istory is unfolding before our eyes. Or at least it looks that way. We are witnessing the birth of a new brand - here and now. The first product with the Alluxity logo was presented in January 2013 at the CES show in Las Vegas but it wasn’t until a few months later, during the High End Show in Munich, that the whole world heard about it (see our coverage of the show HERE). As emphasized by audio journalists from all over the world, most notably including the Americans always convinced of the supremacy of everything that’s “theirs”, Munich is currently the audio show number one, at least when it comes to high end. Jonathan Valin in his report that was published in the September issue of “The Absolute Sound” simply says that “Good old-fashioned American chauvinism notwithstanding, Munich is by consensus the world’s most important high-end audio show, replacing CES as the place to do business” (Jonathan Valin, Highlights of The 2013 Munich High-End Show, “The Absolute Sound”, September 2013). That is why the presence of barely 20-years old Alexander Vitus Mogensen at the show was so significant. His company was founded not much earlier, in August 2010, when Alexander was 18. At this time, he had already worked over five years for a top high-end amplifier manufacturer (according to the company website). For a young man at the age when most important are girls, parties and hobbies, his CV is surely impressive.

To go to the heart of the matter I cannot help but recall an old short joke. A newly arrived tenant enters the Pearly Gates and to his surprise he sees a young man in a fantastic red Ferrari driving down the beautiful wide road at a breakneck speed. Shocked, he turns to Saint Peter and asks: “Who’s that? What’s all this about?” Peter, lowering his voice, replies: “Shhh, that’s Boss’s son…” I hope that the owner of Alluxity will not take my little joke the wrong way, but it's hard not to notice the parallels between his situation and that pictured in the joke: Alexander Vitus Mogensen’s father is Hans-Ole Vitus, the owner and "brain" of Vitus Audio. And we're home.
Of course, it is not my intention that all you remember from the story is that dad promotes his son. That is quite normal and I also try to promote my own son wherever possible. For example now: I ENCOURAGE ALL THE READERS TO VISIT HIS MUSIC BLOG, which you can find HERE. This kind of father-son relationship is nothing more than a pat on the back, though. The "offspring" must show their own energy and willingness to fight.
Hence, even though it was necessary to get the story going, let's skip the fact of family relationship between the two Danes and look at them as business partners. The links between AVA Group A/S, the owner of Vitus Audio, and AVM-TEC that owns Alluxity are obvious. What is interesting, however, is how they evolved and what shaped them. During his time at his father’s company, Vitus junior worked both in production and with designing mechanical parts in SolidWorks software. That helped him gain extensive knowledge of electronic device manufacturing and the role of 3D design in both electronics and mechanics. Pretty soon he took over the entire production of SMD components from Vitus Audio and four months later, upon substantial investment, he had a parallel production line to manufacture his own designs. Apparently, first production orders came from two major high-end manufacturers, reviewed in leading audio magazines (unfortunately, he won’t bloody say what they are – I may need to get him drunk or something). He manufactured for them amplification modules as OEM. Earlier, in 2012, he presented them at the CES show. The next logical step was his own electronics.

A few simple words from…
Alexandr Vitus Mogensen | Alluxity - owner, designer

Wojciech Pacuła: I noticed that amplification modules used in your components look quite similar to those I’d seen before in Vitus Audio, although they seem to be different versions of the latter – am I right?
Alexander Vitus Mogensen:  That is correct. I use the same form factor as VA does, but everything inside is completely different. The form factor will change during this year though, because it is possible for me (I do the SMD manufacturing for both VA and myself), after I upgraded to a machine in the top level of SMT. Also, we (VA and I) use the same topology for amplifiers, as I worked for my father for 5 years, and he has taught me everything I know about amplifiers.

How do individual versions of your modules differ between one another?
Like VA, I’m unfortunately not interested in disclosing anything about the inside of the modules, this is where the main IP is “hidden”.

Do you carry out any measurements as to the influence of rigid heavy enclosures on electronic components and circuits? Or is it just a matter of auditioning it?
It is a combination of both. Again, I won’t disclose any of our measurements.

Does the preamplifier and power amp employ fully balanced topology? Is the RCA input signal symmetrized?
Yes :)

Do you have any plans concerning a source?
I’m working on a media server and phono stage and hope to have at least a prototype of the media server ready for Münich.

