Aavik I-280 Integrated Amplifier

Powerful with a huge dynamic headroom

The Aavik I-280 integrated amplifier is providing an unbelievable almost limitless soundstage and with plenty of power resources. The performer is very much present in the room.

Technologies and Components

Your control and powerhouse.
The architecture of the Aavik integrated amplifier boasts sophisticated high-end electronic components set in a state-of-the-art enclosure. Based on ample power supplies, the Aavik integrated amplifier provides unprecedented dynamic speed, tight control and balanced stability, which creates persuasive and crystal-clear soundstage images that reflect even finest sonic details.

Scandinavian design with an international twist

The Aavik design is Scandinavian understatement and expresses simplicity and minimalism featuring only a few buttons for logical operation. The multifunctional main knob allows to navigate and control the various functions. We have boosted the self-confidence with a huge red display, which makes it easy to read all details of the selected operational settings.

A cabinet with excellent sonic qualities

The cabinet design represents a Aavik characteristic. The testing of new circuits and electronic components is often done without the enclosing cabinet. The disturbing sonic influence, which emanates from the material the cabinet is made of – mostly aluminium – results from its mechanical resonance. To eliminate this sonic distortion, the challenge was to minimize the use of aluminium in the cabinet to the absolute minimum that is unavoidable to ensure sufficient cooling. We began testing various materials and designed an innovative natural-based composite material, which reduces the mechanical influence, particularly the hysteresis. The sonic result is distinctly audible and reflects a further prominent cornerstone in Aavik’s quest for the ultimate music experience.

Shaping

Built like an instrument.
Our untiring endeavour to unlock further untapped sonic potentials to advance the 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.

Separates

No compromise.
The decision to build separate units reflects Aavik’s intent of space management without any sonic compromise. Allowing sufficient space for each segment, has also influenced the integration of a high-grade power supply with a huge capacity and paved the way for an effective cooling design.

By separating the individual units and redesigning them in a totally isolated fashion, the Aavik series has gained in dynamic momentum and a more expansive sound.

Aavik UMAC™ amplifier

Unmatched audio control.
At Aavik we utilize the patented UMAC™ amplifier technology. This technology was developed to avoid the design flaws of traditional switching amplifiers. UMAC technology primarily targets two areas of modulated amplifier design. Firstly, the PWM* generation is produced with sine wave modulation rather than the more common triangle modulation. The benefit is that sine waves create far less high frequency noise than triangles, no sharp corners, and thus require far less inductive filtering at the output. The lower inductance in the output gives the amplifiers a much better damping factor and thus a distinctly better speaker control. Secondly, the advanced dual mixed mode feedback allows damping factors that are characteristic of only the very best linear amplifiers.

*PWM: Pulse-Width Modulation

Volume control

Affects the sonic experience.
The Aavik line stage boasts a unique, inverted, virtual GND** amplifier topology, which provides the highest stability. The feedback gets so powerful that it allows to damp the signal to a gain lower than 1. This preserves the full signal with the lowest S/N Ratio*** – no matter if you turn the volume up or down. This will provide your loudspeakers with a clear and distinct information flow to make even the finest details of timbral and textural nuances audible on an extremely quiet sound stage.

**GND: Ground
***S/N Ratio: Signal-to-Noise Ratio

Resonant mode power supply

Quiet but extremely powerful.
This Aavik series is designed to ensure massive power resources with ultra-low noise. Unlike the square waves used by conventional switch mode power supplies, this Aavik series boast a resonant mode design which is principally driven by sine waves.

When more power is needed, the operating frequency increases, which, in turn, has the advantage that the power density also increases, thus allowing higher peak power when required by the music.

The noise floor in the raw power supply is extremely low but could be even further lowered by the ultra-low noise regulators supplying the different parts of the circuit. The noise of these regulators is measured in a few microvolts respectively nanovolts, which is significantly lower than the noise level of conventional regulators.

The Tesla coil principle

The principle is to have two coils that are wounded 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 carries virtually no charge, the cancelation 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

Effective noise killer.
The active Tesla coils are power supplied which secures a remarkable 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

Impressive noise reduction.
The active square Tesla coils are embedded in our 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 and thus a great ability to eliminate noise than the passive Tesla coil.

Analog dither technology

Extended musicality.
This technology is another noise reduction technology. The technology origins from radars where it secured a stronger signal and thus a wider range. Ansuz active Tesla coils are sending pulsated signals in well-defined frequencies. These signals are sent in counter phase and thus eliminating the noise floor whereby the music signal is significantly increased.

Anti aerial resonance coil technology

Prevents airborne noise.
All cables and cable screens are acting like antennas for airborne RF noise which of course is a huge problem. The passive cable Tesla coil is wounded 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 wounded in the counter direction – this is used as the counter coil and the RF noise is then eliminated.