AAI goes extreme: ESTREMO
I tasted the all new Estremo range last year, on two remarkable occasions. The first involved a Guarneri violin and a Fazioli concert grand, the second involved my own TAD Revolution One loudspeaker project that I have thoroughly decribed earlier. I'll elaborate on these two occasions, but even though on both the occasions the Estremo components excelled, their designers at Slovakian AAI claimed that some final touches were still needed. It took half a year to finalize them - and I think it was worth the wait.
I'm sitting in a listening room, not my own this time, with some 250,000 euros worth of audio components, a good third of which is in cabling, mostly Synergistic Research’s latest top models. I know the room as well as I know my own, and the components too. The unknown is the AAI Estremo loom. There are five of us and we take turns in the listening sweet spot. Why five? Well, for my alibi, of course. To be perfectly honest, we tried the AAI Maestoso (original series) and some prototypes of the Assoluto in this system in the past, although it was before the Maestoso evolved into the Maestoso 2 and the Assoluto was upgraded to the Assoluto+. The result was like when you decide to chase a Ford GT with your family car on a highway. You may manage for a while in dense traffic, but then the road ahead clears and the GT is gone. In high-end parlance, that meant that the then-domestic SR SRXs were simply better and there wasn't much to decide. It's fair to note, however, that the duel was lopsided from the start for AAI, at least with respect to the price tags of the cables where any of the Synergistic Research cables outpriced their AAI counterparts by a factor of four to five.
This time it is said to be different. The guys from AAI are confident and when they are asked whether they would mind their cables battling with the new SRX XL loom, they just shrug their shoulders – Why not? So, here comes my idea with the alibi; I need witnesses when I will be explaining to AAI people that the Estremo cables are not bad for their price category. At least that is my initial assumption. Gregory Porter’s Liquid Spirit album (Blue Note 0602537431540) spins in the player, all the Estremos are connected, and I am pushing the PLAY button…
April, 2024
Before I report what I heard, I will travel back in time by 6 months. This is necessary to understand the principles of how AAI develops their products. It’s 9 o’clock in the morning and I am in the Moyzes concert hall. It is an acoustically unique Art Nouveau venue next to the Danube River in the building of the Faculty of Arts of Comenius University in Bratislava, Slovakia. Although it is still pleasantly cool inside the yet quiet building, temperatures will climb well above 30 degrees later that afternoon. There is only one person in the hall, leaning over the open board of a piano.
This particular instrument, the F308 model, was manufactured in 2015 by Milan-based Fazioli Pianoforti company and represents an absolute gem in their production, which is limited to just 150 pianos a year. It passed through several major venues, including famous La Scala, and even Herbie Hancock ran his fingers over its keyboard before Bratislava was given the unique opportunity to acquire it and place it at the Moyzes Hall in 2023. If you're wondering if your speakers are up to task, know that the list price of the F308 is around €225,000.
The F308 is a concert grand. The absolute “jewel in the crown” designed for modern large-capacity concert halls and very big spaces. It has immense power and extraordinary harmonic richness, owing to the increased string length in the bass section. It is endowed with a fourth pedal invented by Fazioli. Located to the left of the three traditional pedals, it reduces the hammer-blow distance THUS reducing the volume without modifying the timbre, at the same time facilitating the performance of glissandos, pianissimos, rapid passages and legatos.
If it is true that inappropriate playing can ruin a musical instrument, it is also true that in good hands an instrument matures and acquires personality. I'm not an expert - it was explained to me. Behind the keyboard, Zsolt Szabo, a master tuner of international fame is sitting. His task is to prepare the instrument for what is to come. In this process alone, one can't help but marvel at the way the grand piano sends individual notes into the room. I learn that the base soundboard comes from the same slow-growing spruce forest with dense annual rings that the famous Cremonese violin-makers sourced their wood from. I also learn that Fazioli uses a duplex system invented by Steinway. The back portion of the string, the resonator, is isolated from the part of the string hit by the hammer. The resonator vibrates in sympathy to the note struck. In Fazioli grand, the duplex is completely adjustable, and the length of the resonator can be modified and tuned to the finest detail. Zsolt explains me that Steinway pianos are prized for harmonic tonality, which is lacking in the Bösendorfer, which in turn has beautiful fundamental tone. The Fazioli cuts it in half - it has colour and richness of harmonics and sound fundamentals. If you take care of it.
