Tenacious Sound, A Tale of Two Cities and Two Systems – CAF 2018

Shane Tenace isn’t just the ringmaster of this multi-room circus of audio, he’s also the founder and proprietor of Tenacious Sound. Shane divides his time and expertise for system building between his two locations; the first located in Augusta GA, and the second in Syracuse NY.

To witness Shane’s enthusiasm for sound, growth, and market dominance, you’d almost think he’s got the entire east coast hi-fi market on lock-down between his two locations. Representing well over 30+ brands, it’s all the reason for Shane to show large at CAF 2018.

With a planned five room, eight (active) system exhibition, along with multiple static displays it was easy to find myself lost in the mix. A popular question heard in the hallways during the show, “Is this a Tenacious Sound room?” To which no one could safely answer quickly. Tenacious Sound was everywhere.

Simple, reference quality, and elegant. That best describes System One. The TAD ME standmount loudspeakers I had heard at CAF in 2017 with Naim equipment in another room hosted by Tenacious Sound. Even then, Shane was making a splash with showgoers and press writers. This time around, I actually enjoyed the system more. The TAD’s seemed more expressive and rich on the top end than in previous listening. Undoubtedly a reference system, that garners a critical ear.

How often do you hear a system at an audio show which features a sub-$500 tower speaker?
You don’t. That was the story about System Two, a real stunner in both sound and simplicity. The Mofi turntable was over twice the price of the speakers, yet none of the components in the system seemed outclassed by the others.

System One
– TAD ME Standmount Loudspeakers – $14,995 USD
– Primare Pre35 – $4995 USD
– Coda S20 Amplifier – $5495 USD
– Feickert Volare Turntable – $3500 USD
– Soundsmith Paua ES Cartridge – $3995 USD
– Soundmith MCP2 Phono Preamp – $1195 USD
– Audience SX interconnects and speaker cables

System Two
– Quad Vena II Amplifier/DAC – $995 USD
– Wharfedale Crystal 4.3 speakers – $495 USD
– Mofi StudioDeck Turntable (w/StudioTracker Cartridge) – $1,149 USD
– Audience Ohno speaker cables
– Audience V8 power conditioner