Ansuz Cables & Accessories

[Buch73]

Hi Buch, welcome and thanks for dragging us into 2014!



Yes, compared to my Nordost Odin cable, Ansuz is indeed blacker in background and this is a good thing!

Yes, Ansuz C has more bass heft than Ansuz P or Ansuz A. I would not worry about that being over-bearing, it is only unlocking whats on the recording and unlike some other high end cables Ansuz is not injecting bags of artificial warmth. Ansuz delivers deep bass, but is it bass that is highly resolved and not sloooooooow.

Hi Kiwi and you other guys.
Think 2014 is going to be a very facinating year for Ansuz fans

No, you can never get too resolved bass lines.. I await my Ansuz C now, like a little child before his Birthday

Buch

 

[4music]

Hello all Ansuz fans.

I think it is time for this thread to get into 2014

4music - Have you got your Ceramic power cords and had time to give them a listen ?
I am pretty interested in this, because I also just ordered 1 yesterday.

Think , I will also tell a bit about my experience with Ansuz.. I have had Nordost for about 15 years or so and very happy about them. But ½ a year ago, I visited the Raidho factory and Lars told me about their new cable lines.
I heard them in the demo room and it just sounded so great. Guess it was the Diamond series and everything was set up optimal.. but I figured.. I just had to check this out on my own.
So I ordered 3 ALU mainz and the POM speaker cable. It really lifted my system a lot..so I did not regret it one bit

I have then until now, had the NO Tyr interconnect and another Vishnu Power cable for my PSU to my Auraliti streamer.
So now it is time to get the complete Ansuz cable loom in my system
I have ordered the ceramic power cord and will use it in front of the mains distributor (QBase4) and then the extra ALU mainz to replace the Vishnu for the PSU/Auraliti.
Then I ordered the ceramic interconnect to replace the Tyr.

So I am very exited to hear what the ceramic series can offer.

I agree on many of the other views of the Ansuz cables. The sound is pretty much like the Nordost sound. Very transparent, detailed, fast, neutral and I would describe the differences to be mostly a more quiet/black background..lower noise floor. This is not like I have experienced before. Before, when having heard something with a very "black" background.. I find it with a loss of dynamics and also in details. But this is not the case with the Ansuz cables at all. Here I find, that every single detail and microdynamics are delivered to me.
I find the Ansuz cables, not so much "up front" as the Nordosts..but in no way are they not that dynamic or fast. They have so much "PRAT" and the overall sound are just more musical, fluid and gives more pleasure to enjoy the music without missing anything.

So , I am exited how much more the ceramic series can lift my system.
Tiny little concern I have is , that I have read that the ceramic has more bass output and I must say, I have all I need right now. Tight, very resolved bottom end right now..but let us see, what they bring even more to me.

Oh, yes.. I also ordered the SparkTC (tesla) , so I will get 1 one this and 1 SparkZ , which I have allready.

I will get back and tell you about my experiences , when I get the cables and they are burned in and ready for rewieving.

Buch

Hi Buch & welcome. Nice writeup on Ansuz. Thanks for sharing.
I have altered my order slightly and got the Ansuz Diamond Mainz-8
Distributor (prior to the C cords) that together with Nordost Odin Power Cord from power to distributor was the biggest uplift in cabling/resonance I've experienced so far. After a month of constant use it has broken-in nicely delivering incredible performance. My dealer expects a order of Ansuz C and A and I will get to try and choose but I bet I will go with the C's.

 

[the professor]

I spent time with the Ansuz Diamond power cords last weekend. I compared them to my Shunyata power system and also to just the Shunyata Zitron Anaconda power cords. The rest of the system I used was: Linn Klimax DS server, D’Agostino preamp and 2 stereo momentum power amps, Raidho D3s w 2 Wilson Watch Dog subwoofers/controllers.

Here is what I had to play with.

My Shunyata system:

A Triton/Typhon on the Linn and Dag preamp.
2 Typhons, 1 on each Dag power amp each in their own dedicated circuit.
Power cords and umbilicals are all Zitron Anacondas except for the Linn and it is the new Alpha Digital.

On loan I had 4 Ansuz Diamond power cords with 1 Sparkz

I did the following tests using Ansuz diamond interconnects/speaker cables and also using Shunyata interconnect/speaker cables. No difference worth mentioning in the following results if any at all. That’s not to say they aren’t differences in the interconnects, but the power had the same effect on both. I’ll write up the interconnect comparison in a future post.

