AAVIK LAUNCHES THEIR NEW FLAGSHIP 880 SERIES OF AMPLIFIERS

Audio Group Denmark brand Aavik has launched the new flagship Aavik 880 Series amplifiers.

The 880 series is Aavik’s most innovative and sophisticated amplifier production to date. The new series consists of the Aavik I-880 integrated amplifier, the C-880 control amplifier, and the P-880 power amplifier.

Aavik 880 Series Amplifiers have a very distinctive case

CLASS A AMPLIFICATION

Aavik say that the primary development goal of this series was to create a powerful non-switching pure Class A amplifier with the lowest possible output impedance that would contribute to a better signal and less noise, thus improving speaker performance, resulting in a much more organic sound and more musicality.

FLEMMING ERIK RASMUSSEN

In mid-2021, Flemming Erik Rasmussen, founder and former owner of Gryphon Audio, became a full-time member of Audio Group Denmark’s design and development team. With more than 35 years of experience in creating and realizing “dreams” and his artistic passion for designing HiFi equipment, he was the perfect fit for Aavik. This was the beginning of a dynamic, and productive collaboration between Michael Børresen’s with his innovative approach, and Flemming Erik Rasmussen’s artistic and aesthetic design touch. He and Michael Børresen embarked on designing and developing a new innovative Aavik amplifier that would elevate the quality of musical authenticity into a new dimension. The result is the new Aavik 880 amplifier flagship series.

The designers’ signatures

THE POWER SECTION

Through a long and intensive research and development process, Aavik’s engineering team identified several characteristic elements in the traditional Class A amplifier design that they believed could definitely be improved.

To avoid switching, Class A amplifiers typically apply a high constant current to the output devices. This approach is not only associated with high power consumption but also can adversely affect sound quality. The traditional Class A power supply consists of a large transformer and large capacitor banks. Aavik says that a large transformer has two downsides. First, the many windings create undue induction, which in turn means transient delay. Second, these many windings create stray capacitances, which cause high-frequency noise from the mains to enter the amplifier. Michael Børresen and his team of engineers took on the challenge and found another way to prevent the power amplifier from switching over.

Inside Aavik 880 Series

They designed a circuitry that constantly keeps the bias spread 0,63 V above the required current, no matter where it is in the cycle. So, no matter how much current the power amp requires to perform, it always stays in Class A up to 2×200 W into 8 ohms, while at the same time not consuming unnecessary power.

KEEPING COOL

This significant reduction in the power requirements of the amplifier allowed Aavik to design the capacitors as smaller units and place them locally, so that essentially each of the eight pairs of output transistors has its own capacitor bank right next to it. This means that the current does not have to flow through long wire harnesses and long circuit boards. The current is always directly at the output transistor, which means a shorter signal path and therefore less noise. In addition, this innovative Aavik design also means that the 880 amplifiers do not get as hot as conventional Class A amplifiers, resulting in higher efficiency.

AAVIK 880 SERIES POWER SUPPLY

The power supply for Aavik’s 880 series amplifiers is designed with Aavik’s resonant-mode power supplies, which ensure sufficient power resources with extremely low noise. The noise floor in the raw power supply is extremely low, but is further reduced by the ultra-low noise regulators that power the various parts of the circuit. The smaller size of the power supply also means fewer windings and therefore less induction and lower transient delay.

To create the best and most effective control section, Aavik’s engineering department has carefully tested and evaluated each electronic component to ensure both the lowest possible noise floor and further refinement of the signal.

VOLUME CONTROL

The Aavik 880 amplifier features a unique inverted amplifier topology with virtual ground for maximum stability. Feedback becomes so strong that the signal can be attenuated to a gain of less than 1. This maintains the full signal with the lowest signal-to-noise ratio, whether the volume is turned up or down. This provides the speakers with a clear and distinct flow of information.

880 volume control

OPTICAL LDR BASED COMPONENTS

The LDR (Light Dependent Resistor) is extremely quiet thanks to its switchless principle. This significantly reduces the noise floor and ensures a natural sound without suppressing subtle sound details. Aavik says that traditional MOS-FET switch arrays and relays create much more noise. The 880 series includes the following components, Switchless optical input board – LDR-based and Switchless optical gain selection.

DEDICATED POWER SUPPLY FOR THE CONTROL SECTION

The separate power supply in the Aavik 880 amplifier ensures sufficient power resources with low noise. The result is more control and seemingly unlimited dynamic headroom. When more power is needed, the operating frequency increases, which in turn has the advantage of also increasing power density, allowing for higher peak power when the music demands it. The noise floor of the raw power supply is extremely low and is further reduced by the ultra-low noise regulators that power the various parts of the circuit.

