After detaching the previous power cable, connecting the Audience Forte F5 and then patiently distancing all cables one from another to reduce reciprocal interferences, I started testing the cable after a tester found the right AC polarity.
The following four hours were the ones where the effects of the break-in were marked most.
I tried the baby on different electronics until I finally realized that it's in my bi-amped stereo system it delivers the finest and most audible results on my Exposure 2010s power amp and that is where it is staying. This power amp feeds basses to my Martin Logan 35 XTi's, but I would like you to note that this amplifier is also connected to a Rel T/7x subwoofer, so that I have complete bass frequency control from the same machine.

My approach is premised on the reasoning that no cable can currently bring night and day changes, but it can surely improve a system which is already at a decent qualitative level and, if it's the right cable at the right place, it can undoubtely solve some issues. So test and choose your power cables wisely, and remember that with Audience's products you always get a step up on the ladder to sonic nirvana.
The Forte F5 guarantees a weightier presentation, having the sub shaking my feet and chair more promimently than earlier on. A bit more presence in the lower spectrum of snare drums together with rockier and more explosive kick drums. The electric guitar happens to be more incisive and sculptured, not necessarily sharper. The electric bass appears to be slightly more audible and distinct during crowded musical passages.
What is decidedly extremely appreciated is the fact that the details in the softest moments of compositions are emphasized and chiselled loud and clear. This brings me lots of joy as it makes songs more enjoyable, with an impressive level of detail rendered especially in the acoustic or spoken episodes, probably because of the cable's uncanny ability to reduce noise and grain. Isn't this great? Which of you doesn't want a quieter background, to hear more nuances, more three-dimensional music, with the vocals earning the most in terms of intelligibility?

When you deal with compressed, tight and rapid music, such as some kind of Rock or Metal, the Forte F5 comes in your help vividly, by allowing faster attacks and decays from your speakers (and subs, if you use them).

Being a well-engineered cable whose unique six-conductor geometry is a proprietary design that, Audience claims, “rejects EMI and RFI noise while balancing energy flow for lowest eddy current resistance", it lays out the full frequency deck without shortchanging the complexity of a note. It's timbrically a bit warm but maintains a sense of realism, plus it possesses the gift of making you forget that you're listening to a solid-state system, being more forgiving of badly-recorded music.

The dynamics are a strong point, but don't forget it's also divinely nimble and designed to deliver a meatier low-end. Organic, with a deep extension and a spacious soundstage. It just sounds so good on any component, but of course synergy reigns supreme, so you'll have fun investigating and finding out between which components it brings the best results.
Careful system matching is essential, because some components are well-designed and are thus theorically indifferent to what cables you use with them, but in reality there is always a possibility to obtain improvements even from them. All you need is patience and blind tests to ascertain where it is better to leave a cable, and where it is better to use another. We've come very close, but so far no cable is perfect, no cable is 100% neutral and the characteristics that you need to achieve to be satisfied with your stereo require several comparisons, and in the end you will choose the cable that does 'less damage' to the sound.
To save you from wasting money and time, and avoid the pains of a fruitless research that brings from one cable to another, and then another and more, follow this piece of advice, which derives from a physics axiom: lower powered devices will benefit less by a better power cable, whereas hungry electronics such as amps or subwoofers will be inevitably more affected, so start from them and then purchase more Audience cables later for the other low-wattage electronics.

Starting from US$ 649 for the 1.5 m version, it is then evident that there is a good price/performance ratio inside of every Forte F5 cable, but in order to offer an honest and realistic review we have to remind you that to get to that fair price Audience had to reach a tiny compromise in comparison with other more expensive (that is non-entry level) cables from them, still the end result at this price surpasses all the competitors I've tested lately.