I didn’t know exactly how to do this power cord comparison. I could think of so many ways. Exchange 1 item at a time. As a whole system. Partial replacement. Anyway.

So here is what I did:

First I had a problem using the Diamond with the Klimax since it has a weird lip in back and needs a streamlined power connection. I have an adapter I could use so I tried it with the Diamond vs the Alpha Digital I had specially made for the Klimax. Sonically this comparison just wasn’t close and I think it was the adapter and not a fair comparison of the cable. So I put the Diamond cord back into the box and only used the 3 Diamond cords from here on out and used the Shunyata Alpha Digital on the Klimax on all further comparisons.

Second I decided that since the cost of the complete Shunyata system is in the same ballpark as the 3 Diamonds plus Sparkz ($38,000 v $31,000) I would exchange out the different manufacturers power “system”. In this comparison, the Shunyata was blacker/quieter, the sound character was a tiny bit warmer with the Ansuz both had lots of detail and amazing ability to convey the emotion of the music. The Ansuz presented itself maybe 5 feet back from where the Shunyata presented itself. I imagine this would help the near field listeners out there. But the big difference was the soundstage height/width/depth in that with the Ansuz it collapsed totally. When I say totally, it still was very good but in comparison there was a big difference. Something that if I didn’t hear it myself I would have been very skeptical.

Third I put the Triton and Typhons back into the system and only changed the 3 cords going into pre and power amps. This was very close. Much more alike than different. Obviously both companies are striving for the same sound in their cables. Again the Ansuz was a tiny bit warmer, blacks were great on both maybe the edge to the Ansuz. The presentation was a little further back but not as dramatic as before and the biggest difference before "the soundstage" was the same. All in all, the Ansuz might be a tiny bit better at $10,000 each vs $3,000 each. I would need to live with them for a couple of weeks to really know which one I would end up liking best. And quite honestly, with that kind of price difference, I have no desire to spend the time or money on something that is that close to the same.

I’m sure that on other systems, people will find different results. But in mine, I didn’t feel the Ansuz power cords inproved my system. I was somewhat surprised since I liked what the Ansuz speaker cable did in my system. (see post above).

 

[the professor]

I played with the Sparkz last weekend and as I've read that having more than one in a system is problematic. I can't say it was good when I used it with my Shunyata Triton, but then again it has some "voodoo" stuff like the Sparkz so maybe they didn't like each other.

But it really brought focus and an ease to my second system using Accuphase and my Devore O/96.

Very nice product.

 

[kiwi_1282001]

[...] I have altered my order slightly and got the Ansuz Diamond Mainz-8

Hi Tim,

What did the Mainz-8 replace and what difference did you note?

Thanks!

 

[kiwi_1282001]

[...]

Third I put the Triton and Typhons back into the system and only changed the 3 cords going into pre and power amps. This was very close. Much more alike than different. Obviously both companies are striving for the same sound in their cables. Again the Ansuz was a tiny bit warmer, blacks were great on both maybe the edge to the Ansuz. The presentation was a little further back but not as dramatic as before and the biggest difference before "the soundstage" was the same. All in all, the Ansuz might be a tiny bit better at $10,000 each vs $3,000 each. I would need to live with them for a couple of weeks to really know which one I would end up liking best. And quite honestly, with that kind of price difference, I have no desire to spend the time or money on something that is that close to the same.

I’m sure that on other systems, people will find different results. But in mine, I didn’t feel the Ansuz power cords inproved my system. I was somewhat surprised since I liked what the Ansuz speaker cable did in my system. (see post above).

Thanks for sharing this Jock. Interesting to read this and together with other peoples observations see some common threads emerge; i.e. sound-stage depth and black backgrounds etc.

Just one question, when the Triton and Typhons (Shunyata power system) was removed from your system out of interest what (if any) power distribution board did you use? I am assuming here, perhaps incorrectly, that another variable was introduced to provide spurs to your source and pre-amp?

 

[Buch73]

Hi Buch & welcome. Nice writeup on Ansuz. Thanks for sharing.
I have altered my order slightly and got the Ansuz Diamond Mainz-8
Distributor (prior to the C cords) that together with Nordost Odin Power Cord from power to distributor was the biggest uplift in cabling/resonance I've experienced so far. After a month of constant use it has broken-in nicely delivering incredible performance. My dealer expects a order of Ansuz C and A and I will get to try and choose but I bet I will go with the C's.