I noticed that you use a lot of SMD components. Do you think they are better than classic through hole components?
Absolutely. SMD gives a smaller footprint = shorter signal path, which results less inductance and capacitance.

What are internet links in your components for?
When the media server is ready, there will be a webserver build into the media server, so the user will be able to connect directly to the media server with any handheld units, and control all the Alluxity units that are connected through the internet. This is to make the products more lifestyle oriented and make the whole system as easy to use as possible.

What challenges have you set before yourself?
I’m focusing on quality, quality and more quality and that everything should be module based. The module based solution makes future upgrades very easy, as it is changing new modules or a soundboard, which is mostly just 4 screws. 
I’m also focusing on the time it takes to produce the amplifiers, which is also a reason why I use a lot of SMD components and therefor investing heavily in SMT equipment. I upgraded my old Pick & Place machine to a new one which is the top of the line when it comes to flexibility (we are here talking about an investment up to $300,000). Also I use vapor phase, screening, I have an AUI (automatic checker for bad soldering etc.) and I have all the right tables etc. to have the correct anti-static environment.

Albums auditioned during this review

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• Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers, A Night in Tunisia, Blue Note/Audio Wave AWMXR-0021, XRCD24 (1961/2013).
• Bill Evans Trio, Moon Beams, Riverside/Victor Entertainment, VICJ-61325, K2HD CD (1962/2005).
• Chet Baker, It could happen to you, Riverside/ZYX Music OJC20 303-2, "Original Jazz Classics”, Super Bit Mapping CD (1958/1987).
• Dawid Podsiadło, Comfort and Happiness, Sony Music Poland 88430 07182 7, “Edycja specjalna”, CD + DVD (2013).
• Dietrich Buxtehude, Complete Organ Works, wyk. Herald Vogel, Musikproduction Dabringhaus und Grimm MDG 314 1438-2, “MDG Gold”, 7 x CD (1988-1993).
• Eddie Vedder, Into The Wild, soundtrack, Sony Music 88698-18240 2, CD (2007).
• John Coltrane Quartet, Ballads, Impulse!/Universal Music LLC (Japan) UCCU-40001, Platinum SHM-CD (2013).
• Mel Tormé, The Legend of Mel Tormé, Going For A Song GFS360, CD (?).
• Oscar Peterson, Unmistakable, Sony Music/Zenph Studios 951702, “Zenph Re-Performance”, CD (2011).
• Peggy Lee, Black Coffe, “Jazz The Best No. 17”, Decca/Universal Music K.K., UCCU-9517, “Jazz The Best No. 43”, gold-CD (1956/2004).
• Portishead, Dummy, Go! Disc Limited/Universal Music Company [Japan], UICY-20164, SHM-CD (1994/2011).

Japanese editions of CDs and SACDs are available from

There will be no escaping comparisons with Alexander’s father in this review. After all, the relationship between Vitus Audio and Alluxity is deep and lasting, both in terms of technology and people involved. It will, however, be only a starting point for further analysis. Alexander Vitus’ company already has its own "voice". While it builds on the experience of Hans-Ole Vitus, the opposite may be equally true, that the father used his son’s experience to create and then to shape the sound of his products.

Alexander’s system has a differently set tonality with a certain shift of emphasis based on another idea. Generally, the system under review has a similarly built sonic texture to that of e.g. the Vitus Audio SL-102 + SS-101 (see HERE). It is a soft, very friendly sound, clearly referring to that offered by turntables. It is an obvious simplification but also serves as a good introduction into the Alluxity world. Alexander Vitus’ system presentation is fresher and seems lighter than that of Hans-Ole’s. Bass extension is very deep although midrange, and lower midrange in particular, is somewhat less saturated and oriented more towards lightness. The sound is very refined, though, and the lightness I’m talking about has nothing to do with the lightness of cheap audio systems. The latter is a lack of something, insufficient saturation. The Pre and Amp ONE presents a beautifully colored sound, with large and full instruments. Still, the initial impression is so strong that it largely determines the differences between the "father" and "son."
The system prefers the first planes and refines the picture of major events. Acoustics, although natural and – let me repeat – similarly shaped to what we know from vinyl, is clearly subordinate to the interdependencies between tonality and dynamics. This means that e.g. vocals gain special recognition. But it also means that the system "boosts" inferior recordings, not massacring them for their flaws but instead rewarding for their fine and admirable qualities.

