• About
    • About HFA
    • HFA Awards
    • Associated Equipment
    • Banners on HFA
    • HFA Analytics Data
    • HFA Audio Setup History
    • HFA Audio Setup Snapshots
    • Sitemap
    • Contact
  • HFA Awards
  • Reviews
    • All Reviews
    • Amplifier
      • All Amplifier Reviews
      • Integrated Amplifier
      • Preamplifier
      • Power Amplifier
      • Phono Preamp
    • Loudspeaker
      • All Loudspeaker Reviews
      • Passive Speaker
      • Active Analog Speaker
      • Active Digital Speaker
    • Digital
      • All Digital Reviews
      • CD Player
      • SPDIF DAC
      • USB DAC
      • Music Server
      • Network Player
      • Digital Recorder
      • Digital Interface
      • Audio Software
    • Turntable and Accessories
      • All Turntable and Accessories Reviews
      • Turntable
      • Tonearm
      • Phono Cartridge
      • Turntable Accessories
    • Cable
      • All Cable Reviews
      • Analog Interlink
      • Phono Interlink
      • Speaker Cable
      • Power Cable
      • Digital Cable
    • Accessories
      • All Accessories Reviews
      • Racks / Stands / Feet
      • Tuning / Tweaks
      • Power Connector
    • Industry Update
  • Insights
    • All Insights
    • Analog Insights
    • Cable Insights
    • Connector Insights
    • Digital Insights
    • Extensionblocks / Filters Insights
    • Generic Insights
    • System Synergy Q&A
  • Specials
  • Show Reports
    • All Show Reports
    • Alkmaar Audio Show
    • Chattelin Audio Systems
    • Dutch Audio Event
    • Enosound
    • HifiDeluxe
    • HifiLive
    • Munich High End
    • XFi
  • Classics
    • All Classics
    • Analog Classics
    • Digital Classics
  • Links
  • About
    • About HFA
    • HFA Awards
    • Associated Equipment
    • Banners on HFA
    • HFA Analytics Data
    • HFA Audio Setup History
    • HFA Audio Setup Snapshots
    • Sitemap
    • Contact
  • HFA Awards
  • Reviews
    • All Reviews
    • Amplifier
      • All Amplifier Reviews
      • Integrated Amplifier
      • Preamplifier
      • Power Amplifier
      • Phono Preamp
    • Loudspeaker
      • All Loudspeaker Reviews
      • Passive Speaker
      • Active Analog Speaker
      • Active Digital Speaker
    • Digital
      • All Digital Reviews
      • CD Player
      • SPDIF DAC
      • USB DAC
      • Music Server
      • Network Player
      • Digital Recorder
      • Digital Interface
      • Audio Software
    • Turntable and Accessories
      • All Turntable and Accessories Reviews
      • Turntable
      • Tonearm
      • Phono Cartridge
      • Turntable Accessories
    • Cable
      • All Cable Reviews
      • Analog Interlink
      • Phono Interlink
      • Speaker Cable
      • Power Cable
      • Digital Cable
    • Accessories
      • All Accessories Reviews
      • Racks / Stands / Feet
      • Tuning / Tweaks
      • Power Connector
    • Industry Update
  • Insights
    • All Insights
    • Analog Insights
    • Cable Insights
    • Connector Insights
    • Digital Insights
    • Extensionblocks / Filters Insights
    • Generic Insights
    • System Synergy Q&A
  • Specials
  • Show Reports
    • All Show Reports
    • Alkmaar Audio Show
    • Chattelin Audio Systems
    • Dutch Audio Event
    • Enosound
    • HifiDeluxe
    • HifiLive
    • Munich High End
    • XFi
  • Classics
    • All Classics
    • Analog Classics
    • Digital Classics
  • Links
scroll down for more
Integrated Amplifier Reviews

Aavik U180, U280, and U580 integrated amplifiers

Christiaan Punter 27 June 2022 No Comments
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Email

Review samples supplied by Ohm Audio
Retail prices in the Netherlands, including 21% VAT:
U-180 – 8.995 euros
U-280 – 14.995 euros
U-580 – 29.995 euros
Darkz T2 Resonance Control footers – 800 per piece (3.200 per 4)

Description

What I will be reviewing here is the complete lineup of Aavik’s U-range of integrated amplifiers.

