Aavik P-580 Amplifier & C-580 Preamplifier Review

Matej Isak
Recently, the three well-known and recognized high-end audio manufacturers Ansuz, Aavik, and Børresen Acoustics were united under one brand Audio Group Denmark. This has created a unique and extremely potent high-end audio hub with a wealth of audio products that offer a wide range of products that can be combined to create high-performance, high-end audio systems. 

Like the rest of Audio Group Denmark, Aaavik’s products are unmistakably Danish and exude a refined simplicity wrapped in a minimalist and stylish package.
The creative team at Aaavik (and Audio Group Denmark), led by Lars Kristensen Michael Børresen, has recently been joined by none other than high-end audio icon Flemming Rasmussen, founder of Gryphon Audio.
This collaboration has already led to the birth of one flagship product, with many more products to follow. Certainly exciting times ahead for the Audio Group Denmark and potential customers. 

Aavik P-580 amplifier C-580 preamplifier

With a vision of unparalleled audio performance, Aavik divided the integrated amplifier into two distinct units, creating the P Series and C Series. This strategic move opened a new dimension of performance and raised the sound quality of the preamplifiers and amplifiers to a new level.
By separating the preamplifier from the power amplifier, Aavik was able to noticeably reduce the noise floor, resulting in even quieter background noise and a finer reproduction of the music.
In addition, the decision to have separate units was not just about space management, but also about maximizing sound quality. With two units, there was enough room in each segment for a large-capacity, high-quality power supply, which paved the way for an innovative cooling design that ensures optimal performance even in the most demanding conditions.
“Quality of the listener’s musical experience, prompted us to look into the design and construction of musical instruments – both in terms of shape, as well as choice of material. A combination of the natural-based composite material, the contours and the ratio of the sizes can impact and define the tone. Too much damping kills the dynamics, whereas metallic resonances generate a bright and peaky sound – Aavik’s engineered enclosure offers the best of both worlds: an authentic sound that is warm, harmonious, and powerful, yet, at the same time, so crisp and refined that it highlights every single detail in the music.”

Highlights

The Aavik P-580 amplifier and C-580 preamplifier are packed with advanced features that set them apart from other electronics on the market.
Since this is the first introduction for both me and Mono & Stereo readers, it’s noteworthy to look at the specific technical features of these Aavik electronics and see what distinguished them from the competition.

Chasis

Chasis design is a distinctive feature of Aavik. Testing of new circuits and electronic components is often done without that in mind. The disruptive sound influence emanating from the material the enclosure is made of – usually aluminum – results from its mechanical resonance. 
To eliminate this sound distortion, the challenge is to limit the use of aluminum in the enclosure to the absolute minimum that is unavoidable to ensure adequate cooling. 
Aaavik began testing different materials and developed an innovative natural-based composite material that reduces mechanical influence, particularly hysteresis. The sonic result is clearly audible and reflects another outstanding cornerstone in Aavik’s quest for the ultimate musical experience.

The principle of the Tesla coil

The principle is to wind two coils in each direction / one coil and one counter coil. In Ansuz’s words, “a double inverted coil” – the two coils both carry voltage – and 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, the cancelation is quite good, but not 100%. If you connect multiple P- TC coils in parallel, the power increases. This significantly improves the perceived blackness in the music.
Ansuz Tesla coils are available in different designs that complement each other in terms of strengths and weaknesses.

Active Tesla coil

The active Tesla coils are powered, which allows for much lower impedance and thus better noise suppression capability. 
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 our circuit boards – one coil on the top and the counter coil on the back. The principle is the same as with the active Tesla coil and thus a greater noise suppression than with the passive Tesla coil.

Analog dither technology

This technology is another noise reduction technology. The technology originated from radar, which ensured a stronger signal and thus a wider range. Ansuz’s active Tesla coils send pulsating signals at precisely defined frequencies. 
These signals are sent in an antiphase, thus eliminating the background noise and significantly enhancing the music signal. 

Copper chassis

The flagship 580 series are equipped with an internal housing made of solid copper. This further reduces mechanical hysteresis, giving the music more energy and power. 

P-580 Anti aerial resonance coil technology

All cables and cable shields act as antennas for airborne RF which is a big problem. The passive cable Tesla coil is placed on the outer part of the cable and protects the signal from absorbing airborne RF. 
This noise is absorbed in the Tesla coil.
Since a voltage flows in the conductor itself and is wound in the opposite direction, it is used as a counter coil and the RF noise is eliminated.
P-580 Switchless optical gain selection & C-580 Switchless optical input board
The LDR (Light Dependent Resistor) is extremely quiet thanks to its switchless principle. The conventional MOS-FET switches and relays generate much more noise. 
They suppress subtle sound details and color the tone and sound unnatural.