Hi 4music

OK, I see. Yes, the Mainz-8 should also be very interesting and should give a lot of lift to the entire system.
Lars told me it was a really nice product. So I think it is next on my "upgrade" list. By the way, does it come in other versions or a planning to? Do you know that? Or maybe they all are "Diamond" versions.


I got a nice surprise 2 days ago.. a small packet arrived from Ansuz and it was with the SparkzTC , I ordered.
The cables were not promised to me before yesterday, so I did not expect the SparkzTC to arrive before that.
So I had some hours to try this one out and it makes some difference, no doubt about that.

My ceramic powercord and interconnect arrived yesterday, and I first tried replacing my Nordost Tyr and listened for some hours and then lastly replaced the Alu powercord with the ceramic version.
I will let it all burn-in and stabilize before making further comments.. but pretty sure, they will give me a larger smile on my face

Buch

 

[4music]

Hi Tim,

What did the Mainz-8 replace and what difference did you note?

Thanks!

Acoustic Revive Ultimate EU-4 (2x more expensive than the Mainz in Europe)

The Acoustic Revive was more bass heavy and warmer. It was also very sensitive to isolation/vibration control given its mass (6-7 pounds) . The Diamond Mainz-8 has less mass, significantly less metal (I think it is made out of plastic) but after 150 hours it has an amazing transparency and it has the aural signature of Nordost Odin: Transparent, crisp, detailed, very good bass without being overbearing and more correct sounding. It is sitting on 3 Black diamond racing cones/pucks tied together (picture will follow) since it prefers to be off the ground with non metal elevation. I am using a Nodost Odin as my first power cord from plug to Mainz, so I guess the Mainz is very neutral and all my power has now the signature of the first cord. With the Acoustic Revive I was getting too much bass from my Raidho D-1s and I was relating that to my cabling (Jorma Origo). The transformation with the Mainz is significant. I met Lars recently and he mentioned that I should start the Ansuz journey with the Mainz. He also mentioned that there are the equivalent of 24 Dark TC within the Mainz. I ordered it blindly, but I am very satisfied with the results. The best power conditioner I've used by far. Next change will be the power cords to the equipment. I've tried the Ansuz Diamond, but I think you can get very close to the performance with the Ansuz C and the Diamond Mainz Distributor.

 

[4music]

Hi 4music

OK, I see. Yes, the Mainz-8 should also be very interesting and should give a lot of lift to the entire system.
Lars told me it was a really nice product. So I think it is next on my "upgrade" list. By the way, does it come in other versions or a planning to? Do you know that? Or maybe they all are "Diamond" versions.


I got a nice surprise 2 days ago.. a small packet arrived from Ansuz and it was with the SparkzTC , I ordered.
The cables were not promised to me before yesterday, so I did not expect the SparkzTC to arrive before that.
So I had some hours to try this one out and it makes some difference, no doubt about that.

My ceramic powercord and interconnect arrived yesterday, and I first tried replacing my Nordost Tyr and listened for some hours and then lastly replaced the Alu powercord with the ceramic version.
I will let it all burn-in and stabilize before making further comments.. but pretty sure, they will give me a larger smile on my face

Buch

I think the Mainz Comes in the A (Alu) and the D (diamond) version only. The price difference is not that great (+30% for D) I suggest you go with the D if you want to try it out.

I am looking forward to your comparison of the A vs the C Power cord. Thanks
Tim

 

[the professor]

Good question. They were plugged directly into the wall into dedicated circuits. Only when I added the Sparkz did I need to use anything extra. But when i needed the extra outlets, I used the Shunyata PS8 distributed which is the best distributer I had. Much better than just a power strip.

Thanks for sharing this Jock. Interesting to read this and together with other peoples observations see some common threads emerge; i.e. sound-stage depth and black backgrounds etc.

Just one question, when the Triton and Typhons (Shunyata power system) was removed from your system out of interest what (if any) power distribution board did you use? I am assuming here, perhaps incorrectly, that another variable was introduced to provide spurs to your source and pre-amp?

 

[kiwi_1282001]

[...] The Diamond Mainz-8 has less mass, significantly less metal (I think it is made out of plastic) but after 150 hours it has an amazing transparency and it has the aural signature of Nordost Odin: Transparent, crisp, detailed, very good bass without being overbearing and more correct sounding. It is sitting on 3 Black diamond racing cones/pucks tied together (picture will follow) since it prefers to be off the ground with non metal elevation.

