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SCANSONIC | DENSEN
DENSEN B-410XS CD PLAYER
Radiance Audio Visual is now
distributing Denmark’s Densen
products in Australia. It says one
of the most popular models is
the B-410XS CD Player, which
also doubles-up as a DAC.
One of the features that dis-
tinguishes the Densen B-410XS
from most other CD players is
that Densen developed its own
software to control not only the CD
drive, but also the complete user interface, including the
display and the remote control. The CD drive itself is modifi ed at
Densen’s Danish factory so that the unit’s motherboard controls the
system clock, to avoid jitter by using same clock at both the sending
and the receiving ends of the data stream.
The power supply of the B-410XS uses a large custom toroidal
transformer with four separate output windings for the B-410XS’s
four individual power supplies. Custom capacitors provide 40,000μF
of storage—more than is found in some amplifi ers. The DAC and
analogue boards are separate from the main CPU board, and are able
to be upgraded so it’s possible to convert the B-410XS into a B-420XS
or B-440XS. The analogue stage uses Densen’s unique non-feedback
Class-A topology.
‘The B-410XS is the result of Thomas Sillesen’s (head of Densen) desire
to make a CD player that is the benchmark for what can be expected from
CD players not only at the same price, but also at higher prices’,said Chris Strom, of Radiance
Audio Visual. ‘Listen to the B-
410XS and you’ll fi nd the sound is
transparent, dynamic, exact, engag-
ing, and musically correct, with a
precise soundstage. It has the unique
ability to create a sound so good you
will forget you are listening to a CD
player.’
Strom has a strong personal
connection with Densen. ‘I’ve always
had a soft spot for the product, not least
because of its lifetime warranty, slim
lines and high-quality sound, but also because my family lives in the very
town in Denmark where Densen is manufactured,’ Strom told Australian
Hi-Fi Magazine. ‘When I heard that Warren Stolmack (Densen’s previous
Australian distributor) was retiring, I called to wish him all the best. During
our conversation he asked if I would like to take over Densen distribution
in Australia for him. It was an easy choice to make and I can reassure all
existing Densen customers that Radiance AV will continue to offer the same
high-quality distribution and service Warren provided in the past.’
Available now, the Densen B-410XS CD Player/DAC retails for
$3,290.For further information about Densen components, please
contact Radiance AudioVisual on (02) 9659 1117 or visit the
company’s website at http://www.radianceav.com.auSCANSONIC HD
M-SERIES SPEAKERS
Scansonic has released four new models that some claim are simply
budget-priced versions of similar speakers made by Raidho. Raidho
speakers, designed in Denmark by Michael Børresen, are expensive.
But did you know it’s the very same Michael Børresen who designed this
range of speakers for Scansonic that have far-friendlier price tags? Did
you also know that Raidho and Scansonic are both owned by the same
Danish company, Dantax? In fact, Scansonic specifi cally says that the
models in its new ‘HD’ M-Series range are not only ‘Raidho-inspired’ but
also that ‘they have much of the Raidho family DNA and pedigree.’
Børresen himself told Australian Hi-Fi Magazine: ‘From the start, I was
very focused on building on all the experiences and strengths I obtained from
designing the Raidho speakers, and aware of the long heritage and the Nordic
design tradition of the Scansonic brand.’ The task reportedly came with
fi nancial limits, but despite these, certain core techniques from Børre-
sen’s designs for Raidho have resurfaced in the Scansonic models, most
signifi cantly the use of a ribbon tweeter.
Scansonic’s new M-series range comprises a compact stand-mount
(M-5), two fl oor-standers M-6 and M-9) and an active subwoofer. All
except the subwoofer use the same ultra-light ribbon planar tweeter used
in the MB-series, which has a membrane is formed by a Kapton-alumini-
um sandwich just 20μm thick and whose mass is claimed to be
50 times less than the dome of any dome tweeter. This lower mass trans-
lates directly into higher resolution and lower sonic colouration. This
tweeter is partnered with a paper-polypropylene coned 114mm mid/bass
driver (one in the M-5 compact stand-mount and two in the M-6 and
M-9 fl oor-standers). The M-9 fl oor-stander adds a 203mm side-mount
bass driver to the driver complement.
For more information, contact Entertaining Environments on
(03) 8669 2683 or visit http://www.e-e.com.au.