Aavik U-280 Pre-Out Mute Option

Leatherneck

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With Mute turned off on Pre-Out of the new Aavik amplifiers (U-280), is the output fixed or variable?
 
Yup, I've ordered a U-280 And an S-280

I was interested in the Pre-Out option to use to drive my Naim Atom HE headphone amp. The HE is completely standalone but I wanted to use the better front end of of the Aavik devices to drive it. It would save the cost of an expensive ethernet cable and I assume the DAC in the U-280 would be better.

I tried doing this with my Naim ND555 and it worked well.

The output from the ND555 is fixed so there was no problem With the variable output of the U-280 both devices will have volume controls in the signal path. I don't want to go that way.

If Aavik suggest that the Pre-Out might be used to drive a headphone amp, I have to wonder what HP amp they are thinking of. All the HP amps I know of have variable inputs.
 
I need to reduce the box count of my system. I tried a combination of Naim Atom HE/NAP 250 and came close enough to accepting it as a solution that I'd talked to my Naim dealer about selling my 500 system on consignment.

Then a friend told me about his experience replacing his Naim kit with the new Aavik devices. I was going to give up sound quality for convenience. The HE is far more user friendly than the ND555/NAC552. One box, terrific remote, safe volume control, fewer boxes, less cost, etc.

I've had long experience with the Danes. I've got a lot of Ansuz devices and I've owned an Aavik U-300 in the past. Also, my Naim dealer has long since had a close relationship with the Danes and raved about the new Aavik kit. That seemed to be a solution to my quest. The U280/S280 appeared to be a Naim SN3/NDX-2 on steroids.

When I Wass trying the Atom HE/NAP 250 kit I found I was listening to it far more than I did the Naim 500 system. I could listen to huge play iists w/o skipping tracks or adjusting the volume control. I could never do that with the 500 system. If I had Hi Res sources, bigger speakers and different space things might be different but in my small apartment, preference in music and small speakers. convenience is more important than SQ.
 
My new Aavik S280 and U280 have arrived and are awaiting a BNC terminated digital cable. I should have it for the weekend. I also ordered an Ansuz X2 power cable. I’ll use a Naim power chord for the second device. My days of owning $20K Ansuz power cables are over.

I’m still debating an option to replace the U280 with an I280/D280. I’ve got an Ansuz PowerSwitch which provides significant noise reduction so I’m not sure how much the standalone DAC would matter.

What do you think?
 
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