Audio Group Denmark’s Aavik M-880 Mono Amplifiers: Ultra-Luxury Pricing, Reference Ambitions, Zero Interest in Restraint

Audio Group Denmark doesn’t launch products so much as drop financial gravity wells. Last week in Aalborg, a select group of high-end press was flown in, not for a polite demo, but for a full-scale statement: the debut of Aavik’s new M-880 Monoblock Power Amplifier, now available to order at $115,000, alongside the equally subtle Børresen M8 Gold Signature loudspeakers, priced at $1,150,000 per pair. If that number made you blink, congratulations, you’re still connected to reality.

Aavik and Børresen may share DNA under the Audio Group Denmark umbrella, but they each stay in their own lane. Aavik handles the electronics. Borresen builds the loudspeakers. Six-figure systems aren’t aspirational here; they’re Tuesday. This is a group staffed by people with very serious résumés, including deep roots in Gryphon Audio Designs, another Danish name synonymous with “because we can” engineering and prices that don’t ask for permission.

The M-880 isn’t about chasing trends or filling a market gap. It reflects Aavik deliberately stepping outside its established lane; one it has navigated very well with its Class D designs to explore something more ambitious and more experimental. Based on what we heard and discussed at T.H.E. Show: NYC 2025, Aavik has earned credibility in modern amplification. The M-880 is what happens when a company with that foundation decides to see how far it can push its ideas when cost is no longer the primary governor.

Whether that exploration is worth $115,000 per channel is not a question for most people and pretending otherwise is pointless. That decision belongs to Persian Gulf emirs, Wall Street and tech executives, and a very small circle of listeners for whom six-figure components are a rational option, not a punchline. Dismissing the M-880 simply because almost no one can afford it misses the point. Ninety-nine point nine percent of the world can’t afford this level of audio engineering, but rarity alone doesn’t invalidate innovation.

Is it excessive? Absolutely. Does it make practical sense to assemble a $2 million system around amplifiers like these? Probably not. Would we do it if given the chance? Probably not. But excess has always been part of how the high-end moves forward, and among the components unveiled in Aalborg, the amplifiers are the more intellectually interesting statement. Loudspeakers at that level aim for spectacle. The M-880 aims for execution.

The M-880 was developed in direct response to the performance demands of the Børresen M8 Gold Signature loudspeaker. As the M8 Gold evolved toward higher levels of speed, resolution, and scale, Aavik concluded that conventional stereo amplifier architectures were no longer sufficient to fully exploit what the loudspeaker was capable of delivering.

The result is the M-880: a true monoblock amplifier conceived not as a standalone component, but as part of a unified system. Rather than treating amplification and loudspeaker design as separate exercises, Aavik engineered the M-880 to operate as a coherent counterpart to the M8 Gold Signature so power delivery, control, and dynamic behavior are aligned with the loudspeaker’s capabilities from the outset.

From Michael Børresen, Co-founder & CTO, Audio Group Denmark: “The M-880 is the result of pursuing absolute performance without compromise, while breaking visual conventions in the unmistakable style that only Flemming can create. For the M8 loudspeakers, nothing less would suffice — and I’m proud of what we achieved.”

Class A Amplification

The Aavik M-880 is designed to push Class A amplifier performance further than conventional implementations. Its output stage maintains a precisely controlled 0.63 V bias, exceeding the current required for operation and ensuring true Class A performance at all times, regardless of load or signal dynamics.

This approach enables the use of smaller, locally positioned capacitor banks. Each of the eight output transistor pairs is supported by its own dedicated local reservoir placed immediately adjacent to the devices, minimizing current travel, shortening signal paths, and reducing noise.

By stabilizing the bias at this level, Aavik preserves the purity, linearity, and harmonic integrity typically associated with Class A designs, while allowing the amplifier to operate at significantly lower temperatures than traditional high-bias Class A amplifiers. The result is improved long-term stability and reliability without sacrificing performance. And for the buyers this amplifier is aimed at, concerns about efficiency or electrical bills are predictably, not part of the conversation.

Power Output: So… How Much Power Are We Talking About?

Each Aavik M-880 mono amplifier is rated to deliver 400 watts into 8 ohms, 800 watts into 4 ohms, and approximately 1,300 watts into 2 ohms. Its very low output impedance results in a damping factor exceeding 1,000 into 8 ohms, underscoring the level of control this amplifier is designed to exert over demanding loudspeaker loads.