The U180, U280, and U-580 are not only visually identical, but they also offer the same connectivity and the exact same technology with respect to power supply, preamplifier, DAC section, and power amplifier. The preamplifier is of the pure analog kind, offering 4 RCA inputs while A high-quality DAC is also built-in along with 2x TOSlink, 2x BNC, and 1 USB input.

What makes these amplifiers special, are the proprietary noise-control techniques that are employed and this is also where they start to differ from model to model.

The important distinctions are in the number of dither circuits and the number of Active coils and Tesla coils. In addition, the U-580 top model also features a copper inside chassis and a resonance-controlling Titanium Bracing cross on top.

One might raise an eyebrow as to why these differences would induce such a large spread in the amplifier’s cost, and secondarily, one might wonder how much of an impact these odd contraptions could possibly have. Well, allow me to quickly address that second part by repeating just how amazed I was upon hearing the differences between the D2 and D-TC Power Distributors, two products that differ primarily in terms of the applied Tesla Coil technology. As I found, these unusual tweaks can absolutely transform the sound.

The Tesla coil

The principle is to have two coils that are wound in each direction / a coil and a counter coil. In Ansuz words: “a double inverted coil” – the two coils are both carrying voltage – and when the Tesla coil encounters a voltage spike a counter spike is activated in order to eliminate the noise. As Noise spikes are pure voltage and carry virtually no charge, the cancellation is quite good, but not 100%. By adding more P-TC coils in parallel the performance increases. By implementing this the perceived blackness in the music improves significantly. Ansuz Tesla coils are available in various types as they complement each other in terms of strengths /weaknesses.

Active Tesla coil

The active Tesla coils are supplied with power which secures a lower impedance and thus a better ability to eliminate noise. The active version is about three to four times more efficient than passive Tesla coils.

Active square Tesla coils

The active square Tesla coils are embedded in the circuitry boards – one coil on the top and the counter coil on the rear side. The principle is exactly the same as the active Tesla coil which enables a greater ability to eliminate noise than the passive Tesla coil.

Analog dither technology

This is another noise reduction technology that originates from radars where it secured a stronger signal and thus a wider range. Ansuz active Tesla coils send pulsated signals in well-defined frequencies. These signals are sent in counter-phase and thus eliminate the noise floor whereby the music signal clarity is significantly increased.

Anti aerial resonance coil technology

All cables and cable screens act like antennas for airborne RF noise which of course is a huge problem. The passive cable Tesla coil is wound on the external part of the cable and protects the signal from absorbing the airborne RF noise. This noise is absorbed in the Tesla coil. As there is a voltage running in the conductor itself, and it is wound in the counter direction – this is used as the counter coil, whereby the RF noise is eliminated

The table below shows how the various techniques are used in the three amplifiers.

The amplifier’s curvy outer chassis, by the way, is made of what the manufacturer refers to as a “natural-based composite material”, and it is the same material as used for the power distributors. It’s unclear what the material is made of precisely but it looks like a form of High-Density Fiberboard. The material’s surface and edges are super-smooth and covered with a beautiful black lacquer finish.

Aavik makes a rather big deal about the cabinet’s sonic advantages compared to the earlier aluminum designs, citing reduced influences from mechanical resonance, and while I agree that the new cabinets have a very different sonic signature than a typical aluminum cabinet, one might argue over which one is considered best.

With their super-large LED-Matrix display that even near-sighted yours truly can read from 5 meters away, the amplifiers’ smooth curves, and the big, mirror-polished solid metal volume dial, the appearance is not up to the exalted level of the older U-380 but it is still rather unique and I quite like their style.