An example of that suggests itself in the form of Dawid Podsiadło’s album Comfort And Happiness. The Polish version of "Wikipedia" calls him an "alternative vocalist," which does not make an ounce of sense. The closest to him might perhaps be Jack Johnson, in whose case “alternative” describes his way of life (he is a professional surfer) and method of recording (in a solar-energy-powered studio). The further statements are true, however, namely that he is the winner of the Polish second edition of the X Factor talent show. From time to time, this type of shows discover such interesting music phenomena as Podsiadło. His soft, velvety vocal combined with a professional arrangement result in a very "listenable" and pleasant music. His debut album is well recorded and there is no problem with playing it on anything (it is also available on vinyl). However, it bears the characteristics associated with recordings intended for a wide range of customers and for radio playback. Radio stations are very eager to play Podsiadło’s songs. Recordings of this type are prepared differently than refined audiophile music productions. First of all, they make use of a lot of compression to boost the average volume level. Its side effect is a contoured sound and emphasis on those sonic aspects of various instruments that are responsible for sound attack.

The X Factor winner’s album is no exception, which was emphasized by the Alluxity system right at the outset. Cheap or failed audio systems that are too "tweaked" by their designers usually react to compression with aggression and sharpness. This happens each and every time, so if you hear something like that just get up and unhurriedly but steadily head for the exit from an audio salon or your friend's house you came to for an audition. Come back in half an hour with a bottle of good wine and talk about something interesting and cool. That will be a much better use of your time and money.
The Danish system does something exactly opposite. It reacts to this type of flaws with smoothing up the dynamics and homogenizing the tonality. The end effect is quite pleasant and does not destroy the pleasure of playing such CDs. And if they are as good as Podsiadło’s debut, we listen to them just like to any other "swell" CD from our collection.

On the other hand, if we use the Alluxity to play something that has been prepared “lege artis”, without undue compression and properly pressed, we get everything I described before plus above-average, even if carefully concealed, resolution. I use the term "concealed" not to describe the absence or lack of something, but rather in the context of its integration in the whole presentation. The Alluxity perfectly captures a large vocal up front and its accompanying instruments further up. The better the recording and the release, the more distinct it appears. But it was perfectly audible even on Portishead Dummy. Take its closing track Glory Box as an example. It features lead singer’s distorted vocals that sound like coming through a megaphone, not placed in the center but a little to the side. That was how it was shown by Alexander Vitus’ system, which added on top of that a very interesting tonal differentiation, focusing the listener’s attention both on the instruments and the vocals, each of them separately and differently, though.
I have already mentioned the best releases. What sounded best on the reviewed system were jazz recordings. The previous paragraph makes it clear that even trip-hop, if only interesting, stands a good chance. However, when we buy audio components we hope for something more, irrespective of their price. Listening to the above-mentioned albums, as well as to the recordings of the type of Eddie Vedder’s Into The Wild, will be really rewarding. The absence of sharpening and a masked contourness - all that will suit us just fine and will not exclude us from the kind of musical setting where this type of production makes an overwhelming majority.
However, what makes our heart race with excitement will be albums such as Black Coffee with Peggy Lee (preferably on gold), The Bill Evans Trio’s Moon Beams (K2HD) or even the European pressing of Chet Baker’s It could happen to you in Super Bit Mapping. The thing is that the high resolution of the system under review combined with its beautiful tonality are a great match for the minimalist recording techniques from those years. The amplifier brings out their inner tension without losing detail, to present us with a very mature interpretation of space and subtle changes in phrasing, tonality and dynamics. The vocalists are shown in front of us in a large and powerful way, a little before the speaker line, while the accompanying orchestra, band or trio are moved further up, yet not recessed. Each element is equally important and nothing is sacrificed for the sake of something else. Nevertheless, we hear vocals first and last. This is simply how we are made and the amplifier does not interfere with that.

