The first part of my report gave insights into the production of cables, electronics and loudspeakers, and we documented the production of the crucial part for Børresens Silver Supreme series as well. In the following it's all about experiences with the new loudspeaker and electronics lines in the company's listening rooms and a visit to the Danish Technological Institute in Aarhus.
Ansuz sets greatest value on a clean power supply. For this reason, Emil Kristensen and Morton Thyrrested demonstrated in their first listening room what kind of effect the different quality and price levels of the Mainz power distributors and Mainz power cables had on the sound of a manageable chain consisting of Aavik U-150 integrated amplifier with converter module, Primare CD player and Naim music server. The sonic differences in the power distribution units were easy to spell out, even if these - and later also the cables - stepped into price ranges that were not necessarily appropriate compared to the rest of the system. Especially the investment in a superior power cable between power socket and power distributor was remunerated with an immense gain in sound. Dedicated hi-fi fans naturally know about the importance of a good power supply, but much weightier to me than the awareness of a chain being only as good as the power supply allows it to, turned out to be the experience that any additional investment in Ansuz network technology in round terms leads to a significantly better playback quality: The price/sound ratio in the Ansuz portfolio is therefore right.
In the second listening room, which had a slight bass boost and will therefore - as already mentioned - be refurbished by an acoustics specialist shortly, the new electronic lines from Aavik were presented. Each of the 180 and 280 series comprises an integrated amplifier, a phono stage, a streamer and a D/A converter. Each model of the 180 series is priced at 6,000 euros, the 280 series, which shows up with a more sophisticated filtering concept, costs 10,000 euros each. The phono preamp operates unbalanced, while the integrated amplifiers with their resonant mode power supplies deliver 300 watts per channel and the streamer features its own Aavik streaming app. We listened to the I-280 integrated amplifier with the S-180 streamer and the D-180 respectively D-280 converters. The additional use of Aavik/Ansuz technologies such as Active Tesla Coils and Active Cable Tesla Coils in the "bigger" DAC made a significant difference in sound.
In the same room I also came across the first model from Børresen's new, much more affordable Z series: The Z-1 is a two-way monitor with a ribbon tweeter and a five-inch mid-woofer. This Børresen driver is said to feature very low inductance and compression. The price is set at 10,000 euros the pair, while the matching stands retail for 2,400 euros. The two-and-half-way floor-standing model is labelled Z-2 and has got an eight-inch woofer in addition to the Z-1's driver configuration. It appears in the price list with 16,000 euros. Next is the Z-3, which adds a further woofer to the set-up. Of course, the eight-inch woofers are also manufactured by Børresen and feature low impedance and compression values as well. 23,000 euros are to be paid for a pair of Z-3s, which, however, still range below the smallest sized Børresen, the 01. The website also introduces a Z-5 with two midrange drivers and four woofers, but this was neither to be seen in the listening rooms nor in the price list. The models of the Z series are available in black or white.
Finally, we made it to the third listening room: This is where the components of the 580 series are hosted. As with the 180 and 280 series, there is an integrated amplifier, a phono stage, a streamer and a D/A converter. From a purely visual viewpoint, these components, each tagged at 20,000 euros, distinguish themselves from those of the smaller series primarily by titanium structures integrated into the housings to minimize resonance. Between the exterior made of a composite material and the electronics inside there is a shielding case made of copper sheets, as aluminum was largely avoided. The integrated amplifier provides 300 watts per channel, the converter handles PCM as well as DSD files.
With Aavik's 580 series we then listened not only to the Z-3, but also experienced the differences between a Børresen 01 and a 01 Silver Supreme with a ring of pure silver instead of copper between the ring magnets made of neodymium-52 in the motor of Børresen's proprietary mid-woofers. For the silver version, a surcharge of 13,335 euros is due on top of the basic list price of 25,000 euros. As always within the field of highest high-end gear, the last few percent more on the way to perfect euphony require not only enormous efforts, but an adequate investment as well. After the comparison I have no doubt that the use of silver is worth it, even if it, after all, only delivers slightly improved measurement values. Perhaps I will succeed in getting these two versions - or rather the Børresen 05 with about eight kilograms of pure silver built-in - into my listening room.
On Friday, after a short meeting at the company's headquarters, we went to the Technological Institute in Aarhus, about 120 kilometers away. There the surfaces of Ansuz and Børresen products undergo a refining process. The term "particle accelerator" occasionally appears in the product information. Oh yes, to begin with there are two smaller facilities of this kind there, which take care of accelerating particles with a voltage of 200,000 volts and shoot them at the objects to be treated. Secondly, there is even a reference to the huge facility in Geneva, which is operated by the European organization for nuclear research CERN: For them, parts are surface treated in Aarhus. However, the devices that give the Ansuz Darkz feet, for example, an extremely hard surface are correctly called "Magnetron Sputtering Units" and the process which the Ansuz objects undergo is called "HiPIMS deposition", the abreviation HiPIMS standing for High Power Impulse Magnetron Sputtering: The objects are placed in a chamber, which is evacuated by two large high vacuum pumps. Argon gas is then fed into the chamber and argon atoms are shot at the surfaces of the objects to free them from any trace of oxidation. The argon particles then release atoms from ingots made from the metal species intended to be bonded to the surfaces. These are then accelerated onto the objects with a voltage of 1,000 volts. This energy-consuming process takes 62 hours. Bjarke Holl Christensen, Senior Specialist for Tribology and Materials at the Technological Institute, points out, and not without a touch of pride, that this process is not subject to chemical laws. The compounding of materials realized here happens solely because of the high kinetic energy with which atoms are shot into the surface of the objects. Whether it's about particle accelerators or Magnetron Sputtering Units: The effort required to refine the surfaces of Ansuz and Børresen products is enormous.