Use

The supplied Apple remote control handset looks great and works well, but due to its generic keys, you’ll have to memorize which button does what. It’s no big deal, though. The unit can be linked to a single Aavik amplifier which has the advantage of allowing me to control all three entirely separately.

There’s an ongoing trend to have as few buttons on the front panel as possible, for aesthetic reasons, I’m sure. But as button functions are doubled or require presses of different durations, this often leads to less straightforward operation and this is also true for these Aavik amplifiers. For instance, input switching cannot be done directly but requires the push of the navigate button (the one with the asterisk) to select input selection mode and then either a rotation of the big volume dial or the use of the up and down keys. Don’t make the mistake of pushing the up button without first selecting the navigate button. This will shut the amplifier down because the up button doubles as the power button. The shortage of buttons also makes itself known in the menus. You can enter menu mode by long-pressing the navigate button, but you cannot exit the menu again other than by toggling through all the available items until you reach the default display state again. You can actually escape the menu directly from any item, but for that, you need the remote control.

Besides these quirks, the amplifier’s overall operation is straightforward and it responds very quickly to all commands. Powering on and off is a matter of seconds and it absolutely flies through the inputs. The rotary volume dial is weighty and solid and it has a perfect speed of volume adjustment. When an audio product has only a couple of controls, the feel of the controls becomes very important, but with this big volume control, Aavik has done a very good job.

Naturally, I peeked inside, well, make that studied the inside. The next three images show the well-packed insides of the U-580.

The Pascal UMAC power amp module was easy to spot and I was pleased to see such a neatly laid-out preamplifier board. There’s an XMOS input receiver and a PCM1792 DAC chip. Mounted on the power amp module’s heatsink are three full-width PCBs full of Tesla coils that together take up roughly a third of the U-580’s internal volume, and as we will see, not without reason. What I could not find, at first glance, was the preamp’s power supply. I assumed that it could be powered from the Pascal module’s integrated power supply but that was not the case. Then, I noticed that the incoming mains power cable led to the preamp/DAC PCB where it was split off to the power amp module. And then I saw it: underneath a wide flex cable was a positively tiny switched power supply brick. It’s common practice to use either a linear power supply or a custom-built switched supply for analog sections but Aavik does not tend to do things in a conventional manner.

For instance, the line stage utilizes an inverted, virtual GND amplifier topology, which provides extra high stability. The feedback gets so powerful that it allows damping the signal to a gain lower than 1. This preserves the full signal with a very low S/N Ratio – no matter if you turn the volume up or down.

Next: Stacking

Related Posts
McIntosh and Jeff Rowland
Viva Verona XL SE Triode mono Power Amps
Harman Kardon AVR760
Marantz NR1501 surround receiver
Naim UnitiQute Network Player and Amplifier
Naim Uniti Network Player, CD player and Amplifier
Accuphase E-260
Devialet Expert 120 and 200
Page 1 of 3
Aavik Ansuz
  • Share This:
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Email
Christiaan Punter Owner of Hifi-Advice.com

Your comment Cancel reply

All comments are welcome but I regret that I no longer have the time to respond to all questions. To increase the likelihood of a response, please make sure that your question is on topic and referring to the product that was reviewed. First-time comments need to be manually approved which incurs a short delay. After the initial approval, successive comments will appear right away. Do not use links as these will automatically mark the message as spam. Your email address is required but it will not be made public.

 

