ANSUZ MAINZ 8 C3 POWER DISTRIBUTOR

At 5,500 euro the Mainz 8 C3 is one of the most expensive power distributors I´ve had in my system to date. It´s far from being the most expensive power distributor from Danish company Ansuz, however; the C3 sits smack in the middle of a seven-strong range. An unnecessary indulgence or an indispensable cornerstone of any mildly ambitious HiFi set up?

´Power Distributor´ may not be an accurate description of what the Mainz C3 does, even though it features eight power outlets (Schuko as per most of Europe or US standard, as of now there´s no version featuring UK-standard power outlets) plus a single IEC inlet. However, it´s not a filter in the common sense either, nor is it an active power regenerator. Its main aim is to keep noise and resonances away from the power cables that feed your audio components, thus lowering the overall noise floor of the system. In fact, such is the importance that Ansuz places on a clean power supply to the rest of your audio system that it not only awards the power distributor ´component´ status in the context of an audio system, but moreover considers it the most important part of the system. You´d think “Sure, that´s what I would say in their place as a manufacturer of power distributors and cables, too” but Ansuz is in fact one of three brands – the others being Aavik and Borresen - that operate under the umbrella of Audio Group Denmark and between them, cover pretty much all bases when it comes to putting together a HiFi system.

Ansuz do offer some pretty radical strategies and technologies when it comes to cleaning up the act of an audio system´s power supply. First thing you notice is the enclosure. At first glance, it looks like it´s made from a single piece of aluminium, which is also supported by the weight (just over 5 kg) of the long, slim cabinet. However, it is not cold to the touch like a metal enclosure would be and that´s because it´s actually made out of a natural fibre-based composite material which reduces its mechanical influence.

As befits it being regarded as an audio component in its own right, its shape and orientation suggest the power distributor is meant to be placed in a HiFi rack rather than behind or under it – which posed me with a challenge as there´s no room for an audio rack in my system