I was initially very skeptical towards this brand because I thought their explanation of their products was very opaque. They provide less information about how their cables are constructed and how their Power conditioners work than for instance Audioquest. My Naim hi-fi dealer, a very motivated young guy, for a long time tried to convince me to buy their products and has dedicated himself more and more towards Ansuz. I could never understand this and thought the poor guy is doomed.
This changed when I wanted to replace my Audioquest Rocket 44 Speaker cables. He recommended to me the entry level Axxess brand of Audio Group Denmark. And that speaker cable completely pulverised the Audioquest. Also sounded better than a Vertere cable that i tried at the same time.
Next step was that I bought a brand new A3 power cable, 3 meters long, from the guy. The most expensive hi-fi cable I ever bought.
Meanwhile I bought some good bargain additional Ansuz gear like an A3 power conditioner, 3 meter A2 power cables, a 3m A2 speaker cable.
I also found that Nordost cables harmonize well with Ansuz power cables. I have now a few Heimdall 2 power cables which work great with the A3 Power Conditioner and the other Ansuz cables. So, now I use two brands that i thought were rubbish for a long time
Here are 2 questions that burn a hole into my brain:
1)Does it make sense to use a c2 cable into an A3 powerdistributor? Or a C2 cable from the A3 to amp/preamp?
2) Do you think that the Ansuz Powerchords work well this streamers and DACs or better with amps/preamps?
Well, everything is relative.
Its quite easy to set unrealistic high retail prices, “pretending” the customer getting a good deal with say 65% off.
In fact this is a business case other branches have done too - I find this quite unsymphathetic.
Compared to Audioquest cables, it seems that the Ansuz cables loose less value, or certainly they do not loose more. It is almost impossible to sell an Audioquest power chord for more than 40 to 50% of its normal price. But, i have not systematically compared, of course.
First of all the mainz power distributors are not mains conditioners. Ansuz like Naim and others have the strong oppinion that conditioners kill the music.
Then there are the strangeness of putting the best power cable before the mainz block. It does work, it is just part of the strangeness of why power cables makes such a difference as they seem to do.
I am technically not versed enough to understand where the boundary between conditioning and distribution can be drawn. Do the “tesla coils” in the Mainz8 not filter out high frequencies?
Burned-in Mainz D2 vs burned-in Mainz C2 on the wall to Mainz8 C3 block location.
As many have stated already, D2 is on another level. In the low end especially, there’s more bass, better texture and just richer. Then in the mids there’s more meat and air around the instruments.
I can confirm what @Claus mentioned, wall PC is incredibly important here.
I’m planning to upgrade my wall C2 to D2 when funds permit.
As for the SC audition.
Brand new A3 Speakz (running for a couple of days only) vs Atlas Ailsa Achromatic.
Even though A3s are not even close to being burned-in, they show incredible performance. This improvement isn’t subtle. When auditioning with our test tracks, my better half and myself both noticed details that were not present before. The timbre is also more natural, and the mid-range comes just a bit forward. Sound stage width is pretty much the same, with depth maybe a little shallower.
Overall, not a small improvement, more so impressive given it’s a brand new cable.
I’m upgrading to A3 Speakz.
While testing D2 PC on the wall, I then had the opportunity to further test PC on the switch.
Burned-in Mainz C2 vs burned-in Mainz A2 on my A3 Powerswitch.
Again, C2 brings improvement in mid-range body and naturalness, sounding less digital and calmer in the top.
I’m planning to upgrade my A2 to C2 on the PowerSwitch when funds permit.
That’s it, my latest experience with Ansuz.
Finally, I need to get my hands on some XLR cables to test…
I did not compare the A2 to a Frey but (unfairly) tried it in place of their C2 and an Audioquest Dragon. It was not nearly as good as those 2 much more expensive cables so I returned it to The Music Room that seems to always have some of them for sale.
An Ansuz C2 is my favorite cable for my Audio Research Ref 6. I also liked the Cardas Clear Beyond XL on it. For some reason the AQ Dragon there did not work for me-not as detailed.
I tried it on a linear power supply (I hate that an expensive cable can make a difference there!). To be fair again, I have used the Ansuz C2 and the AQ Dragon there and like both of them there. But now you know why I was trying to find a cheaper alternative. But I bet the A2 would easily out perform a regular PC and help make the system quieter.