Categories

  • Accessories Reviews
  • Active Analog Speakers Reviews
  • Active Digital Speakers Reviews
  • Alkmaar Audio Show
  • Amplifier Reviews
  • Analog Classics
  • Analog Insights
  • Analog Interlink Reviews
  • Analogy Records
  • Apogee Acoustics Company Special
  • Audio Software Reviews
  • Audiophile Insights
  • Cables Insights
  • CD Player Reviews
  • Chattelin Audio Systems
  • Connectors Insights
  • Digital Cable Reviews
  • Digital Classics
  • Digital Insights
  • Digital Interface Reviews
  • Digital Recorder Reviews
  • Digital Reviews
  • Dutch Audio Event
  • Enosound
  • Extensionblocks / Filters Insights
  • Generic Insights
  • HFA Audio Setup History
  • HFA Audio Setup Snapshots
  • HifiDeluxe
  • HifiLive
  • Industry Update
  • Integrated Amplifier Reviews
  • Marantz & Philips Classics
  • Munich High End
  • Music Server Reviews
  • Network Player Reviews
  • Passive Speakers Reviews
  • Phono Cartridge Reviews
  • Phono Interlink Reviews
  • Phono Preamp Reviews
  • Power Amplifier Reviews
  • Power Cable Reviews
  • Power Connector Reviews
  • Preamplifier Reviews
  • Racks / Stands / Feet Reviews
  • Rhapsody
  • Show Reports
  • SPDIF DAC Reviews
  • Speaker Cable Reviews
  • Specials
  • System Synergy Q&A
  • Tonearm Reviews
  • Tuning / Tweaks Reviews
  • Turntable Accessories Reviews
  • Turntable Reviews
  • Uncategorized
  • USB DAC Reviews
  • XFi

