Mainz8 D3

Why it is renowned

The British magazine hi-fi+ reviewed the Mainz8 D3 in 2024 and found that it kept noise out of the system so well that every component tried with it opened up and showed more musical detail.¹ The reviewer heard more space, image depth and dynamic contrast, and a cleaner, more open result than from the cheaper Mainz8 A3.¹ It sits a little over halfway up the Ansuz range of power distributors.¹

The story

The 3 in the name marks the third generation of the Mainz8, whose main change is a third generation of analog dither, a technique taken from radar in which pulsing signals sent in antiphase lower the noise floor.²¹ The D3 carries eight of these dither circuits.¹ Tesla coils wound in opposite directions cancel voltage spikes, with a zirconium bar to control their resonance, and a star-ground point of the lowest possible impedance keeps noise from passing to the connected components.²¹

The case is made of a natural-based composite first developed by the sister brand Aavik, used to cut back on aluminium and its resonance.² It stands on metal feet made to take Ansuz Darkz resonance-control feet beneath.¹ The outlets are European Schuko or US sockets; the unit measures 500 by 263 by 91 mm and weighs 5.4 kg.²