Thanks for the reply Tim. That's really interesting. Are you not able to put the Mainz-8 on the equipment rack? As I understand it the Mainz-8 is supplied with Ansuz Darkz Diamond footers - which are reportedly the cats whiskers. Interesting you are circumventing them by using BDR cones. Could you expand on why?

[...] I met Lars recently and he mentioned that I should start the Ansuz journey with the Mainz. He also mentioned that there are the equivalent of 24 Dark TC within the Mainz. I ordered it blindly, but I am very satisfied with the results. The best power conditioner I've used by far.

Did you mean the equivalent of 24 Sparkz TC inside the Mainz? Lars is a great sales guy. Have you tried Sparkz and Sparkz TC sound enhancers? What did you think?

 

[4music]

Thanks for the reply Tim. That's really interesting. Are you not able to put the Mainz-8 on the equipment rack? As I understand it the Mainz-8 is supplied with Ansuz Darkz Diamond footers - which are reportedly the cats whiskers. Interesting you are circumventing them by using BDR cones. Could you expand on why?

Currently I can't sit the MAinz in the equipment rack. The footers supplied are actually 1 layer (vs 3 of the Ansuz full footers) missing the small ceramic balls i.e. has limited vibration control. On the other hand given it is lightweight, stiff cords could dictate more how the Mainz sits. I've used The BDR cones and the Finite Elemente Cerabase footers (metallic) and preferred the first



Did you mean the equivalent of 24 Sparkz TC inside the Mainz? Lars is a great sales guy. Have you tried Sparkz and Sparkz TC sound enhancers? What did you think?

Correct. That was his quote: 24 Sparkz TC inside the Mainz. I have tried 3 Sparkz (not the TCs) in the past (Duplex mains outlet/ Distributor/ another one within an distant empty outlet). The results were consistent to the ones reported here: blacker backgrounds, more correct sounding. However it was before the addition of Mainz in the system.

In my view Mainz & the Spark address the problem of small voltage differences within the same electrical circuit due to imperfections of the grounding. I you use a good grounding unit like the Troy Signature probably you get similar results. As always prudence is king. 1 Mainz, good power cords, good vibration control for all the system get you 97% of perfection.

 

[4music]

Kiwi the reply related to the footers in Mainz is by mistake incorporated within your quote in the above reply
tim

 

[4music]

The BDR footers supporting the Mainz

 

[kiwi_1282001]

Kiwi the reply related to the footers in Mainz is by mistake incorporated within your quote in the above reply

tim

Hi Tim,

Saw your reply and strongly urge you to get your Ansuz Mainz-8 off the floor and onto an equipment rack.

The distributor is like the heart of an audio system and deserves to be treated like any other audio component. One of the best sonic upgrades I made sometime back was to rack mount the AC distributor. My distributor now sits on the bottom shelf via Nordost Sort TC Kones. Moving the distributor from the floor to the rack with quality mechanical earthing provided a bigger upgrade than doubling my investment in a source component.


Cheers
Ralph

 

[the professor]

+1

Hi Tim,

Saw your reply and strongly urge you to get your Ansuz Mainz-8 off the floor and onto an equipment rack.

The distributor is like the heart of an audio system and deserves to be treated like any other audio component. One of the best sonic upgrades I made sometime back was to rack mount the AC distributor. My distributor now sits on the bottom shelf via Nordost Sort TC Kones. Moving the distributor from the floor to the rack with quality mechanical earthing provided a bigger upgrade than doubling my investment in a source component.


Cheers
Ralph

 

[Buch73]

The Mainz 8 , I find it SO nice looking and genious to have the power cords horisontally.
This is definitely next on my wish list

Buch

 

[the professor]

I saw it at CES and it looks and feels really good.

View attachment 4619

The Mainz 8 , I find it SO nice looking and genious to have the power cords horisontally.
This is definitely next on my wish list

Buch

 

[4music]

Hi Tim,

Saw your reply and strongly urge you to get your Ansuz Mainz-8 off the floor and onto an equipment rack.

The distributor is like the heart of an audio system and deserves to be treated like any other audio component. One of the best sonic upgrades I made sometime back was to rack mount the AC distributor. My distributor now sits on the bottom shelf via Nordost Sort TC Kones. Moving the distributor from the floor to the rack with quality mechanical earthing provided a bigger upgrade than doubling my investment in a source component.


Cheers
Ralph

Ralph will definitely do when I finalize the rack selection. Currently I don't have enough rack space for the distributor.
Tim

 

[Mike]

Question - does the distributor do any kind of filtration?


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