BRANDS

  • A&B Systems
  • A10 Audio
  • Aavik
  • Acapella
  • Accuphase
  • AcousticMatters
  • Acustica Applicata
  • Aequo Audio
  • Aidas
  • Akiko Audio
  • Analog Domain
  • Analogy Records
  • Analysis Audio
  • Analysis Plus
  • Ansuz
  • Anthem
  • Anti-Cables
  • Antipodes
  • APL
  • Apogee
  • Apogee Acoustics
  • Aqua
  • Arcam
  • Aries Cerat
  • Artesania
  • ASI
  • Astin Trew
  • atm audio
  • A Tube High Fidelity
  • AudioAanZee
  • Audio Aero
  • Audio Club Premier
  • Audio GD
  • Audiolab
  • Audiolympic
  • Audiomeca
  • Audio Note
  • Audionote
  • Audio Origami
  • Audio Physic
  • AudioQuest
  • Audio Research
  • Audio Synthesis
  • Audio Technica
  • Auralic
  • Aurender
  • Aurum Cantus
  • Avalon
  • AvantGarde
  • AVID
  • AVIDHIFI
  • Ayon
  • Ayre Acoustics
  • B&W
  • Bals
  • Bang & Olufsen
  • Behringer
  • Belden
  • Benz
  • Bergmann
  • Black Rhodium
  • Boenicke Audio
  • Bowers & Wilkins
  • Bricasti
  • Bryston
  • Burmester
  • Børresen
  • CAD
  • Cardas
  • Care Orchestra
  • CAT
  • CEC
  • CH Precision
  • Classé
  • Clearaudio
  • Concert Fidelity
  • Conrad Johnson
  • Consonance
  • COS
  • Curious Cables
  • D'Agostino
  • DAD
  • Dali
  • Daniël Hertz
  • Daudio
  • dCS
  • Degritter
  • Denafrips
  • Denon
  • Devialet
  • Devore
  • Diptyque
  • Doepke
  • Driade
  • DS Audio
  • Dynavector
  • Dynavox
  • E&T
  • EC-Designs
  • Echole
  • Elac
  • Electrocompaniet
  • Elijah Audio
  • EMAG
  • EMMLabs
  • Emotiva
  • EMU
  • Enosound
  • Esoteric
  • Euphony
  • Exogal
  • Fadel Art
  • Fezz Audio
  • FIM Gold
  • Final
  • Final Touch Audio
  • Finite Elemente
  • FoilFlex
  • Franco Serblin
  • Furutech
  • Fusion Audio
  • Gauder Akustik
  • Genelec
  • Gigawatt
  • GiK
  • Goldmund
  • Graham Audio
  • Grandinote
  • Grimm Audio
  • Gryphon
  • Gustavson Audio
  • Hanze Hifi
  • Harman/Kardon
  • Harmonic Technology
  • Harmonix
  • Heaven's Gate
  • Hifi-Tuning
  • HiFi.nl
  • High Fidelity Cables
  • Hofa
  • Holo Audio
  • Home Audio Fidelity
  • IeGO
  • Ikigai
  • IMF
  • Isotek
  • Jadis
  • Jay's Audio
  • Jeff Rowland
  • Jena Labs
  • JMF Audio
  • Jorma Design
  • Joseph Audio
  • JPLAY
  • JVC
  • Kemp
  • Kharma
  • Kimber
  • KingRex
  • Kinki Studio
  • KlinktBeter
  • Kora
  • Krell
  • Kroma Audio
  • Kupp
  • Lapp
  • LAST
  • Lector
  • Leema
  • Lejonklou
  • LessLoss
  • Line Magnetic
  • Linn
  • Logitech
  • LOK
  • Loudness War
  • Luxman
  • M2Tech
  • Mad Scientist
  • Magico
  • Magnan
  • Magnepan
  • Mamba Audio
  • Manley Labs
  • Marantz
  • Mark Levinson
  • Marten
  • Martin Logan
  • Matrix
  • MBL
  • McIntosh
  • Melco
  • Melody
  • Meridian
  • Metrum Acoustics
  • Michell
  • MIT
  • MJ Acoustics
  • Mogami
  • Mola-Mola
  • Monitor Audio
  • Monrio
  • Moon
  • Musical Fidelity
  • Mytek
  • Nagaoka
  • Naim
  • Naiu Laboratory
  • Nakamichi
  • NBS
  • Niels Setup
  • Nordost
  • NuPrime
  • Ohm Audio
  • Olive
  • Onkyo
  • Onzow
  • Origin Live
  • Ortofon
  • Oyaide
  • Panasonic
  • Paradigm
  • Parasound
  • Pass Labs
  • Philips
  • Pink Faun
  • Pioneer
  • Playback Designs
  • Precision Audio
  • PrimaLuna
  • Proceed
  • PS Audio
  • PUUR AVD
  • Pylon Audio
  • Qln
  • Qobuz
  • Quad
  • R.T.F.S.
  • Raidho
  • Reference Sounds
  • Reference Tweaks
  • Rega
  • Rein Audio
  • REL
  • Resonator Stockholm
  • Revel
  • Ricable
  • Roon
  • RTFS
  • SAT
  • Schiit
  • Shakti
  • Shuguang
  • Shunyata
  • Shure
  • Signal Projects
  • Siltech
  • SME
  • SolidSteel
  • Solid Tech
  • Sonic Frontiers
  • Sonos
  • Sonus Faber
  • Sony
  • Sooloos
  • SOtM
  • Soulution
  • Sound Anchor
  • Sound Lab
  • Spectral
  • Spotify
  • Stealth
  • Stillpoints
  • Straight Wire
  • Sw1x
  • Symo
  • Synergistic Research
  • Synology
  • Synthese
  • T+A
  • Taiko Audio
  • Tascam
  • Teac
  • TechDAS
  • Technics
  • The Chord Company
  • Thorens
  • Transparent Audio
  • Trends
  • Tung Sol
  • Unison Research
  • UpTone Audio
  • VAIC
  • van Damme
  • van den Hul
  • van Medevoort
  • Vermeer Audio
  • Vermouth Audio
  • Vibex
  • Vifa
  • Vincent
  • ViRa High End
  • Viva
  • Vivid Audio
  • VTL
  • Wadia
  • Wattgate
  • Way Cables
  • Weiss
  • Western Electric
  • Widealab
  • Wilson Audio
  • Wilson Benesch
  • Winyl
  • Wires 4 Music
  • Wireworld
  • Wolf von Langa
  • Wooden Bull
  • Xavian
  • xFyro
  • Xindak
  • XLO
  • Yamaha
  • Zanden
  • Zesto
  • ZYX

Visit HFA on Social Media

Instagram
Facebook
Twitter
YouTube

LEGAL

Privacy Policy

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA. Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. All rights reserved © 2021 - hifi-advice.com.
  • Contact
  • Home