Close the damn door!
Apart from technical maintenance routine (like replacing parts, refitting hammers, etc.), the biggest challenge is to keep the instrument tuned. Like the canvases of the old masters, the concert grand piano hates fluctuations. Just a difference of 1-2 degrees will detune a piano, as will the weather outside, especially when humidity changes. When someone opens doors or windows of a concert hall to let fresh air in before a performance or when air conditioning is switched on, or when the hall is filled by audience, then the microclimate changes, sometimes quite drastically. Then the instrument can get out of tune in a matter of minutes. It reminds me a bit of our musings on how the perception of sound of our systems changes with the times of day or with fluctuations of our mood. Pianists seem to have similar problems.
We have the Fazioli meticulously tuned, and the floor is getting populated with cables. Rasťo Pavlík (Pavlik Records) installs a phase aligned stereo pair of DPA4041, roughly 2 meters above and 2 meters from the centre of the piano. The violin and the cello will be miked by two DPA 4011 TL microphones. The takes will be recorded in a minimalistic set-up but in maximalist resolution, in native DXD 352.8 kHz / 32bit on Pyramix Virtual Studio/Merging Technologies Horus ADC console. Simultaneously, the data track will be laid on 16-track portable Yamaha AW1600 studio with Peter Štrauch of AAI behind it. The whole set-up will be exclusively powered (including the power distribution unit) and interconnected (including data cables and microphone cables) by AAI Estremo prototypes. It is not known fact that AAI develops also cabling solutions for professional studios. The goal of today is to record fantastic music and validate the Estremo loom in real life conditions.
„When recording, the main focus should be on recording the tonality, dynamics and timbre of the instruments as accurately as possible. Other parameters are secondary and most of them can be fine-tuned in the final mix by turning the potentiometer knobs. The most important thing is to get a healthy material, undamaged and undistorted signal into the recording. Unfortunately, the hifi world is kind of doing its own thing in this regard, which plays into the hands of the marketers."
Peter Štrauch, AAI
So, this is how it works in AAI - the guys don't feel comfortable in marketing, they prefer to focus on music. Today's session is proof of that, and the best is yet to come.
The 1st movement: Klaudius Kováč
Klaudius is a jazzman, teacher, performer, and above all a pianist par excellence. A musician who is known not only in Europe, but also across the ocean. A man with a tremendous feeling for music. Today, four of his own compositions will be laid "on tape" - the ballad Klaudia, dedicated to his daughter, the wistful Heartache, the improvisation Tears and the more upbeat I've Never Been in Love Before. The accompaniment is provided by cello and violin. God knows why jazzmen and bluesmen feel the need to let their soul's sorrows out through music. Why don't they play something to lift people’s spirits? But the microphones and the men behind the recording equipment don't have it easy either, because the session goes something like this:
Take 1 - That was good, what do you think? Let's give it another try and improve the solo!
Take 2 – The violinist: Oh, now I've messed it up. One more time, please.
Take 3 – The violinist: Can we do it again? [Klaudius raises his eyebrows and laughs]
Take 4 - In the middle of the solo, which is flawless this time, Klaudius' cell phone starts ringing in his pocket. Everyone laughs.
And so it goes. But that's not all. The AAI guys open their boxes and unpack specially made Estremo platforms, which are supposed to be placed, one by one, under the concert grand piano's feet and the cello’s spike. "Is that stainless steel?" the cellist asks. "Yes, but treated with our IST technology," the answer is. Eyebrows are raised. Crazy audiophiles.
The concert grand weighs 750kg and its polished lacquer should not be touched. Then a good old car jack is your best friend. Zsolt Szabo is starting to sweat - watching the piano rise above the floor is a tuner's nightmare. Eventually, though, the Estremo platforms are under the piano without mishap, and Klaudius places his fingers on the keyboard and runs through a short etude.
„ It's completely different now, the sound is much more colourful and the whole thing has opened up! The sound was great already, but now it seems as if it was closed down before."
Klaudius Kováč
What do I hear from my seat that is about five meters away from the piano? The sound undergoes the same transformation as a pair of loudspeakers previously placed on wooden floor, the standard feet of which were replaced with a premium aftermarket solution. The control over the sound is now at a completely different level, the instrument seems to fill the concert hall better, and notes become more legible and harmonies and aliquots more solid, more precisely rendered and distinct. As one of the musicians noted - "It's incredible. If the track was called Tears before, we should rename it to Rainbow."