The space I have mentioned above is large and thick. The sound is generally thickened and smoothed out. In the case of Vitus Audio I talked about a slight warming à la tube amplifiers. Here, what is common with the latter is the treatment of sound attack as some kind of preparation for the more important event, i.e. body. But there is no talking about boosted or increased midrange. The freshness I mentioned at the beginning comes from the fact that the tonality seems to be more neutral and hence more open. The top end is sweet and there is not much “plankton” between the sounds. It is the midrange and upper bass that create "connective tissue" between musical events. The upper bass seems slightly stronger than its surrounding range. It is audible with the double bass that always has a large outline and is "visible". The lowest bass is not as well controlled as on the Vitus amp and it may be worth spending some time to look for speakers with a bit drier and better controlled bottom end. My Harbeths that are no champions in this respect resulted in a slightly fat sound. Properly matched speakers will not help with a better amplifier control but will certainly contribute to a better controlled audio system.

Conclusion

Alexander’s audio components are characterized by low profile enclosures with no front panel controls. They use touch enabled displays and will soon be controllable by mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. The product is clearly and unashamedly intended for those who see traditional audio as too "heavy" and "macho". Fortunately, the end result was achieved without pretending it to be a lifestyle product, which would be extremely foolish. Its modernity is based on small details and restrained rather than lavish external design. There is nothing lacking in terms of design quality. Such good enclosure design is the domain of a handful of manufacturers that are conscious of what they do. So is electronic design, which is Alexander’s proprietary development. The sound of the system demonstrates designer’s interest in a coherent presentation, characterized by mature tonality and high resolution, but not overbearing with detail. Portishead-type electronica and krautrock sounded so good that they may constitute a large part of our music playlist. Well produced pop will also sound at least satisfactory, losing only a little bit of its dynamics and impact. Jazz albums will come out simply wonderful, with a special nod to vocal jazz recordings. The soft attack that is characteristic of the Alluxity components will prove a perfect match for the natural sound captured on the recordings from the 1950s and 1960s, and even older. With good album releases we will get something more: a more natural and truly three-dimensional soundstage, created not so much by treble as by midrange and bass. This results in a velvety sound, black background and large volume – not only of the foreground but also of distant reflections.
My only quibble was with dense rock music and the recordings where dense bass pulse-based rhythmic aspect is most important. While the amplifier shows them nicely and pleasantly, it smoothes them out to excess, passing over the "dirty" nature of their sound. Such is life.

The components are very user friendly and their functionality has been expanded by connectors to integrate them with and control them over your wireless home network (tablets, smartphones). Currently they can be remotely controlled by Apple devices.
It had taken some time before I could start the auditions. I originally received the units back in October and on their first power-on the power amp tripped out the fuse box in my block of flats (20 Amps). It had happened only once before during my review of the Beyond Frontiers Audio (BFA) Tulip amplifier (see HERE). No other amplifier, including mighty units from Vitus Audio, Accuphase and others, had ever done such a thing. The Alluxity distributor was surprised by the situation and carefully examined the amplifier only to say that it was working normally and would not trip out the fuse in any of his customers. I had no reason to disbelieve him so apparently it was just bad luck. The amplifier was sent back to me equipped with an integrated soft start system. This time there were no power-on problems.
The components were compared to the reference system as well as to the Accuphase E-600 amplifier and Tellurium Q Iridium 20 power amplifier. The review had a character of an A/B comparison with the A and B known. The preamplifier was sitting on the top shelf of the Finite Elemente Pagode Edition rack and the Acoustic Revive RST-38H board and additionally on the Franc Audio Accessories Ceramic Disc feet. The power amplifier was placed on the floor, sitting on another Acoustic Revive board and a set of Finite Elemente Cerapuc feet. Power was fed via the Acrolink Mexcel 7N-PC9500 (power amp) and the Harmonix X-DC350M2R Improved-Version (preamp) cords.

As you could read in the introduction, all Alluxity designs revolve around the concept of combining electronics and mechanics into one cohesive whole. This can of course be done in a variety of ways. Alexander has chosen the variant rehearsed earlier by Vitus Audio, with its even more extreme variations employed by Jeff Rowland (see HERE) and Ayre (see HERE), and on the Polish market by New Audio (see HERE). The idea is to use an enclosure machined of a solid aluminum block with milled out chambers for individual components and printed circuit boards. This results in a super-rigid unit structure, not particularly susceptible to vibration, mechanical deformation or EM and RF noise.