P-580 Resonant mode power supply

This Aavik series is designed to provide massive power resources with extremely low noise. Unlike the square waves used by conventional switching power supplies, this Aavik series features a resonant mode design driven primarily by sine waves.
When more power is needed, the operating frequency increases, which in turn has the advantage of also increasing the power density, allowing for higher peak power when the music requires it.
The noise floor of the raw power supply is extremely low but could be further reduced by the ultra-low noise regulators that power the various parts of the circuit. The noise from these regulators is measured in a few microvolts or nanovolts, which is well below the noise level of conventional regulators.

P-580 Aavik UMAC™ amplifier

The Aavik P-580s use patented UMAC™ amplifier technology. This technology was developed to avoid the design flaws of conventional switching amplifiers. UMAC technology primarily targets two areas of modulated amplifier design. First, pulse width modulation (PWM) generation uses sine wave modulation instead of the more common triangular modulation. 
The advantage is that sine waves generate far less high-frequency noise than triangles, have no sharp corners, and therefore require far less inductive filtering at the output. The lower inductance at the output gives the amplifiers a much better damping factor and thus much better control over the speakers. Second, the advanced dual mixed-mode feedback allows damping factors characteristic of only the very best linear amplifiers.

C-580 Volume control

The Aavik line stage features a unique inverted Virtual Ground amplifier topology that supplies maximum stability. The feedback becomes so powerful that it allows the signal to 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 gives the speakers a clear and distinct flow of information that makes even the finest details of timbre and texture nuances audible on an extremely quiet soundstage.

Operational 

​Aavik’s design embraces a Scandinavian understatement, expressing simplicity and minimalism, with only a few buttons for logical operation. Both the Aavik P-580 and C-580 are esthetically pleasing and practical, and attention to detail is evident throughout.
The multifunctional main knob allows navigation and control of the various functions. The large Aavik display is designed to boost confidence with a large red LCD display, and it makes it easy to read all the details of the selected operating settings even from a great distance.
Both the Aavik P-580 amplifier and the C-580 preamplifier are potent components on its own in their own, but they work optimally as a harmonious whole.

The Music 

Regardless of the features, technicalities, exotic technology, etc., the proof is always in the pudding. Here are some titles/albums for reference, highlighting the merits of the Aavik P-580 and C-580. 
Dominic Miller is perhaps best known as Sting’s guitarist, but he also has several personal projects as well as featured appearances that further his guitar playing.
“Sannyasins” from the album Spiriteano is one of those guest appearances by Miller, where he explores the spiritual new age/spiritual realms.
The Aavik P-580 amp and C-580 preamp brought out every note and nuance of “Sannyasins” with ease, as well as the mood and brooding feel of “Sannyasins.”
Moreover, P-580 and C-580 not only projected the music but went a step further by involving the listener in the music. A rare feature, that is too often promoted too lightly. 
The ability of Aaavik P-580 and C-580 to reproduce “Sannyasins” without compromising their unique spatiality was also unexpected.
Scotty (feat. Barnaby Taylor) by Allan Taylor from the album Color to the Moon has an interesting, almost poignant energy.
The Aaavik P-580 amplifier and C-580 preamp rendered “Scotty” palpable, authoritative, and with a very distinct flux pinning the treads of the music seamlessly, creating a holographic aural escapade, with music coming from quietude, a quality that usually belongs to the very upper echelon. A surprising doing, worthy of special commendation. 

The Aaavik P-580 amplifier and C-580 capability of decoding even the smallest fragment of music and format it with the correct harmonic order to avoid the trap of music sounding univocal were further cemented with “Crossroads”  by Memphissippi Sounds from Welcome to the Land.
By achieving the density of higher-level acoustic focal points, Aavik P-580 and C-580 initiated a musical framework without impediment vicinity but allowed the proximity of notes to expand and breathe in space thus forming an objective acoustic space that was not subjected to the angulated holosphere sound effect.

