Description
THE DAC SECTION – SECURE THE SIGNAL TRANSPORT AND THE TONAL BALANCE
The Aavik DAC section is designed around 5 digital inputs, which all excel in audio performance. The DAC operates without any digital signature. This makes any music sound natural and authentic. The digital circuits boast the best high frequency capacities and great care was devoted to the set-up of the PCB1) design. By employing time-aligned, ultra-short, 4-layer PCB traces, Aavik wants to preserve the natural and pristine sound quality of the wide and complex range of different signals. The DAC circuits are also fitted with ultra-low jitter onboard clocks.
To minimize timing errors in the digital-to-analogue conversion, all DAC circuits are isolated with 13 onboard, separate, low-noise, high-PSRR2) voltage regulators, each feeding only one stage of the signal handling.
The USB input is galvanically isolated to avoid noise pollution from the host. The digital inputs are routed to an ASRC3), where they are re-sampled and re-clocked to 200 kHz/24 bit PCM4), feeding current output DAC chips. For the current-to-voltage conversion, Aavik uses a differential floating topology with virtual ground. This isolates the signal path from both potential ground noise and signal-induced ground modulation.
1) PCB: Printed Circuit Board 2) high-PSRR: High Power Supply Rejection Ratio 3) ASRC: Asynchronous Sample Rate Converter 4) PCM: Pulse Code Modulation
INDIVIDUAL SETTINGS FOR YOUR PERSONAL PREFERENCES
To best accommodate individual listening preferences, and fit hand in glove into your existing audio system, Aavik has designed 4 individual settings. Since the selected signal source connected to the input can tinge the actual sound performance, up-sampling can be switched on and off. There is also a choice between a slow (soft high-frequency roll-off) and a fast (steep high-frequency roll-off) filter.
SEPARATE UNITS – 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 580 integrated amp DAC phono streamer
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. A distinguishing design feature of the new Aavik series is 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 brand new 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. Aavik 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
Aavik’s untiring endeavour to unlock further untapped sonic potentials to advance the quality of the listener’s musical experience, prompted our audio engineers 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 newly 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.
PREMIUM TECHNOLOGIES FOR UNCONSTRAINED SIGNAL FLOW
For our new Aavik series, we could heavily draw on the experience and extensive R&D of our sister company, Ansuz-Acoustics™. We employed their groundbreaking, effective noise cancelling technologies and fitted all members of the new Aavik series with Tesla coils, dither circuitry and anti aerial resonance coils. These innovative technologies are geared towards paving the way for an absolutely unconstrained signal flow.
Aavik has also prepared the top and bottom surfaces on all Aavik series to best accommodate Ansuz Darkz™, which represent the most effective way of preventing mechanical vibrations.
RESONANT MODE POWER SUPPLY – QUIET BUT EXTREMELY POWERFUL
The new Aavik series is designed to ensure massive power resources with ultra-low noise. Unlike the square waves used by conventional switch mode power supplies, the new 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.
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