A similar conversation goes between Peter from AAI and the cellist. It reminds me of the conversations (and sobering moments) I often witness at demonstrations of audio cables and similar accessories.
"What am I supposed to do with it?"
"Place it that under the cello’s spike." [Peter handing over another Estremo platform]
"But I don't need it, I don't use stuff like that, it's useless."
"Then just try it, and if does nothing for you, I'll put it back in the box."
This is followed by a short take without the Estremo platform, then two more with the Estremo, and then another one without the Estremo.
"Holy cow, what is that? And where can I buy it!?"
Track by track, the digital storage fills up with the recorded material and we work our way into the early afternoon. It's already hot outside and the town square that we overlook from windows is full of people enjoying the sun. The jazz trio leaves and Zsolt returns to tune the piano again, as he thinks that some notes are "not quite okay anymore".
The 2nd movement: Anna and Filip
If you are complaining about the financial side of high-end audio where prices are becoming more and more surreal, then what poor musicians are supposed to do? I’ve already mentioned a quarter of a million euro that Fazioli is worth of, now it's the turn of a violin.
The Guarneri 'Sphinx', crafted circa 1730-1733 at the famous workshop of Giuseppe Guarneri del Gesù, is considered one of the finest violins ever made. While its exact value would only be known at the time of its sale, it can be assumed that it is not far off from a comparable Guarneri, the 'Da Vinci' violin, sold for $16 million at a recent auction. The ´Sphinx´ are part of a private collection but are currently in the hands of Anna Agafia Egholm who I just talk to.
Not only is Anna Agafia a smart and nice person and has got a great sense of humour, she’s also one of the most talented violinists today. And she’s lucky too as she has the Guarneri Sphinx on loan. Filip Štrauch is a young piano virtuoso, living in Denmark, and a member of the AAI family.
Why am I writing about this? As I said earlier – I want you to understand how AAI works. In other words, what they benchmark their products against, what their reference for sound is. There are plenty of big-name audio brands who spread their universal truths about how the high-end systems should sound. However, when you spend days and nights in the company of virtuoso instruments and people who really know how to play them, your reference points will never be the same. And the next time you hear salespeople raving at an audio show about how lucky you are to hear the perfect sound of their products, you realize how far it is from the real thing. To their defence, let's face the truth: no equipment can 100% mimic the beauty of live instruments. However, it can be approximated. In the end, it's all about emotions.
Anna Agafia Egholm, photo courtesy of https://annaagafia.com/media/press-photos (Press Photo section), accessed on 26/01/2025
Filip Strauch, photo courtesy of Filip Strauch, https://www.filipstrauch.com
I think all of us, as we were in the room that day, have heard many good performers live on stages, and many high-end playback systems in studios and homes. But I can tell you one thing - I've never seen so many adult men with tears in their eyes as Anna bowed the strings... And that's the reference for AAI.
Six months later…
Back to the listening room with Gregory Porter. We start with the whole system wired with the latest SRX XL series loom (four power cables, one XLR signal cable and two speaker cables), then we listen to the same system with the AAI Estremo loom. The result? All participants agree it is different. Not better, not worse, just different. Some listeners point to the SRX's more relaxed and more diffuse playback, others prefer the Estremo's more open sound and its cleaner treble. I concur with all these opinions - either cable loom has its own attractivity. Let’s do the swaps one by one to see how individual cables project into the sound of the system.
