Not that hifistatement is evolving into a specialist magazine for audiophile LAN switches, but since Roland Dietl and I experienced the improvements in sound that are accessible with it, this topic hasn’t vanished from our minds. At a trade fair in Stuttgart I discovered the Ansuz switch, which, as far as I know, marks the end of the line – at least in terms of price.

To my shame, I have to admit that although I had come across the name of the manufacturer quite frequently at trade fairs, I didn’t know who was running the company or what distinguished their products from others. Yes, mea culpa: New cable manufacturers appearing on the market usually aren’t very intriguing to me, but when it comes to network switches, things though look quite different. Morten Thyrrested, who represented Ansuz Acoustics at the South German HiFi Days in Stuttgart and is the responsible person for demo activities, sales and customer support, kindly offered me a PowerSwitch D-TC Supreme for a review. Before I accepted, however, I wanted to make up for lost ground and visited the website of the Danish cable specialists: To my surprise, I came across Lars Kristensen there. If my memory serves me right, I got to know him back in 1998 and then met him subsequently again at various trade fairs in Europe and the USA. I happily remember not only his impressive demos of renowned high-end cables, where he didn’t shrink to demonstrate anything but economically priced wiring in audio systems, whose total cost prices fell short of those of the cables, but also the one or other boozy evening spent together.

Lars Christensen later left the American cable specialists, but remained active in the scene, so that we met each other from time to time at the one or other trade show. And now the company, in which he has a major shareholding, is producing not only elaborate high-end cables but also four LAN switches of different quality levels, whose top model, according to Morten Thyrrested, has never been reviewed anywhere before – yet another reason to take a closer look at the PowerSwitch D-TC Supreme.

Lars Kristensen and Michael Børresen founded Ansuz Acoustics a few years ago together with two other partners. By the way, Ansuz is the fourth character in the Runic Alphabet and is supposed to be a symbol for Odin, among other things. In the company's catalogue, the two founders mention the history and working methods: "Built around their vast experience and know-how from the high-end field, the company has grown fast, and very quickly Ansuz Acoustics could introduce a range of resonance controls and high-end cables to the market. ... Developing the Ansuz cables and accessories is based on researching and developing new technologies. This process takes days and months of testing, of trial and error to identify how we can best combine and further advance so far well-known scientifically documented principles. ... And if an idea does not prove right, we trash it, rethink and start again, trying to utilize what we have learned in a new approach. We believe that this is the way great results and innovative ideas have been created through time." However, the two main shareholders do not claim their success for themselves alone, but point out that their professional and qualified employees play a major role in this process. Their innovative and aesthetic way of thinking is very much influenced by the specific Danish culture.

Apart from that, Ansuz Acoustics is not particularly informative, at least on their website. Also, I didn't find any notes on the history and operating methods of the company there, but in the catalogue instead, which, however, you have to download first. Explanations or even white papers about the frequently used so-called "Active Tesla Coils" in their different versions, the "Analog Dither" or the "Anti-Arial & Resonance Coils" aren't to be found on the internet either. Most likely I would have learned more about these specialties on site in Aalborg, but at the planned date of my visit, cross-border travel was no longer possible. Therefore Morten Thyrrested and I agreed to reverse the sequence and to start testing the switch first.

Upon request, Morten Thyrrested gave me access to at least some information about the switches, namely to what basically applies to all four models within the range: According to the Ansuz developers, wired streaming networks are a problem for audiophile environments simply because they are connected to the World Wide Web and thus to all kinds of externally located noisy electronics. In the case of computers, routers, switches and all kinds of other electronics, the background noise is not as important as in the audio sector. Furthermore, the Ethernet is some kind of a floating network, which means that there is no grounding connection to dissipate the noise. With Ansuz Acoustics' PowerSwitches, one of the main advantages is the grounding circuitry, which filters out much of the noise. As mentioned, the PowerSwitches feature a variety of Ansuz technologies to further reduce the noise. These technologies are also compatible with those used in other Ansuz Acoustics products. This way a strong alliance can be built to reduce the noise level within the entire audio system.

The Ansuz Acoustics PowerSwitches also contain - as the term "power" refers to - a PowerBox with ten outputs, which provides power for those Ansuz Ethernet cables featuring active technology. These outputs serve as well to power other Ansuz digital cables. However, for powering analog Ansuz cables, it is recommended to use one of the stand-alone PowerBox models instead. Using a simple voltmeter, I was able to find out that different AC voltages were to be measured at the four sections of the active cable's connecting plug. These are generated by five so-called "Analog Dither" circuits, and are intended to act on the dielectric of the active LAN cables. Though these being also already at hand, they are not going to be part of this test. Nevertheless, the fact that the dielectric is influenced by alternating current instead of direct current as it is the case with the Audioquest cables, intrigued me suchlike that I promptly called Michael Børresen, chief developer at Ansuz Acoustics, who then very willingly provided information about the solutions used. But what the alternating current for the dielectric is all about, I will not reveal until I review the D-TC Supreme Ethernet cables.

But let's stay with the current that flows from the power socket to the resonant mode power supply, which shows up as a rather expensive switching mode power supply variant that operates with a sine wave instead of the usual square wave and thus not only produces less interfering noise, but also noise that is easier to filter out. In each of the feed lines to the power supply there is a so-called "Active Cable Tesla Coil", a circuit that detects spikes respective voltage peaks from the mains, and by generating an inverted pulse thus almost completely eliminates the spike. Thanks to this circuitry, the Ansuz Acoustics PowerBoxes and PowerSwitches are said to have a positive effect on the sound of an audio system even when their voltage supply or their function as LAN switches are not being used.

