RMAF 2019 Show Report Part 8: Aavik Acoustics, Ansuz Acoustics, Børresen Acoustics, YG Acoustics, VTL

We’d already seen Raidho speakers on Simaudio Moon electronics in another area of the 2019 Rocky Mountain Audio Festival, but as we approached Willow Lake 5, I noted with a raised eyebrow and a tilt of the head that this, the Aavik Acoustics and Ansuz room, was entirely devoid of the recognizable sleek, uber-dollar Danish floorstanders.

In their place however, was a familiar look and sound: a pair of sleek, Danish, uber-dollar standmount speakers by one of the designers of Raidho, Michael Børresen. Børresen Acoustics 01 sure remind me a lot of Raidho D1.1s, which were great little speakers when I tested them. But this is a big league game, and the 01 commands a big league price.

Unsurprisingly, they were making big league sound for being a diminutive pair of two-ways in a very large and empty room. The Aavik U-380 integrated amplifier and the Ansuz Acoustics cabling throughout provided a ton of drive for the Børresens.

Down the hall from there was another affordable system — yuk, yuk — in the YG Acoustics and VTL room. 

As a side note, at The Music Room I’ve tested quite a few pairs of Raidho and YG Acoustics speakers. We’ve always received these super-fi masterpieces in fantastic condition, and we’ve sold them at fair market value. Which means that for the very few pairs of these that we get through our doors relative to the rest of what we offer, each one is a rare chance for a shortcut to the summit of Hifi. Just something to think about.

Back to the show. I’m familiar with the Sonja and Anat ranges of the Colorado-based speaker manufacturer YG Acoustics, and was excited to hear the newly updated Sonja 2.3. Commanding equal visual attention in between the monolithic speakers was a massive pair of VTL Siegfried Series 2 monoblocks. Holy mother.

The sound of the 2.3s was powerful and dynamic as expected, but there was also an unexpected quality to the top end for me, and that was that it was equally powerful and dynamic. A demo of Miles Davis had the speakers hitting us hard with realistic trumpet sound at concert volume. Odin 2 cabling by Nordost maximized the potential of this ruthless system.