Aavik U-150, U-180 or U-280

U-280 is the most advanced and newest of the bunch.

It should sound quite nice paired with the Sabrina!

@mwlf -- I have owned the Aavik U-280 for almost a year now and absolutely love it. While I never had the chance to listen to U-150, I did audition I-180 and I-280 with the D-180 DAC. For me, U-280 was the winner over all the other combinations. It just sounds more musical and organic than the 180. 

Prior to this, I was a tube amplification fanboy and never found an SS amp that I preferred over tubes. Aavik U-280 is the only one that has surpassed tubes in my system. The built-in DAC of U-280 can easily compete with DACs up to $8000. I did a direct comparison with Denafrips Terminator 2 (Aavik was substantially better) and T+A DAC200 (T+A had a slight edge but not night and day). I was so impressed by Aavik that I also bought the S-280 streamer and Ansuz power switch. They make some killer stuff for sure!

If you can afford it, I would say go with U-280. I don't think it will have any problem driving your speakers. Good luck!

Note: I realized that I have not updated my virtual system in a while. Need to do it this weekend.

@arafiq What did you think of the Aavik when paired with your Harbeths? Did you like the performance at low volumes? I don't want to derail this thread, but any thoughts/observations you'd care to share would be helpful. Thanks in advance.

@oceanandmountains I mostly pair the Aavik with my Joseph Audio Perspective2 speakers and it drives them quite well. I also have Harbeth SHL5+ in the second system but to be honest I only tried them with the Aavik once and that too for a few hours only.

Overall, it provided more control - better bass, extended treble, and finesse. The only downside I noticed was that the Harbeths sounded a touch on the drier side compared to the Joseph Audios. Apart from that one minor quibble, I think the Aavik compliments the power hungry Harbeths very nicely. It really grabs the woofers by the balls and makes them do what it wants.

Aavik U-150 Integrated Amp Review 2023. | (stevehuffphoto.com)        I was lucky enough to find a Demo U-150 like Steve did. The Phono MC pre that's built in is the best I've heard....period........The DAC that's built in is equiv. or better than my Audio Mirror Toubadour IV  SE......The 300 watt Pascal Class D amp sounds like a beautiful SET on steroids...If you can find one under 10 K....Snatch it up quickly. It will drive basically any speaker on the market to perfection....The Danes seem to really have a handle on what Music sounds like. Good Luck!

Thank you all for responses!

Anyone compared Aavik with Devialet?

ordered Aavik U150 with DAC and phono, feedback in 1-2 weeks

Aavik is soo expensive I would appreciate knowing what you guys had previously come from

Last year i purchased wilson sabrina (after owning 3-4 years Revel Performa F206, very very good speakers for their price).

With F206, i had Pass Int150 - very good match. But Int150 was not a very good fit on the bass side with Sabrina (probably due to low impedance dips, and power hungry); then i stepped up a notch to Plinius Sa 103 + Ps Audio Bhk pre, very sweet sounding, almost like tubes, but again, not enough juice for Sabrina.

Now i am using Peachtree Grand X Integrated - very good for it's price sh - good control on bass, good image and details at low and medium levels, but on higher levels sound is a little harsh, cannot listen more than 30 mins. 

So it is clear to me Sabrinas need at least 200w in 8ohm / 400 w in 4 ohms; a dealer which sells both Aavik and Wilson told me they are a good match, i will see and listen soon :)

Dac is Exasound E22, very good for its price sh.

I have received U150 several days ago, it is indeed a top class integrated amplifier, better than any i had (Pass Int 150, Plinius SA103, Peachtree Grand X1, Parasound A21, Gold Note IS 1000, etc). Image and separation is truly umbelievable for such price.

And Dac is really top class - at least 2 levels above all dacs i owned (mhdt orchid, gustard r26, exasound e22) - very resolut, lots of details, very accurate PRAT

I wholeheartedly recommend U150; i will keep it at least several years (and i don't usually keep equipments too long). It's soo good that i am tempted to try also Borresen speakers (X3 or Z2) instead of Wilson Sabrina.

Does anyone knows fuse specs for U150? i am tempted to try a synergistic research purple on it (i had those with great results on all my amps and preamps).

Glad you're enjoying the U-150. I love my U-280 unit -- both the integrated amp and DAC are phenomenal and the best I've heard in my system. The built-in DAC easily surpasses my previous DAC -- Defanfrips Terminator 2 by quite some margin. It's a shame that the brand flies under the radar and puts off some people because it uses class D for several models.

For fuses, best to reach out to a dealer -- I highly recommend Next Level Hifi. They are really cool folks and always willing to help even if you don't purchase from them. Good luck!

I also have the U-280, the U-300 before it. AGD is where I'll be living out my golden years.