If that isn't enough, the end of the cables to the power supply feature two "Anti-Arial & Resonance Coils", which are supposed to prevent them from acting as antennas. This is achieved by winding the ends of the cable into a coil, first in one direction and then in the other, with the individual windings twisted together. Thanks to these bifilar windings, standing waves cannot occur, thus avoiding the cables to act as high frequency antennas. Most notable are the sixty "Active Tesla Coils" both on the main board and the pickaback board, which are intended to actively counteract noise. The number of "Active Square Tesla Coils" is even much higher: 138 square coils made of conductor tracks on both sides of the boards filter out high-frequency radiation, while some of them serve as a kind of sensor for the active noise suppression circuits. Even if Michael Børresen does not disclose his noise reduction techniques in every detail, it should have become clear that Ansuz Acoustics relies on very autonomous and sometimes complex solutions for the PowerSwitch.

What was just for the Melco switch should also be equitable for the Ansuz switch: a reasonable period of time for breaking-in. Before I listened to the PowerSwitch D-TC Supreme in comparison to my personal reference, the SOtM sNH-10G in conjunction with the 10 megahertz clock sCLK-OCX10 for clocking the switch, it had a whole three weeks, interrupted only by a short stopover in the photo studio, to collect operating hours. As usual, the connection to router, Melco and Auralic Aries is provided by the tried and tested Goebel Lacorde Statement Ethernet cables. The PowerSwitch is connected via an Audioquest Tornado to the Niagara 1000, which serves as the mains supply for all digital components. The positioning, however, I have not yet optimized at this early stage. I will report about the influence of Ansuz' Darkz feet any time soon. At the moment, the PowerSwitch rests on the Melco on its standard, not necessarily high-grade looking feet, where usually the SOtM switch has its reserved space in the mostly fully booked Artesania equipment support.

Already during the burn-in period accompanied by some new acquisitions such as the 88.2 kilohertz version of Barre Phillips solo bass album End To End, the sonic image fascinates with an stupendous calm, black background. The often in a percussive style played bass is depicted immensely clear in the large recording room. From time to time, even Barre Phillips' breathing becomes audible. Thanks to the perfect reproduction, these not really catchy sounds nevertheless become an experience. But let's stay a little bit longer with ECM and music performed through those mighty four-stringers, i.e. Larry Grenadier and his album The Gleaners. In "Pettiford", a tribute to a well-known colleague, the bass seems to stand freely in a quite large room and indulges initially with warm voluminous sounds, before Larry Grenadier soars into higher registers. The position of the speakers can't even be guessed, the sound completely detaches itself from the transducers and one feels beamed into the recording room. What a delight!

The next stop is Patrice Heral's "Improvisation" from the album Le Concert Des Parfums, recorded in the monastery of Noirlac, played first of all via the SOtM switch: The large, reverberant refectory in which Patrice Heral has set up his manifold percussion instruments sounds very familiar, the impulses burst with energy, and the ebbing away of the beats on the kettledrums can be precisely traced. The PowerSwitch from Ansuz Acoustics, however, draws level with it. But now the sound has got a touch more warmth, the deep drums unfold a little more power, and even the fading of the beats on the smaller drums lasts longer. Despite the music revealing additional information, the playback seems a bit more organic, more complemented and slightly less technical to me. By the way, I had momentary disconnected the PowerSwitch from the mains while the SOtM sNH-10G was on duty, as Ansuz Acoustics points out that the "Active Cable Tesla Coils" are supposed to have a positive effect on the sound of the whole system as soon as the switch is connected to the mains.

Well, one may argue about whether the use of a switch whose price ranges almost in the sphere where converter and up-scaler cavort is wise, or not. But on the one hand, this article is not primarily intended as a purchase recommendation, but rather an attempt to find out what is feasible and if such extreme purpose-driven efforts still result in sonic advantages. And on the other hand, every audiophile is aware of the fact that an exponential amount of constructive and financial effort is being required to achieve those one or two percent more on the way to perfect euphony. And that's why I don't burden myself with any more thought on the pricing of the PowerSwitch D-TC Supreme, but rather verify with a few more pieces of music if the Ansuz happens to harmonize particularly well with "Improvisation" only by coincidence.

While scrolling through the music library I got stuck on Paul Rodgers' Muddy Water Blues. The version of "Hoochie Coochie Man" may not be a sonic revelation, but it's a lot of fun: The subtle use of reverberation, the fat bass drum, and the sumptuous arrangement don't distract me from the energetic groove in the least. Top-class happy-go-lucky music - especially when the PowerSwitch is handling the distribution of the data. The bass drum has now got a richer punch and the guitars have lost somewhat of their aggressive conduct. The SOtM, however, reveals the rather dense instrumentation to be slightly finer structured, while the sound engineer's toying around with the reverb is a bit easier to track. Anyway, with the Ansuz this song gives me much more enjoyment.

Finally, I treat myself to Wagner's "The Ride of the Valkyries" from the album The Symphonic Ring with the Duisburg Philharmonics, conducted by Jonathan Darlington. Like all recordings of the Living Concert Series, this one also convinces with a good spatial imaging, gripping dynamics and brilliant timbres. The Ansuz bestows them a touch more warmth, the depiction of the instrumental groups on the now somewhat deeper stage comes off even more vivid and the orchestra not only appears to be larger, but also more energetic. Excellent! At this extremely high level, the differences are of course not of the dramatic kind, but is there any audiophile who wouldn't strive for the - sometimes crucial - nuances?