At the 2024 TAS in April, AV Master released two news: the exhibition of its agent brand "Denmark Sisheng" AGD (Audio Group Denmark) 5 million yuan high-end Hi-Fi portfolio, including the Børresen M3 flagship landing case and Aavik 880 series products, which made their debut in China; At the same time, the news of the launch of AGD's comprehensive Hi-Fi brand Axxess was announced.
Taking this opportunity, Home Theater Technology Magazine/AV China interviewed Cai Qiong, brand director of AV Master, and asked him to explain this.
Cai Qiong, brand director of AV Master
Axxess new brand preview: for the general public, with a complete product line
The Axxess logo has appeared on the poster of the AGD Group
AGD Group's brands include Ansuz (cables and accessories), Aavik (streaming media player/decoder/amplifier), Børresen (speakers). For more than a decade, they've been geared primarily at users at the top of the pyramid. However, with the rise of brand awareness and the acceptance of technical prowess, especially in terms of sound quality and sound direction, they decided to launch a more accessible brand for mass Hi-Fi users - Axxess at last year's Munich exhibition.
The Axxess homepage on the AGD website, pictured is the Forte streaming amplifier
Axxess will have the core technology of the first three brands, and will continue to maintain the same sound style, including technology decentralization, but will take the mass route in terms of pricing strategy. At the end of the day, it's about making it easier for people to use, more acceptable, and more affordable.
The original manufacturer will officially launch the brand at the Munich exhibition in mid-May this year, and the audio-visual master has also made all preparations for this, and it is expected to be launched in China from June.
It's important to note that Axxess is significantly different from the first three in that it is not a brand with a single product line, for example, Børresen only has loudspeakers. Axxess has a complete product line including speakers, amplifiers, digital broadcasts, cables and accessories. In the future, it will be the main brand of AV Master in the Chinese market, after all, its main products will enter the mainstream Hi-Fi market, and the price segment can also meet the public's demand for Hi-Fi.
Aavik 880系列+Børresen M3,500万元级Hi-Fi系统
Back to the 5 million yuan Hi-Fi system demonstrated on TAS. Let's first look at their complete equipment configuration, and then analyze them in detail.
List of live demos
音箱:Børresen M3次旗舰落地箱
Digitalcast: Aavik SD-880 flagship digital player/decoder
前级:Aavik C-880旗舰前级
后级:AVIC P-880旗舰后级
线材及谐振管理附件:Ansuz Supreme级别Sortz Tesla Coil信号降噪器、Ansuz电源处理器Mainz 8 D3、Ansuz Hi-Fi交换机Power Switch D3和Ansuz D系列线材
图中左起：SD-880、C-880和P-880
The Børresen M series is making its public debut in China for the first time, and before it, there is a flagship floor-standing case of the 05 "Supreme Silver Edition" (see "[Store Visit] "Danish Three Heroes" Unveiled Together, Visit the Hi-Fi Showroom of 5 Million Equipment of the Audiovisual Master). As for Aavik's digital broadcast and other products, the original high-end models were the 580 series, such as the Aavik S-580 streaming media player, but now the overall upgrade is to the 880 series. The C-880 and P-880 were previously used for reference demonstrations at the Shanghai headquarters (but there was no public demonstration), and the launch of the SD-880 digital broadcast at the end of last year made the 880 series even more complete. Therefore, we were able to see the SD-880, C-880 and P-880 models on the same stage this time.
It should be noted that the 880 series is basically only made to order, and each unit has a unique number, such as C-880 and P-880 are both 001. Note that each one will be signed by designer Flemming E. Rasmussen (who is also the founder, former owner, and designer of Gryphon).
Signed by Flemming (photo of this magazine)
Børresen's M series consists of three products: the M1 bookshelf box, the M3 floor case and the M6 floor case, which have been further optimized in terms of material structure compared to the previous 0 series.
3 models of M series
The biggest change is that the cabinet, instead of a single curve, is a 3D curved structure, designed by AGD Group founder Michael Børresen (a former designer at Raidho) and Flemming Erik Rasmussen, with the aim of achieving better resonance characteristics, which can be said to be the perfect combination of function and form. Moreover, only Børresen's cabinets are sourced, which of course is designed by them themselves. The cabinet manufacturer is a well-known company in the audio industry and arguably the best cabinet supplier in Denmark.
The M3's cabinet combines a sleek, elegant design with outstanding audio features
The M3's cabinet design improves airflow behind the woofer and midrange
In the past, titanium alloy was used for the unit bracket, but this time they chose Zirconium alloy for topology-optimized 3D printing. It looks like a biological structure and contains three elements: a zirconium alloy, a topological geometry and a hollow arm tube filled with zirconium powder for additional damping. Zirconium itself is highly rigid, which combines the characteristics of high rigidity and high damping. As for why zirconium alloys were chosen? It is usually used in top industrial equipment, such as zirconium in the outer coating material of nuclear fuel in nuclear power plants, and it is valued for its high rigidity, high reliability and high strength.
Unit bracket of zirconium alloy
The diaphragm material has also been upgraded to use high-rigidity, low-noise four-layer composite materials such as titanium, carbon, aramid, and carbon.
