REVIEW

configuration. In fact, the remote-controlled line level preamp and its power supply as well as the music server that I have had as a review item at the time of testing, are under a sofa which in turn is flanked by four power amps that power the mid and high-frequency drivers of my Avantgarde horns which sit alongside them on either side. Along one side wall, there is just enough space for a turntable and phono preamp. Long story short – the only way to have the Mainz C8 provide the juice for all of the system apart from the turntable power supply and the Class D low-frequency amps with DSP in the Avantgardes with the power cables available, was to place the unit on its side! Obviously, this was not ideal as the component feet of course, were on the underside of the unit. In another configuration I tried when the music server arrived, I used the Ansuz in the orientation intended by its maker, providing the outlets for the digital front end – server and DAC – and the line level preamp only. The power outlets themselves, as well as the single IEC inlet, are, as befits the unit´s price tag, of very high quality and the cabinet´s appearance is one of understated elegance; however, being half a metre wide and over 26 centimetres deep with all power outlets in a single row on the rear side does restrict its flexibility of installation somewhat in comparison with more conventionally shaped power distributors. Of the eight outlets, one of the pair in the middle is marked in white – this is where you are supposed to connect the item that has the most other components connected to it; in my case, the line level preamp. Positive, zero, and earth connections on the power outlets are all star grounded to a precisely defined area within the unit that carries the lowest possible grounding impedance. This ensures that no voltage is transferred from the power distributor to the individual equipment power cables – apart from the mains voltage they are supposed to carry, obviously.

Tesla Coils

Instead of leading the mains voltage through a series of frequency-based filters – which often results in a loss of dynamics – Ansuz uses a principle called the ´Tesla Coil´ in all its power distributors. The key principle is to have two coils wound in opposite directions which both carry voltage. When one of the Tesla coils encounters a voltage spike, a counter spike is activated to eliminate the noise. Since noise spikes are pure voltage carrying virtually no charge, the noise cancellation is quite good but not perfect. Adding more Tesla coils in parallel increases the noise cancellation and this is why there are more of them as you go up the Ansuz range of power distributors. Also, while more basic models offer ´passive´ Tesla coils, more elaborate iterations like the C3 feature ´active´ Tesla coils that are current fed. This drops down the impedance of the coils and offers a better ability to eliminate noise – according to the manufacturer by a factor of three to four. The Mainz 8 C3 features 24 of what Ansuz calls ´Ansuz Active Tesla Coils´, six ´Active Cable Tesla Coils´, and three ´Active Zirconium Tesla Coils´. The individual properties of these three different types of Tesla coils are meant to complement and reinforce each other for the best possible noise reduction.

In addition, Ansuz uses ´dither technology´ - originating in radar tech – to ensure a greater signal strength and thus, a better signal-to-noise ratio. The Active Tesla Coils send pulsating signals at precisely defined frequencies in anti-phase, which amplifies the signal and lowers the background noise floor. The new range of Ansuz power distributors features a third-generation design, which through analysis and lots of listening, seeks to further optimise the frequencies at which the pulses are sent.

DOES IT WORK?

Yes - emphatically so, but in other and rather more subtle ways than one would expect. I used the Mainz C3 mostly in the main system at home, a rather elaborate affair that´s been developed (as mentioned) over the years and consisting of Avantgarde Duo XD speakers modified to work in a fully active set up using two pairs of monoblock single-ended triode tube amps (Audio Note Quest Low Gain with Audio Note 4300E 300B power valves and a late ´90s pair of Welter EbIIIs running TJ Full Music 2A3 power valves, modified with external power supply units, re-capped with the coupling capacitors doubling as a high pass crossover filter) and a custom version of Pink Faun´s Tube Pre line amplifier with separate outputs for the mid and high frequencies (the output capacitors of the latter having been sized to form another high pass crossover filter). The analogue front end consists of an Acoustic Signature Challenger Mk3 turntable with two motors and an upgraded platter having had eight ´Silencers´ inserted. Acoustic Signature TA-1000 and Levar Ultimate