Over the course of the afternoon and with the help of usual test tracks, some of which we hear more than thirty times, we gradually work our way through differences. I'm surprised the SACD player's laser hasn't burned through some of the silver discs we used. The methodology is simple - back go all the SRXs and then we swap cables one by one, back and forth as needed until we come to a consensus. Step by step, we continue for the total of five (!) hours to the point when the system is once again completely AAI Estremo wired. At the very end, everything is returned to the original state of the full SRX XL loom. To be completely transparent, it should be noted that the SRX XLs had only some 50+ hours of burn-in, and the Estremo's are brand new, so neither cable system is in optimal condition. It is unfortunately more and more complicated to test audio equipment, for some manufacturers suggest that 200 hours and more is minimum to hear the product’s potential. I tend to agree; I know how the sound of my TAD Revolution One speakers dramatically changed over the span of 1000 hours, when modified crossovers with new components were used. On top of that, the parts – and cables too – cannot be burnt-in for forever. If you disconnect them, they tend to slowly drift to the previous state. No matter what, all of expect a result commensurate with twice the price of the SRX. Here´s the short summary of what we heard that afternoon:
The AAI Estremo power cords outperformed the SR SRX XL. In this audio set-up, they provided more articulated and firmer sound with better tonality. They also delineated voices and instruments better, perhaps due to a very slight accent in upper midrange. Alternatively, the same could be seen as very slight attenuation of the SRX XL in the upper midrange, depending on what´s your reference point. Although the SRX had fantastic bass, the Estremo power cords provided comparable performance. The consensus of the listeners was 100/0.
I was very curious about how the Estremo XLR signal cable would perform. Initially, we found the SRX XL more attractive sounding but as we continued listening, the audience started to polarize. We swapped the signal cables forth and back many times before each of us settled on an opinion. The verdict was 80/20 in favour of the Estremo. Soundstaging was clearly one of the virtues of the Estremo. It better filled the soundstage extremes, especially diagonals, while the SRX XL´s soundstage was slightly congested. Also, the Estremo provided cleaner sound against quieter backdrop, so the sounds emerged with bigger contrast. There are endless variables for the Synergistic Research system as it is highly adjustable within its own ecosystem. That´s why it has ´Synergistic´ in its name. On the other hand, AAI has ´Authentic´ in its name and the resolution, colours, and openness were closer to the sound of live instruments. We decided to repeat the interconnect shoot-out later and in much bigger context. Keep reading.
The AAI Estremo speaker cables were good, but not exceptional. Not even for the price. They had cleaner sounding highs and perhaps a bit more tonal richness than the SRX XL reference that sounded more complete and wholesome across the spectrum. The listener’s consensus was 80/20 in favour of the Synergistic cables.
The Estremo vs the world
I was so impressed by the Estremo power cords that I took pieces with me. I connected them to free power outlets/inlets in my reference system and let them play for two weeks before I reserved an afternoon for another critical listening that proved how individual the power-supply-related things were.
It makes no sense whatsoever to try describing what the Estremos did to the sound device by device. One, it would be too long, two, the experience is not transferrable anyway. However, there is one critical power cord that sits at the entrance of the whole audio system – the one that connects the wall socket with the first device, no matter what the device is. In my case, Shunyata Research Denali 6000T is the first in line in my dedicated audio circuit. I keep using Synergistic Research’s Atmosphere Level 2 on its IEC19 input. By usual measures (related to product hierarchies and price lists) it is a totally lacklustre cable. Yet, I tried many other cables in the very same position, including Nordost Valhalla 2, AudioQuest Hurricane, Synergistic Research SRX, Shunyata Research Omega and Sigma and as well as their XC V2 versions, Ansuz Mainz C2 and D2, and recently Stage III Concepts Proteus. Each has its highs and lows, none trumps the Atmosphere 2 in this exact position. Neither the AAI Estremo. Although the Estremo provided me with better separation, a touch cleaner top end, the Atmosphere Level 2 was a better-balanced cable in this application.
The things went differently in the parallel filtration circuit (yes, the power management in my own system is quite complicated). There I use AAI Assoluto and once again, I tried dozens of competitors to push the Assoluto out with no success. The AAI Estremo was breathtaking when it replaced the Assoluto. The sound got much better defined, contours got firmer, colours more vivid, decays trailed off into quieter background, and dynamics got an energy boost. Wonderful.
Not always the longer means better. With the Estremo it does. I did not try any extremes as I had 1.5m and 2.0m lengths on hand, but there was clearly audible difference in how the sound was composed and controlled with the longer one. The music had better flow, it was better organized and very life-like. There are theories why longer power cables sound better, and there are theories why shorter cables do. With the Estremo the order of the difference was alike replacing a stereo power amplifier with two monos.
