Ansuz Acoustics C2 Cables
This is another top gun, full loom review. I’ve enjoyed listening to high-quality looms from Allnic Audio, AudioQuest and a few from Nordost, including $85,000 of Valhalla 2 cabling.
Let’s get it all on the table before we continue. Cables make a difference in how your system will sound, and at times profoundly so (see the Valhalla 2 review). It’s a fact, it’s not fake news. As a distributor friend of mine always says, “You can’t hear a difference? Lucky you and your wallet!”.
Also, let’s be clear, these “cables” are components integral to your carefully curated system as much as an amplifier, speakers or turntable. That’s all the cards for now. Let’s get on with the review.
Regular readers of Audiophilia will know of Denmark’s Ansuz Acoustics, part of the parent group Audio Group Denmark (AGD). We’ve reviewed several of their products. What sets the products apart from many others is they are designed primarily by Michael Børresen and use his specific technology to lower the noise floor and reduce extraneous noise. Also, he is careful to integrate them into your system without upsetting your curation.
My Use
A big thank you to our friend Morten Thyrrestrup of AGD for shipping the loom to the island.
Our Ansuz C2 cable loom looks like this:
Mainz C2 Power Cable x5 (€3400/1.25 metres)
Signalz C2 Interconnect x3 RCA termination (€4200/1.25-metre pair)
Speakz speaker cable (€7000/2.0m pair)
To save you adding up, that makes €46,100 for my loom (including the additional charge for longer lengths). A rich audiophile’s game.
But the sky does not end there: Above C2, Ansuz adds the D2, D-TC2 and D-TC Supreme lines. For example, a 3.0-metre length of the D-TC Supreme Mainz Power Cable is €36,000! Matching euros for dollars, Nordost has its top-of-the-line Odin Cables.
As your eyes unwater and your heartbeat settles down, typical of Ansuz products, there are always “entry-level” models to help ease sticker shock and still enjoy Børresen’s signature sounding gear. So, why not try the P2 level power cord at €1100/metre? Better?
I’ve tested the entry Ansuz A2 loom as a comparison (the Mainz A2 power cord is €1800/meter) and while not up to the C2 level, you’ll get a wonderful introduction to Børresen’s sound philosophy.
I broke in the C2 cables for a good fifty hours. And for a while, something in the system added a little brightness and energy to my treble, especially on vinyl playback. This slowly ameliorated and soon after my vinyl was back to its excellent self, possibly even better. Up ‘till the C2s arrived, I had the Valhalla 2s in the system for almost two years. We even had shootouts with Audioquest Firebird and Dragon cables; they are among the best. And in-house before that for several years with a top Allnic loom. All outstanding cables. I’ve been cable blessed by very generous companies and distributors.
The Ansuz Acoustics C2s are more expensive than the Allnic but cheaper than both top AQ Dragon and Nordost Valhalla 2s. The cable mix was similar to all manufacturers. Integrated, phono stage, CD/DAC, and Streamer were all powered with C2 Mainz, and I used the x3 Signalz as phono cables and for line components, and the Speakz speaker cable pair.
As mentioned, listening was casual for a couple of weeks. I left the stereo on pretty much 24 hours a day for a while.
Other than the initial energy boost in the upper treble, everything seemed tickety-boo.
Features and Construction
The Ansuz C2 cables look and feel expensive. They are not pythonesque and can be manipulated behind your stereo, but they are solid and feel good in the hand.
Ansuz says: “The Ansuz Mainz C2 power cable features Ansuz’s anti-aerial resonance coil technology which eliminates unwanted noise caused by the antenna effects of cables. The audible benefit is greater clarity and a resolution that allows even very subtle details of the music to fully unfold. Along with Ansuz double inverted helix coil technology, the soundstage of this cable is more transparent and bristles with dynamics and power.”
As with all Ansuz products, their engineering lowers the noise floor to abyss-like depths. Listening to any of their devices, you’re enveloped by a satisfying blackness from which to enjoy your music. Unlike other companies, where the blackness seems somehow “manufactured” (artificial?), the Børresen blacks are organic. It feels as natural as the music.
The C2 power cables use 36 double helix inverted coils and 3 anti-aerial resonance coils. The Signalz interconnects employ 12 double helix inverted coils and 2 passive end coils and the Speakz has 24 double helix inverted coils and 4 passive end coils. All connectors are gold-plated and the housings are anodized aluminum.
Sound
Now, the tough part. Differentiating the sounds the cable looms made, focusing on the C2’s strengths and, if there are any, weaknesses.
