In the same room I also came across the first model from Børresen's new, much more affordable Z series: The Z-1 is a two-way monitor with a ribbon tweeter and a five-inch mid-woofer. This Børresen driver is said to feature very low inductance and compression. The price is set at 10,000 euros the pair, while the matching stands retail for 2,400 euros. The two-and-half-way floor-standing model is labelled Z-2 and has got an eight-inch woofer in addition to the Z-1's driver configuration. It appears in the price list with 16,000 euros. Next is the Z-3, which adds a further woofer to the set-up. Of course, the eight-inch woofers are also manufactured by Børresen and feature low impedance and compression values as well. 23,000 euros are to be paid for a pair of Z-3s, which, however, still range below the smallest sized Børresen, the 01. The website also introduces a Z-5 with two midrange drivers and four woofers, but this was neither to be seen in the listening rooms nor in the price list. The models of the Z series are available in black or white.

Finally, we made it to the third listening room: This is where the components of the 580 series are hosted. As with the 180 and 280 series, there is an integrated amplifier, a phono stage, a streamer and a D/A converter. From a purely visual viewpoint, these components, each tagged at 20,000 euros, distinguish themselves from those of the smaller series primarily by titanium structures integrated into the housings to minimize resonance. Between the exterior made of a composite material and the electronics inside there is a shielding case made of copper sheets, as aluminum was largely avoided. The integrated amplifier provides 300 watts per channel, the converter handles PCM as well as DSD files.

With Aavik's 580 series we then listened not only to the Z-3, but also experienced the differences between a Børresen 01 and a 01 Silver Supreme with a ring of pure silver instead of copper between the ring magnets made of neodymium-52 in the motor of Børresen's proprietary mid-woofers. For the silver version, a surcharge of 13,335 euros is due on top of the basic list price of 25,000 euros. As always within the field of highest high-end gear, the last few percent more on the way to perfect euphony require not only enormous efforts, but an adequate investment as well. After the comparison I have no doubt that the use of silver is worth it, even if it, after all, only delivers slightly improved measurement values. Perhaps I will succeed in getting these two versions - or rather the Børresen 05 with about eight kilograms of pure silver built-in - into my listening room.