That kind of output delivered in a true Class A operating regime is not common. At all. And while the M-880 was developed specifically to meet the requirements of the $1,150,000 Børresen M8 Gold Signature loudspeakers (ahem… very nice house), the amplifier itself opens up some rather interesting and far more flexible pairing possibilities. For listeners who may find the amplifiers more compelling than the speakers, there are flagship options from MartinLogan, Wilson Audio, Magico, Sonus faber, KEF, and DALI that would still leave room in the budget for… well, everything else.

The Power Supply 

Rather than using a traditional linear power supply, the M-880 employs four high-speed, low-noise switching power supplies, each rated at 500 W / 20 A—twice the number used per channel in the earlier Aavik P-880 two-channel power amplifier.

These supplies are supported by a 266 mF local energy storage bank capable of storing up to 1,050 J and delivering peak currents of up to 130 A. The result is a power system that adapts dynamically to audio demand while maintaining an extremely low noise floor, contributing to greater stability, improved control, and a wider dynamic range.

Current Paths and Noise Suppression 

The M-880 has reduced power dissipation, which enables the use of locally placed capacitor banks, with each output transistor pair supported by its own dedicated energy storage positioned directly adjacent to the devices. This results in exceptionally short current paths, reduced noise, and improved efficiency. 

Noise rejection is system-wide through proprietary Aavik and Ansuz technologies, including Active Tesla Coils (ATC), Active Square Tesla Coils (AST), third-generation Analog Dither Technology (ADT), and Anti-Aerial Resonance Coils (AARC) applied to internal wiring. 

Tesla coils in Aavik amplifiers are proprietary active, double-inverted, or square coils. The coils eliminate high-frequency noise and lower the noise floor, enhancing musical detail and transparency. 

Mechanical Grounding and Enclosure Design 

Each M-880 incorporates four Ansuz Darkz Z3w resonance control devices, providing mechanical isolation.

The enclosure, developed by Flemming Erik Rasmussen in collaboration with Michael Børresen, follows a form-follows-function philosophy. 

Its multi-layer construction features a wood-based laminate between a titanium base plate and an upper stainless-steel plate, topped by a internal copper chamber. This provides a controlled resonance behavior alongside exceptional EMI/RFI shielding. 

Designed and Built in Denmark 

Each Aavik M-880 monoblock amplifier is made at Audio Group Denmark’s facility in Aalborg, Denmark. The manufacturing process includes advanced CNC machining, cryogenic processing, and meticulous hand assembly. Each unit undergoes extensive electrical verification and final listening comparison against a reference before shipment. 

Comparison

The Bottom Line 

The Aavik M-880 exists at the intersection of extreme engineering and unapologetic excess, but it’s not empty spectacle. What makes it genuinely interesting are the technical choices: a true Class A output stage with tightly controlled bias, unusually high power delivery for a Class A design, extremely low output impedance, massive current capability, and a power architecture built around multiple high-speed switching supplies with large local energy storage placed exactly where it matters.

This is not a scaled-up version of a conventional amplifier; it’s a deliberate rethink of how Class A can be executed when thermal limits, noise, and stability are engineered rather than tolerated.

This amplifier is for a very specific audience: listeners who already own reference-grade loudspeakers, have dedicated rooms, reinforced floors, and zero interest in compromise or efficiency. At 31.26 × 13.46 × 20.07 inches and 70.0 kg / 154.3 lbs per chassis, each M-880 is effectively a small floor-standing speaker made of metal. You’ll need two for most stereo systems, and if you’re thinking about bi-amping, start counting in fours. 

Is it rational? No. Is it serious? Absolutely. The M-880 isn’t meant to be relatable; it’s meant to explore what’s possible when experience, resources, and ambition align. For most people, this will remain a thought experiment. For a very small few, it’s a statement piece that also happens to be one of the more technically ambitious Class A amplifiers to emerge from Denmark—where, apparently, there is something in the herring. 

Price & Availability

The Aavik M-880 Mono Power Amplifier is priced at $115,000 USD and available through Authorized Aavik Dealers.

For more information: audiogroupdenmark.com

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