The LS-404 Micro AIR is a further installment in the success story of the Micro AIR technology: As with the already legendary AIR Helix cables, air is also a central component of the insulation concept in the Referenz Micro AIR technology. Due to the low speaker impedances, however, low line resistances and a low inductance are also very important for speaker cables. For this reason, the Referenz LS-404 Micro AIR uses a total of 8 concentric copper conductors in addition to the air dielectric. Thanks to this multicore architecture, the magnetic fields of the positive and negative conductors overlap and neutralize each other. This significantly reduces the inductance of the cable, which guarantees unaltered transmission of the audio signal over a broad frequency spectrum. Due to our approach, the LS-404 has an extremely balanced sound character with precise timing, on top of a solidly controlled foundation. This cable is primarily designed for full-size floorstanding loudspeakers. The impression sound makes on the listener is always subjective, of course, and depends in no small part on the overall constellation of a hi-fi system. In the end, the decisive factor is your own personal listening impression.
in-akustik Reference LS-404 Micro Air Speaker Cable
Micro AIR technology
We are not able to switch off the laws of nature, so the best we can do is use them as ingeniously as possible. Due to the laws of nature, every cable exerts so-called parasitic effects. These include capacitance – the capacity to store energy like a battery and release it again with a time delay. This effect has a considerable impact on the transmission of audio signals and is therefore unwelcome. Capacitance is a physical property, and its value depends on a number of different factors, one of the most important of which is the insulation material used, also known as the “dielectric”. The dielectric material can considerably increase the capacitance of the cable. Because air doesn’t do this, it’s ideal for insulation purposes. One of the insulation elements in the Micro AIR technology is a complex, diamond-shaped structure. The tiny chambers created by this structure increase the distance between the conductors and raise the air content of the insulation. This method reduces troublesome capacitance effects and optimizes the cable’s transmission characteristics for the sensitive audio signals it needs to transport.
Concentric copper
Unlike the sometimes chaotic arrangement of individual wires in conventional conductor designs, concentric copper conductors are arranged in a precisely defined multi-layer pattern. This design reduces irregular contact points between the wires, which harmonizes the signal flow and minimizes runtime differences. Impulses can be reproduced with pinpoint accuracy and the spatial information of the music is retained. A thin layer of polyethylene protects the high-purity copper from oxygen and thus from oxidation.
Copper is the best electrical conductor after silver under normal conditions. Compared to cheap CCA (Copper Coated Aluminum) in particular, copper has a significantly better conductivity and is also mechanically more resilient. The conductors of the Micro AIR cables are made of high-purity OFC (Oxygen Free Copper).