With the AGD CEO’s axiom of the listener hearing only 20% of recorded sound quality, every AGD device’s goal is to bring you closer to your music. They say “it is imperative to lower resistance, curb induction and reduce noise floor to a minimum. The more advanced the cable series, the more refined and sophisticated the implemented technologies, and the more transparent, holistic and authentic the resulting soundstage.”
The C2 presents a very musical and balanced soundstage whether streaming, CD or vinyl. Your music is scrubbed clean of unwanted noise but not presence or emotion. In the initial stages, maybe a little too clear. After a few hours of settling down with an on-repeat CD, this initial brightness disappeared. I was left with my hard-fought-for sound—dynamic, and detailed but with ultimate presence as the Børresen Acoustics 01 Silver Supreme Edition Loudspeakers accomplish.
Yet, after a while, my curation sounded different (better). The soundstage seemed a tad more focused so imaging was as tight as a drum. Corporate timbre was at least as good as the more expensive Nordost (the very best attribute of this US cable; so bloody amazing, it left me in a bit of a shocked, emotional mess on the first hearing), but more akin to the AudioQuest Dragon and Firebird products. Ever so slightly leaner than the virtuous, musical Valhalla 2s. In a clinical shootout between AQ Dragon and Valhalla 2s, I scored a tie, my wife adores the Nordost presentation and declared them the “winner”. Funnily enough, the AQ distributor and dealer scored the AQ Dragon the champion!
Look, set out your stall with a full loom of AQ Dragon or Nordost Valhalla 2, and you’ll reach Nirvana. Yes, for a significant amount of money in stratospheric cable price terms, however, the Ansuz C2 loom will give you comparable sound for significantly less.
I have two 2.0-metre Ansuz D2 power cables (€8800/metre). I’ll do a comparison in my review of the D2 to see what the extra euros bring. The D2s are in Valhalla 2 and Dragon territory cash-wise.
Back to the C2 loom. And some very interesting listening sessions after I guess you’d call it “cable break-in”. No brightness, just power and grace and detail aplenty.
The piece under scrutiny? Le Chant du Rossignol by Stravinsky (The Song of the Nightingale—1917). This fabulous symphonic poem was based on Stravinsky’s earlier opera The Nightingale. It was given an early stereo (1958) recording by Chicago and Reiner (LSC-2150) and has become one of the most famous RCAs. The Analogue Productions vinyl reissue is magnificent. Side A is a justly famous Prokofiev Lieutenant Kijé. It’s incredible. Audiophile heaven. But Rossignol is both (far) more difficult to play and to record. And because of Kijé to hand, I often forget about it.
The C2 loom educated me.
The detail the Chicago players and Reiner portray is nothing short of mesmerizing and the RCA engineers capture all of it. What I had not heard before, and this is where a great cable begins to show itself, are some of the finer details. A second flute flutter tongue under the principal flute soloist in the opening flute cadenza and slight disagreement in pitch in the trombone section’s very loud, muted, chromatic glissando before the mechanical nightingale section. In the weeds is what we want, right? But the C2s make it all so natural, so organic. I’m sure the C2s are playing stuff that eluded Maestro Reiner on playback.
The opening of the Stravinsky sounds like a (beautifully played, in tune) scalded cat as usual, but every layer was heard clearly, nothing congealed. Lesser cables get confused with the onslaught. No worries with the C2s. So, like all great cables, you’ll get the designer’s timbral choice where all our beloved audiophile tenets begin to reveal themselves. As such, there are no quickie cable reviews.
And my three months with these wonderful cables have done nothing to change my mind. String timbres are out of this world. Listen to the “Allegretto” of Carlos Kleiber’s famous Symphony No. 5 by Beethoven on DG. Even though a soft beginning, the C2s enabled this listener to hear the specifics of the Vienna Phil string tone and Beethoven’s switch to A minor from the opening movement’s glorious A major. Also, Beethoven’s probing woodwind chords tested the orchestra’s intonation. Nothing escapes but it all sounds as beautiful as the artists intended.
As such, no matter the repertoire these cables will make a continuing statement and be musically present for a long time. So, when you stream Steely Dan Gaucho at 96 kHz, the weight and clarity of their particular genius shine through.
Summary
These are simply marvellous cables. Expensive and a special treat for the audiophile who wants to wring the absolute best out of his or her system. The Ansuz C2s slip into your system quietly, with no fuss, and after initial break-in and the first blush of intense timbral beauty, they will slowly reveal their secrets to you in your daily listening. It’ll be adventures in music every day. Very highly recommended.
Further information: Ansuz Acoustics