The Aavik P-580 amplifier and C-580 preamplifier continued the differentia of music reproduction and ability to objectively spread the strands and stratum of music with John Rutter: Requiem & 5 Anthems, with the Turtle Creek Chorale, The Women’s Chorus of Dallas under the direction of Timothy Seelig, where the delicate interconnectedness coherently wove the tapestry of the Requiem surprisingly vivid.
No matter the price tag, too many preamps/amps or combos can render Requiem & 5 Anthems picturesquely or kaleidoscopically, but the Aaavik combo not only got it right, but unfolded all the layers of the Turtle Creek Chorale surprisingly sound and made the reproduction even more attuned to the sonic verities. 
Florence & The Machine’s “King” from the album Dance Fever is one of the tracks that emphasize the importance of proper handling of dynamics.
The pulsating nature of “King” calls for an ample handling force that just does not let up until the end of the song. The track is a genuine cast of challenges, from the low end up to the undertones and the voice that floats freely in the sphere of sound. It’s simply not easy to hold everything together.  Especially at 2:40, it makes it or breaks it, when a Crescdeno part almost explodes into the scenery.
The Aavik P-580 amplifier and C-580 preamp can maintain both dynamics and micro-scale without breaking the bonds that hold the music together and that’s a quality not so easy to find. 

The Conclusion

The Aavik P-580 amplifier and C-580 preamplifier were conceived and materialized not as another Dejavu concept, but as a rather bold approach to sound reproduction. 
Too often, electronics are an obstacle in the path of music and must be approached with some degree of audiophile esoterica to achieve some auditory interactivity.
Not so with the P-580 amplifier and C-580 preamplifier. The powerful Aavik duo is capable of handling intricate harmonies, and evoking timeless melodies, and is an analog hub for music to freely enter the sonic space.
The Aavik P-580 and C-580 are capable of reproducing the full depth and complexity of the music. They are versatile chameleons that can shift from one genre to another, deepening the listener’s appreciation of music and embodying a sense of actuality.
A pure Scandinavian design ethos is reflected in the innards as well providing the potent core that can act as an empirical lens as well as a proprietor that can bring out emotional subtleties.
There is some pronto liking to the way the P-580 amplifier C-580 engages the listener, offering a quality in which the music can unfold freely and tangibly.
As with other Audio Group Denmark products, the Aavik P-580 Amplifier C-580 Preamplifier’s relentless pursuit of development is a surefire for a wealth of sonic attributes.
The Aavik P-580 Amplifier and C-580 Preamplifier incorporate unique features to meet the demands of both audiophiles and music lovers. These technologies provide clarity, detail, and accuracy in music playback, creating a realistic and immersive audio experience.
There is little doubt that the Aavik Preamplifier and Aavik Amplifier are built to last, and will stand the test of time in both esthetics and functionality while enabling the natural warmth and texture of music replay for years to come.
Both the Aavik preamplifier and amplifier are protagonists of this iconic Danish high-end audio brand that boast a delicate sonic fusion, operate at peak efficiency, and preserve the brand’s high-end audio plateau which is not easy to maintain these days. ⧉
Matej Isak

Price

  • P-580 EUR 25.000,-  
  • C-580 EUR 25.000,-

Technical specifications

Connections Line in:
Gain: 24-34dB
Input impedance:
10K ohm
Input sensitivity: 
(32dB gain) 1.23Vrms
Amplifier section
Output:
2 x 300W 8 ohm
2 x 600W 4 ohm
Distortion (THD+N):
<0,006% (1-100W, 1kHz, 8 ohm)
IMD:
<0,002% (1-100W, 4 ohm)
TIM:
<0,008% (1-100W, 4 ohm)
Aavik Noise Reduction
Active Tesla Coils:
108
Active Square Tesla Coils:
240
Dither circuitry:
13
Anti Areal Resonance Coils:
4
Power consumption
Standby:
<0.5W
Idle:
<50W
Dimensions and Weight
L x W x H:
400 x 384 x 102 mm
14 61/64 x 15 1/8 x 4 1/64 inch
Weight:
10.7 kg
23.59 lbs
C-580 Preamplifer 
Connections
Line in:
Gain Line 1-4:
5-15dB; maximum input 4.5V RMS
Gain Line 5:
1-11dB; max input 6,5V RMS
Input impedance:
10K ohm

Output:

Line out:
1 x RCA
Max output:
8,5Vrms
Distortion, line stage:
<0,005% (THD at 1kHz, 1V input)
Output impedance:
50 ohm
Volume control
76 dB – 1dB steps
Aavik Noise Reduction
Active Tesla Coils:
108
Active Square Tesla Coils:
228
Dither circuitry:
10
Power consumption

Standby:
<1W
Operating:
<12W
Active crossover (optional module)
Crossover frequency:
60-160Hz
High pass slope:
12dB/octave
Low pass slope:
24dB/octave
Dimensions and Weight
L x W x H:
400 x 384 x 102 mm
14 61/64 x 15 1/8 x 4 1/64 inch
Weight:
8.1 kg
17.86 lbs
Weight with crossover:
8.2 kg
18.08 lbs

Contact

Audio Group Denmark
Aavik Acoustics
Rebslagervej 4
9000 Aalborg
Denmark
Phone:  45 4051 1431