Country of Origin
This review first appeared 
in April 2020 on HifiKnights.com. By request of the manufacturer and permission of the author, it is hereby syndicated to reach a broader audience. All images contained in this piece are the property of Dawid Grzyb or Ansuz – Ed.
Reviewer: Dawid Grzyb
Sources: LampizatOr Pacific (Living Voice 300B + KR Audio 5U4G Ltd. Ed.)
Transports: fidata HFAS-S10U
USB: iFi audio 0, micro iUSB3.0 and 3x Mercury cables
Preamplifier: Thöress DFP
Integrated amplifiers: Kinki Studio EX-M1, Trilogy 925, Bakoon AMP-13R
Power amplifier: FirstWatt F7
Speakers: Boenicke Audio W11 SE+, Rethm Maarga
Interconnects: Audiomica Laboratory Erys Excellence, Boenicke audio IC3 CG
Speaker cables: Boenicke Audio S3, LessLoss C-MARC
Power components: Gigawatt PC-3 SE EVO+, Gigawatt PF-2 + Gigawatt LC-2 MK2 + Forza AudioWorks Noir Concept/Audiomica Laboratory Ness Excellence/LessLoss C-MARC
Rack: Franc Audio Accesories Wood Block Rack
Music: NativeDSD
Retail price of reviewed components in EU: €3'500 Mainz8 A2; €2'700 2m Mainz A3; €4'500 4m Mainz A2; €280/4 Darkz C2t; €16/ea. titanium balls.
Of all the accessories meant to improve our systems, many people consider solid power delivery no less important than room acoustics. A while ago a hefty package arrived at my place from Denmark. Now it's time to share its contents: an Ansuz Mainz8 A2 power distributor, several Ansuz A2 power cords and four Darkz C2t decouplers. This report continues the adventure started late October 2019 and described here. Back then I traveled to Denmark's cities of Aalborg and Aarhus to investigate the three top audio brands Aavik, Ansuz and Børresen housed under the same roof of parent company UpperLevel ApS.
These hifi works have at their steering wheel two industry veterans known for their contributions to Nordost and Raidho. Lars Kristensen and Michael Børresen departed there many moons ago and I was fortunate to witness what they've come up with since. Suffice to say, this was no regular factory tour. Most audio portfolios list one or two predominant product types but in these premises such divisions don't apply. My time spent at the main facility and showroom split equally between presentations of small accessories and big expensive stuff. To these Vikings everything matters: speakers, amps, power components, cables, network gear, resonance control and more. You name it, they have it under control. I left convinced that my hosts' holistic take on audio was no marketing fluff but very real. The sonic evidence also implied that they had the means to pursue it in earnest. Still, to be absolutely sure, I'd to have sink my teeth into something at my own place. That's the reviewer's job.
Shortly past my factory tour went live, my Danish contact asked me about products I was interested to review. The sky was the limit but common sense and my sound room's limitations narrowed down viable choices. Srajan's reviews published here, here and here trimmed the menu further if I didn't want to repeat myself. The decision became to start at a base level but complex Ansuz power treatment for my entire system. This list of mid-tier loaners included a set of 4 x Mainz A2 power cords, 1 x Mainz8 A2 power distributor and matched decouplers of 12 x titanium balls atop 4 x Darkz C2t pucks. €17'284 on the bill was a lot but nowhere near the Ansuz pinnacle. Although six times more, the larger D2 loom Srajan sampled wasn't the top either. Ouch indeed. However, during my stay in the state of Denmark it was evident that my hosts take no prisoners and charge according. High performance from in-house developed solutions is their credo. So the question about how €17K worth of Danish power delivery would work at my place was quite the thrill.
Two card-board boxes housed several uniform smaller boxes colored green on black wrapped in matching paper. If you want wooden chests, silk liners and presentation bling, not here. Scandinavians are too practical to tolerate such waste. It's very clear that they sell performance in utilitarian form not high fashion. That's perfectly fine considering what these products do and where they go. What I appreciated was the clean delivery and lots of info on their home page. Those are small things but being handled properly informs us that these Danes are professionals who pay attention to details.
