Predominantly fast amps which keep up on smoothness, composure and textural generosity are rare. This Aavik is one of them. Its inherently zesty disposition keeps sluggish dullness at the door. Nervousness of any kind isn't invited in either when all the noise-rejecting measures create such a remarkably clean smooth signal path. On well-recorded music the I-880 won't know how to shout or pierce. Its inky backdrop adds high contrast with keenly articulated pinpoint imaging down into the infra realm. All these assets work in unison to a sound that was sophisticated and dynamically charged. With speakers like the Boenicke, my reference kit was clearly left in the rearview mirror. To be clear, the Trilogy set fares brilliant on easier speakers so I won't call it inferior. It's personal bias but I enjoyed how it rendered more intimate space with the spatially outrageous sound|kaos. The Aavik was big and bold in all directions including remarkable depth while performers traded some seductiveness and romance for more honesty and correctness. Disparities on colour further separated the contestants. Aavik's palette was cooler yet wider and intensely saturated while the Brits' was narrower, warmer and filled mainly with autumnal tints. Pick your poison. My prior Børresen M1 review was a major mental exercise that took a while to wrap. Writing up a compact passive monitor priced like a new Porsche isn't exactly easy. This review on the more affordable though still very dear Aavik mostly wrote itself. I consider this visual stunner a real work of art executed to the 'T', with flawless operation running barely warm and feeling like a properly luxurious well-appointed object. With my W11 SE+ its dynamic capabilities seemed endless and overall sonics were superb across the board. I've never heard my speakers better. I also haven't sampled an integrated amplifier that was aesthetically or sonically more accomplished than the Aavik I-880. Hence my award.

One channel's output stage.

One of four 500-watt switch-mode power supplies.

Does the analogue xover presage a Børresen speaker that must be actively bi-amped or sports an active bass array? Is a Børresen subwoofer in the works? Any of it would be intriguing developments…