ANALOGUE CROSSOVER

Aavik’s analogue crossover is designed to ensure precise timing when routing audio signals to the receiving components. This is important to avoid harsh and compressed sound. The Aavik crossover is designed to either drive a subwoofer very precisely or to drive a 2.1 home theatre system with the integrated low and high pass filter. Alternatively, the Aavik analogue crossover can also serve as an analogue room correction control.

AAVIK 880 SERIES CASEWORK DESIGN

The exterior design of the Aavik 880 amplifier is the result of Flemming Erik Rasmussen’s artistic and aesthetic work. However, his design philosophy is and always has been that design must serve purpose.

The cabinet of the Aavik 880 amplifier was designed primarily with the goal of maintaining the best audio characteristics of the electrical design, i.e. the lowest inductance, reducing hysteresis to an absolute minimum, and ensuring excellent resonance control. In addition, since this was a Class A amplifier that was to be developed, there were some predefined premises for the design. With these goals in mind, the design process became a study of shapes and materials that opened up a unique and constructive synergy between Flemming Erik Rasmussen and Michael Børresen.

Aavik 880 Series case

Based on Flemming Erik Rasmussen’s fascination with copper for its visual appearance and feel, and Michael Børresen’s insight into the sonic properties of copper, this material was chosen as a fundamental component of the design. As a result, the Aavik 880 amplifiers feature a solid copper enclosure. This results in a further reduction in hysteresis, lower output impedance, lower inductance, a positive effect on the damping factor, and cooler operation of the amplifier.

In addition, the amplifier features cooling elements on the sides and top that clearly bear Flemming’s design signature. The volume button is covered with a rubber layer, and the control panel was designed as a large LCD touchscreen display. The bottom plate is designed as a sandwich construction with a copper plate, a heavy compact laminate plate, and a titanium layer on the bottom.

ANSUZ TESLA COIL TECHNOLOGY

When Aavik designs new audio equipment, one of the main tasks is always to eliminate as much unwanted noise as possible to provide uncompromising musical authenticity. This, of course, also applies to Aavik’s new 880 series. In pursuing this goal, Audio Group Denmark has learned that many technologically groundbreaking advances in product development of its three individual brands, Ansuz, Aavik and Børresen, can often be leveraged across brands. Audio Group Denmark has integrated its most effective Tesla coil technologies from the most advanced products of their three brands into the Aavik 880 series. For example the active Tesla coil technology, which is by far the most effective Ansuz technology for noise reduction.

Tesla coil technology aims to remove as much unwanted noise as possible from any musical performance to ensure uncompromised musical authenticity. The principle of Tesla coil technology is based on two coils wound against each other: a coil and a counter coil. In Ansuz’s words, “a double inverted coil” – the two coils both carry voltage. When the Tesla coil encounters a voltage spike, a counter coil is activated to eliminate the noise. Since noise spikes are pure voltage and carry virtually no charge, cancellation is quite good, but still not 100%. However, when multiple P-TC coils are connected in parallel, their ability to cancel noise increases significantly.

ANALOGUE DITHERING – 3RD GENERATION

Analogue dither technology originates from radar, where it provides a stronger signal and thus a much greater range. Active Tesla coils emit pulsating signals with precisely defined frequencies. These signals are sent in anti-phase. Many Ansuz audio products are equipped with this analogue dither technology. Recently, Ansuz has introduced a 3rd generation of this Ansuz analogue dither technology. An even more advanced and sophisticated version that reflects Ansuz’s recent research efforts to refine this technology by calibrating the pulsating frequencies even more accurately.

FOUR ANSUZ DARKZ Z2S INCLUDED

Each of the Aavik 880’s four feet is designed to accommodate an Ansuz Darkz resonance control device. Four Ansuz Darkz Z2s are therefore always included when you buy an Aavik 880 model. Ansuz Darkz resonance control devices absorb vibrations that are not directly related to the signal path.

AAVIK 880 SERIES AMPLIFIERS PRICING AND AVAILABILITY

USD MSRP: $70.000

EURO MSRP: €67.000

Aavik I-880: Available now

Aavik C- and P- 880: Expected to be available in January 2023

HiFi Pig Says: Distinctive looking and with an impeccable design pedigree, Aavik is becoming one of the top names in Danish HiFi.