Audience Forte V8 Power Distributor

Audience forte V8 Power

Eight Outlets Done Right — An Audiophile Power Platform at a Real-World Price

Most power strips are an afterthought. A plastic shell, cheap internal wiring, a shared ground connection, and whatever MOV-based surge protection the manufacturer decided to include before shipping. Plug your audio components into one and you've connected them all to the same compromised AC source, with every component sharing ground-borne noise from every other component.

The forte V8 Power starts from a different premise. After eighteen months of R&D and substantial listening evaluation at every stage, Audience set out to build the power distribution product they could endorse — one that lives up to their design standard of "do no harm," and in doing so delivers a musically balanced, high-resolution AC platform at a price accessible to any serious listener.

The result earned The Absolute Sound AC Power Product of the Year for 2020 and Editor's Choice Awards in 2021, 2022, and 2023. Neil Gader's summary: impeccable in construction quality, virtually unbreakable, and not liable to break the bank. All in all, a no-brainer.

Adam LaBarge at The Audio Beatnik offered perhaps the most persuasive endorsement in the form of his wife's unsolicited verdict after the V8 was removed from his system for the review: "You're just mad that your speakers don't sound as good without that thing."

What It Is — and What It Isn't

The forte V8 Power is a premium AC power distribution platform, not a power conditioner in the same category as the aR6 or aR12. Understanding the distinction helps set accurate expectations.

It does not include surge or overload protection — this is by design, not oversight. Audience found that the filtering and protection components that most power strips include introduce their own performance compromises. The V8 omits them and instead concentrates on doing one thing exceptionally well: distributing clean, uncompromised AC power to up to eight components with genuine audiophile attention to every detail of how that distribution happens.

For surge protection and additional noise filtration, the V8 can be plugged into any free outlet of an aR2p — a natural and effective pairing that adds AdeptResponse surge suppression and noise filtering upstream of the V8's distribution.

How It's Built

The forte V8 is constructed in an extruded aluminum chassis — robust, resonance-resistant, and built to last. Inside, Audience abandoned the standard power strip approach entirely.

High-quality copper buss bars. Rather than a shared internal wiring run, the V8 uses a hardy high-quality copper buss bar design. The buss bars provide a low-impedance, high-current-capable distribution path that a standard wire-to-wire construction cannot match.

Star-ground configuration. Each of the eight hospital-grade duplex outlets is separately wired to the buss bars in a star-ground configuration, using high-purity 14 AWG stranded copper wire. Star grounding means every outlet has its own dedicated ground path back to the buss bar rather than sharing a daisy-chained ground with adjacent outlets. This eliminates a significant source of component-to-component ground-borne noise — the same problem that plagues standard power strips.

Hospital-grade outlets. Each outlet meets the construction standards required for medical equipment — tighter contact retention, better contact material, more durable construction than the outlets found in standard power strips or even most residential AC wiring.

Standard RF filtration. The V8 includes Audience's standard RF filtration, providing a degree of RF noise rejection at each outlet.

EHVP and cryogenic treatment. The entire electrical circuit — buss bars, wiring, and outlets — has been treated with Audience's Extreme High Voltage Process (EHVP) and cryogenics. The same post-production treatments applied to Audience's cables are applied here, refining the conductive paths and improving signal integrity throughout the V8's electrical circuit.

Standard IEC inlet. The V8 connects to the wall via a standard IEC inlet, accepting any standard or upgrade powerChord. It ships with the forte f3 powerChord included — a meaningful inclusion that sets the V8 up for immediate performance rather than requiring an immediate cable upgrade to hear what it can do.

What It Sounds Like

The forte V8's sonic character is defined by what it doesn't do — which is exactly the point. The Absolute Sound found no discernible losses, changes, or degradations versus wall outlets. If anything, backgrounds seemed quieter and low-level transparency more fully resolved. Bass response firmed up and conveyed greater control. Soundstage dimensionality and ambience retrieval were enhanced.

CE Pro's Robert Archer described improved micro dynamics and sustain — the kind of improvements that reveal themselves as more convincing tonal character and more natural instrument decay. Enjoy the Music's Jules Coleman called the forte V8 simply "your new best friend."

The V8 is not a subtle product. It is quiet, fast, and honest — and for a system that has been running off a standard power strip, the improvement it makes is immediate and not subtle.

Pairing With a powerChord

The powerChord feeding the V8 is the first link in the chain for every component connected to it. Upgrading it from the included forte f3 has a proportionally larger effect than upgrading any individual component's cord — because every component downstream benefits simultaneously.

The forte f5 powerChord is a natural step-up, bringing cryogenic treatment and improved geometry. For systems already running Audience signal cables, the Studio ONE, Au24 SX, or frontRow powerChords extend the same material quality and post-production rigor to the V8's inlet.

Press Recognition

• The Absolute Sound — AC Power Product of the Year 2020; Editor's Choice Award 2021, 2022, 2023 "Impeccable in construction quality, virtually unbreakable, and not liable to break the bank. Backgrounds seemed quieter and low-level transparency more fully resolved. Bass response firms up and conveys greater control. All in all, a no-brainer." — Neil Gader Read the full review
• CE Pro — Full review, January 2022 "Micro dynamics were more dramatic and sustain — the true secret to the tones of classic rock icons such as Eddie Van Halen, Angus Young and Jimmy Page — were much improved." — Robert Archer, Editor Read the review
• The Audio Beatnik — Full review, December 2019 "The V8 is easily worth it, especially when my wife said, 'You're just mad that your speakers don't sound as good without that thing.'" — Adam LaBarge Read the review
• Enjoy the Music — Full review, April 2020 "Your new best friend." — Jules Coleman Read the review

Specifications

• Outlets: 8 hospital-grade duplex
• Internal wiring: High-purity 14 AWG stranded copper
• Ground configuration: Star ground — each outlet individually wired to buss bars
• Buss bars: High-quality copper
• RF filtration: Standard Audience RF filtration
• Surge/overload protection: Not included (see pairing note below)
• Post-production treatment: EHVP + cryogenic treatment — full electrical circuit
• Inlet: Standard IEC
• Included powerChord: forte f3
• Chassis: Extruded aluminum
• Dimensions: 12.875" × 4.125" × 1.25"
• Weight: 2.7 lbs.
• Price: [PLACEHOLDER — contact us for current pricing]

Note: For surge protection and additional noise filtration, the V8 can be plugged into any free outlet of an aR2p — a natural pairing that brings AdeptResponse protection upstream of the V8's distribution.

Questions about pairing the V8 with a powerChord upgrade or an aR2p for surge protection? We're happy to help work out the best configuration for your system.