Pre-One

The preamplifier is just such a monolithic block of aluminum. Its top panel features a milled company logo and the front panel sports the distinctive touch screen display. Hence, no traditional controls are needed. When the unit is in standby mode, the display only shows a preamp icon. Touching it powers on the device and displays other icons. The display center is occupied by large, clearly legible digits indicating attenuation (volume level) relative to the reference 0 dB (full level). After pressing the "Menu" icon (on the left) the volume display is replaced by fields for selecting of active output - XLR or RCA. Nothing else on the menu not found. Next to the "menu" we still have volume up, volume down, and mute.

On the right side we have icons corresponding to individual input. There are five pairs of line inputs at our disposal – two unbalanced RCAs and three balanced XLRs. This is complemented by two pairs of outputs, one XLR and one RCA, and a pre-out on RCA that can be used, for example, to connect a headphone amplifier. All connectors are top quality, including the Furutech FP-901 RCA sockets. I have had them for years in my CD player and have yet to find better ones. The Pre-ONE uses the gold contact version (my player features the Rhodium plated one). The XLRs are gold plated connectors from Neutrik. An IEC power socket with mechanical switch is located centrally on the unit’s axis. In addition to the audio connectors there are also two other, usually encountered in completely different devices: an Ethernet port and a telephone socket marked as SPI. The first is used to integrate the preamp with your home network and enable remote control by tablets over Wi-Fi. The SPI socket is used to connect Alluxity components with each other so they can be controlled together. The whole looks fantastic.

Turning the unit upside down to look inside reveals four solid feet and an infrared receiver - I have seen this solution before in Jeff Rowland gear. The electronic circuit is mostly clustered in two (per channel) amplification and buffering modules – one for the input and output respectively. I know them from the Vitus Audio SL-012 preamplifier (see HERE). But the latter featured their earlier version - v1.1 in 2009, while here it is the version v1.4 of 2011.
The inputs are switched by relays, with the signal fed to them via short, 1.4 mm braided copper wire. The input seems to be capacitor coupled and features great Sprague capacitors. The modules are assembled using surface mount transistors. The attenuator is built similarly on SMD resistors that make up discrete resistor network switchable by sealed relay switches, the same as those used in the input. It seems that the attenuator is coupled between the input and output module.
PCBs are separate for the left and right channels. They are housed in separate milled out chambers, located on both sides of the power supply. The latter is based on two medium-sized toroidal transformers, mounted one above the other and surrounded by a solid aluminum wall. The empty spot has been milled in an aluminum block. As visible in the company photos, the spindle that holds the transformers is very thick and is part of the enclosure. The filtering capacitors and stabilizers found their place in the next chamber, before the transformer. Everything looks very professional.

Amp-One

The amplifier is housed in an identical enclosure as the preamplifier. The touch screen display is also the same although the icons are obviously different. The rear panel looks as neat as that of the Pre-One, sporting connectors from Furutech (RCAs and speaker) and Neutrik (XLRs).
The PCBs and transformers are mounted in their own milled out chambers. The toroidal transformers are this time mounted separately as they are too big to place them one above the other. The Amp-One employs a dual-mono design, like the preamplifier, with the power mains socket and display PCB being the only components shared by both channels. The transformers are really massive and are complemented by a sizeable capacitor bank, soldered right next to output stage power transistors. It consists of six large Elna and eight smaller Nichicon capacitors per channel. The output transistors are beautiful pairs of Sanken 2SC2922 + 2SA1216, unfortunately no longer in production, operating in push-pull Class AB. They are driven by smaller transistors, also from Sanken. They are mounted directly to the bottom plate, since the entire enclosure acts as a heat sink. The solution is also used in the Momentum Stereo amplifier from Dan D'Agostino, which employs a similar method of forced cooling. Instead of traditional heat sinks, the enclosure features milled out holes. It looks a class better (see HERE).
The input stage sports the same buffer modules as those used in the preamplifier, coupled via similar-looking Sprague capacitors. The input signal is fed to them via thick braided copper wire connected to the PCB with quick disconnects. The latter are top quality terminals from Furutech. It exudes class.