Audience applies to the outlet a proprietary radio-frequency-blocking crystal formula. Taken together, the sum of these technologies is purported by Audience to more effectively eliminate the insidious influence of electromagnetic interference (EFI) and radio-frequency interference (RFI).
Installation of the Hidden Treasure, like any other AC outlet, is not plug-and-play like other audio components. Given the high voltages potentially involved, you may be more comfortable enlisting the services of a licensed electrician. For those who elect to install the Hidden Treasure themselves, the outlet's connectors are robust and facilitate easy hook-up of the the positive, negative and ground wires. In use, the Audience Hidden Treasure HDAC duplex AC outlet grabs on to power-cord connectors with a vice-like grip.
During the course of the review period, my system comprised the Marantz SA-10 SACD player, AVM A3.2 integrated amplifier, Focal Sopra 1 loudspeakers, Kimber Kable Select KS-1036 and Nordost Heimdall 2 interconnects, Kimber Monocle X and Nordost Heimdall 2 speaker cables, Audience aR2p-T4 power conditioner and Au24 SE-i power cords. All components were placed on a SolidSteel 6.2 Audio Table, with Symposium Acoustics Rollerblock Jr HDSE footers. Acoustic treatments were by GIK Acoustics.
Some components require an inordinate amount of break-in time before they reveal their true sonic signatures. And with some components, their sonic effects are subtle, requiring many hours of listening for proper discernment. With the Audience Hidden Treasure, the benefits conferred were immediate and obvious. I was frankly not prepared for the across-the-board aural improvements wrought by this $200 outlet. Most noticeable was increased clarity and resolution. Via the Hidden Treasure, my system imparted more musical information, allowing me to hear deeper into my favorite recordings.
Suzanne Vega's vocal on "Tom's Diner" from her Solitude Standing CD (A&M CD 5136), is haunting and plaintive, made more so by its accapella treatment. The Hidden Treasure laid bare every nuance, every inflection, as Vega leaned into and away from the microphone, and revealed even her subtle side-to-side movements. The Hidden Treasure, by virtue of its irrefragable transparency, revealed minute details in even multi-layered mixes, spotlighting not just the disparate musical elements, but also the musicians' emotional intent. On "Calypso," from the same Solitude Standing album, Suzanne Vega's poignant message of personal desire juxtaposed against condign responsibility has never resonated with me as deeply as it did with the Hidden Treasure in my system; I could clearly empathize with Vega's titular character as she lamented the upcoming long years without her lover, Odysseus, on the night before releasing him back to the sea and his freedom.
The Hidden Treasure rendered improvements in a number of areas prized by audiophiles. I've tuned my system for realistic soundstage portrayal, and it is adept at bringing musical performances, fully fleshed out, into my listening space. Playing "No Long Goodbyes," from Chuck Greenberg's From a Blue Planet release (Gold Castle D2-71362), the Hidden Treasure helped my system bring Greenberg's lyricon and Alex Degrassi's acoustic guitar into my room with enhanced reach-out-and-touch-it realism. Image focus, density and layering benefited as well, adding to the verisimilitude of Brendan Perry's vocals on the "The Ubiquitous Mr Lovegrove" song from Dead Can Dance's Into the Labyrinth CD (4AD CAD 3013 CD).
With the Hidden Treasure in place, I noted more air around instruments, demonstrated notably on tracks such as "Ron Carter," from Bill Frisell's Blues Dream CD (Nonesuch 79615-2), where Kenny Wolleson's subtle, yet complex cymbal work was rendered with shimmer and vivacity.
"Koko Blue," from ZZ-Top's second album, Rio Grande Mud (Warner Bros. 7599-27380-2), has a staccato bass-drum beat that underpins the entire song. The Hidden Treasure and the improvements in transparency it evinced enabled the system to reproduce these frenetic beats with apparent greater celerity; less noise obfuscating the rhythmic attack and sustain of the pedaled notes meant that I was able to more clearly delineate the individual beats.
While the Audience Hidden Treasure HDAC outlet checks all the audiophile boxes for superlative sound, perhaps its greatest virtue was its ability to dig deep into mediocre recordings, allowing me to glean more enjoyment from, and to form a greater connection with, the underlying musical performances. Ashra's Tropical Heat (Spalax 14242), Frank Zappa's Just Another Band from L.A. (Zappa Records ZR 3847) and Gentle Giant's The Missing Piece (DRT RTE 00356) represent three examples of this phenomenon. While it's unlikely that any of these recordings will ever be regarded as pinnacles of these artists' respective oeuvres, I came to appreciate the performances more than I heretofore ever have on account of the Hidden Treasure's ineffable ability to cut through recording-quality artifice, thereby rendering greater meditative involvement on my part.
Installing the Audience Hidden Treasure HDAC duplex outlet in my system was revelatory. The Hidden Treasure brought out previously-obscured minute musical details so essential to the communion of listener and his/her recordings. Over the course of my audiophile journey, I've spent many thousands of dollars on component upgrades to achieve the same levels of sonic improvement imbued by the $200 Audience Hidden Treasure outlet. If that doesn't render the Hidden Treasure one of high-end audio's greatest bargains, I don't know what does.
Audience Hidden Treasure HDAC Outlet
Retail: $200
Audience AV