Top down: Synergistic Research SRX , Krautwire Super Symetric, Nordost Odin 2, AAI Estremo, Stealth Audio Sakra V16
Despite their understated appearance, the AAI Estremo cables have ability to compete with the best. And I mean the best. Encouraged by the power cable experiments I organized loans of several truly high-end interconnects. So, the Estremo signal cables were benchmarked against Ansuz (Signalz C2/D2), Stealth Audio (Metacarbon/Sakra V16), Krautwire (Super Symetric), Nordost (Odin 2), Synergistic Research (SRX) and AudioQuest (Dragon/Thunderbird). And the winner is…
I won’t tell you. The synergy between the cable and the devices the cable interconnects decides, and the result may vary case by case. Although it is difficult to objectivize the result, my personal conclusion is that the AAI Estremo signal cables would end up between 5th and 7th position out the 10 cables, from which some are sold for the price of a family car. Not bad, isn’t it?
Evolution means getting closer to perfection
AAI has a similar approach to – let’s say - Accuphase. There are not radical differences between product lines, nor between their newer and older generations. Why change something that works? So, the focus is on incremental improvements that accumulate and that, over the span of two or three generations, represent a significant advance when compared directly. Those details include both cosmetics, such as the fine printing of Schuko plugs of the Estremo power cables, and the continual advancements in the AAI’s proprietary IST technology that changes the material properties of the conductors and terminations, as well as evolutional steps in design elements – using different signal cable plugs, using different gauge wires, and in the case of the Estremo line, a return to silver-plated copper instead of pure silver. Why? Because it was more sonically rewarding and closer to the benchmark sound. Interestingly, many big cable brands ended up with silver-plated copper for their top models as well, even though these are often cost-no-object cables.
So, when you get your hands on one of the new Estremo’s, remember what the main input was to validate and tune its sound and where AAI has anchored its reference point. If AAI continues like that, we may one day see an Estremo The Sphinx.
Don't touch it before you listen…
As I mentioned, the new Estremo had replaced the Assoluto power cord in my system. I enjoyed it for few days, completed the listening notes, finalized the review, and came down with flu for a week. Then spring break and two weeks of business travelling. The Estremo remained in the system during that period and because I never switch the electronics off, it continued to break in. Then the day came when I listened to the music again. Wow! There was a big difference from a few weeks ago; the sound relaxed, opened up, and matured. I cued up the piano from Gerald Clayton’s excellent take on Hymn to Freedom by Oscar Peterson, as found on a phenomenal SACD remaster by Japanese King International label that was issued by Accuphase (Special Sound Selection 6).
Suddenly, I had a realistic sounding piano in my listening room. It had superb tonality, dynamics, size, and transients. The Estremo managed to separate the hammers, strings, soundboard, pedal mechanics, and the felt of keys. Not only sonically but also with holographic accuracy, as if the real instrument was with me in the room. I could not believe what I was hearing and was listening to the track on repeat for good two hours.
So, my advice is: plug the cables in and let the system play for at least a week. Then prepare for a surprise. And please – put all cliches and prejudices (like “not expensive enough”) aside; I’ve been in serious audio for more than 30 years and the new AAI Estremo cables belong in the endgame category. Easily.
Price as reviewed:
AAI Estremo XLR/RCA signal cables, set: 4,961€ for 1m
AAI Estremo power cables: 5,169 € for 1.5m
AAI Estremo speaker cables, set: 6,640 € for 2.0m
AAI Estremo digital cables (USB, LAN, S/PDIF), pc: 2,140€ for 1m
Contact: Authentic Audio Image (AAI), Povážská Bystrica, +421 905 694 943, www.aai.sk
Equipment used:
- Sources: Accuphase DP-720, Ayon CD-35 HF Edition
- Amplifiers: TAD-M2500, Audia Flight Strumento No.8
- Interconnects and speaker cables: Krautwire Numeric Digital, AudioQuest Dragon Zero | Bass, plus all the cables that were mentioned in the test
- Loudspeakers: TAD Revolution One, Silent Laboratories Melodee
- Power conditioning: Shunyata Research Denali, Stromtank S-1000, Ansuz Mainz C2, AAI Maestoso, AAI Assoluto, Synergistic Research Atmosphere Level 2 a SRX XL, Nordost Qv2, QWave and QSine, Diamond Sound E2 grounding, GMG Power X-Blocker Exclusive, IsoTek Syncro V5 Uni, AAI power distribution unit
(C) Audiodrom 2025