The Spread-Tow carbon fiber layer on both sides unfolds to ensure optimal rigidity of the skin in many different directions, and to suppress resonances at frequencies above 8 kHz. Aramid, which acts as an intermediate layer, appears in the form of a honeycomb gasket in the middle of two layers of carbon fiber, which has a high stiffness-to-weight ratio in the vertical direction. The outer layer is a titanium skin with an Ansuz Supreme coating, which has perfect resonance control characteristics.
At the same time, there is also a "mystery" in this coating. The coating is applied to the titanium skin by a machine called Hi-PIMS (High Power Pulsed Magnetron Sputtering) to create a fine, uniform zirconium layer, followed by a tungsten layer, and finally a chromium aluminum nitride layer. This coating is claimed to provide a truly impeccable sound quality to the music. Specifically, it has a high strength and a very low resonance coefficient. We know that the resonance coefficient of non-homogeneous materials will be reduced, which is why many audio equipment is coated with multiple composite materials on the same surface in order to reduce resonance. After all, the resonance of a single material is maximum. In addition, these coatings enhance the rigidity of the diaphragm.
It is a mid-bass diaphragm composed of four layers of composite materials, including titanium, carbon, aramid and carbon
The magnetic circuit system follows the original 0 series, the double magnetic steel magnetic circuit structure with opposite poles, and the handmade silver ring is used in the middle to replace the traditional copper pole ring and make the magnetic guide frame. In order to make full use of all the performance of the M series to enhance the audio characteristics, other metal components have also been cold quenched at low temperature, so that the inductance can be reduced by 6%~8%, and the tweeter continues to use the 0 series, the mass is only 0.01g, and the closed ribbon treble efficiency is as high as 94dB.
Magnetic circuit system
Closed-loop band tweeter
Going back to Aavik's 880 series, especially the C-880 and P-880 pre- and post-amps, it can be said that it is a design that combines the noise reduction concept of Ansuz cable with Class A amplification. The post-amp can achieve 200W Class A amplification, and it is full Class A.
Aavik C-880旗舰前级
AVIC P-880旗舰后级
Aavik SD-880 Flagship Digital Player/Decoder
Again, he incorporated this design philosophy into other products in the 880 series, such as the SD-880 flagship digital broadcaster/decoder, where the entire analog circuit was designed by Flemming Erik Rasmussen. It can be understood that Flemming Erik Rasmussen was deeply involved in both circuit design and exterior design.
Learn more about the technologies applied to the 880 Series.
The first is the design of a resonant mode power supply driven by a sine wave. Unlike the square waves used in traditional switching power supplies, it is designed to provide a constant supply of power (allowing for higher peak outputs) and ultra-low noise to ensure that the amplifier is powerful and quiet enough.
Resonant mode power supplies for the 880 series
Second, the exterior design of the entire 880 series can be said to be the result of the artistic and aesthetic work of Flemming Erik Rasmussen. Of course, all of this has always served the performance purpose, maintaining the best audio characteristics of the electrical design, such as the lowest inductance, reducing hysteresis to an absolute low, and ensuring excellent resonance control.
Since the entire 880 series contains a pure Class A post-stage like the P-880, there is a fairly high amount of redundancy in the performance design. With these goals in mind, the design process turned into a study of shapes and materials, creating a unique and constructive synergy between Flemming Erik Rasmussen and Michael Børresen, characterized by an elegant unity of functionality and aesthetics.
The 880 Series chassis features cooling elements on the sides and top with the signature of Flemming Erik Rasmussen. The volume buttons are covered in titanium on the outside, and the control panel is designed as a large LCD touch screen.
The exterior design achieves an elegant unity of functionality and aesthetics
Third, the bottom of the chassis is made up of copper plates, heavy-duty compact laminate, and a titanium layer at the bottom to create a unique sandwich structure that ensures minimal resonance and supports natural and organic sound.
Sandwich construction consisting of copper plates, heavy-duty compact laminates, and titanium layers
Fourth, it's a sturdy copper chassis. We know that Flemming Erik Rasmussen was fascinated by the visual look and feel of copper, and Michael Børresen also had an insight into the acoustic properties of copper components, so copper was chosen as a fundamental component of the design. The 880 Series features a rugged copper chassis that further reduces hysteresis, output impedance, inductance, positive damping factor, and lowers the operating temperature of the amplifier, which allows the device itself to accumulate more energy to reproduce music.
Choose a rugged copper chassis
The fifth is the application of active zirconium anti-electromagnetic resonant Tesla coils. Yes, zirconium is a material that is used not only in unit brackets and diaphragms, but also in Ansuz's anti-electromagnetic resonant coils. Zirconium rods enable unprecedented control of electromagnetic induction resonance, which in turn helps to create great, refined music that creates a natural soundstage with unmatched purity, precision and attention to musical detail.
Active zirconium anti-electromagnetic resonant Tesla coils
The sixth is the application of the Ansuz Darkz Z2 Signature Resonant Management Foot Pad. Each model in the 880 series has 4 of these feet. It absorbs vibrations that are not directly related to the signal path, resulting in improved sound performance. It consists of 3 discs separated by 3 titanium ball bearings. The uniqueness is still the zirconium metal used. In addition, the Ansuz Signature coating is further acoustically optimized. Finally, tungsten is used on every face, a material that is excellent for improving stability and controlling resonances, and the result is a stunning, natural soundstage with unparalleled sonic purity, precision, and characterization of musical detail.
Ansuz Darkz Z2 Signature谐振管理脚垫
Three 880 series models on display