Multi-core phono cable with Distant Carbon Shield for sound improvement of record players

Abstract

At least two or more conductors per phase (1) separated by small cardboard discs (2) (µ r + ε r ideal) are kept separate from each other in a tube (3) made of foam with the highest possible air content and the lowest possible electrical and magnetic fundamental constant, around which a carbon shield (4) made of carbon nanotubes is wound as distance shielding, the distance of which to the signal-carrying conductors is greater than the EM field that can be determined with conventional hand-held measuring devices, i.e. at least 3 cm all around for the phono cable, whereby the distance shielding is supplemented by multiple outer windings of loose copper wire braiding (5) and by a layer of graphite spray (6) on the foam tube and thus as triple distance shielding by at least one pure copper cable of at least 1.5 mm diameter connected to the amplifier-side ground pole of the cable plug.

Description

[0001] In the audiophile sector of the hi-fi industry, there is no shortage of cables for connecting vinyl players.

[0002] Virtually all of these cables are designed as coaxial cables, meaning that the internal signal phase is surrounded by a directly adjacent ground phase.

[0003] This serves to protect against hum and other inductive interference, which occurs to an unacceptable extent in record players whose system-related microvolt signal must be amplified by a factor of 3-5000 to reach listening volume, as soon as this design principle is abandoned.

[0004] Unfortunately, record players connected in this way sound comparatively lame, imprecise and undynamic, which helps explain the decades-long triumph of the CD.

[0005] From DE 41 20 773 A1 it is known that at conductor distances, which are also common between the two wires of a phono cable, the electromagnetic field (EM field) of one wire affects the current flow in or around the other wire due to the so-called proximity effect.

[0006] Patent proposes a “metal shield” between the two wires, which, as is known from my own patent DE 10 2021 002 028 B3, in turn leads to a disturbance of the field and thus to a considerable deterioration of the signal.

[0007] DE 43 36 230 C1 discloses that improvements in signal transmission quality can be achieved by paired signal lines that are interconnected at the cable ends. However, this patent also provides for all wires to be routed close together in a common sheath, which is also provided with a shielding braid and a "core" located between the wires. This leads to the cable's own interference caused by the chaos of all the EM fields and interactions with both the neighboring wires and the other cable material.

[0008] This also applies to the utility model DE 298 02 143 U1, in which the problem was correctly identified, but the proposed solution - silver-plated copper strands covering a pure copper inner cable - is not a solution, since the EM field of the miniature signal from a pickup largely does not move within the cable, but rather in the dielectric air around it.

[0009] Therefore, even with phono cables, the fundamental goal must be to keep the EM field around the cable free from any interference caused by materials whose fundamental magnetic or electrical constants differ from those of the dielectric air, as is also known from my patent DE 10 2023 001 225 B3. This also means that the two phases must be separated by a distance greater than the EM field around the cables.

[0010] This is not the case, for example, with US Pat. No. 6,066,799 A, where both phases are wound around each other along their entire length, with alternating insulated sections, so that an uninsulated phase is always wound around an insulated one. A gas-filled tube of unspecified material located in the immediate vicinity is intended to prevent electrical contact with the outside world. In its entirety, this is an installation whose practical purpose is unclear. Supposedly, it concerns microphonics, i.e., the alleged inductive generation of interfering currents through the physical movement of cable components relative to each other in response to the signal currents, which, in our view, represents a pseudo-problem.It is true, at least, that a bundle of several of these devices connected in parallel would achieve a sound improvement due to the improved inductance and capacitance properties of the entire cable – but this is NOT the case with a phono cable, since the main problem with this, namely hum, is not addressed at all. The patent is explicitly described as "suitable between power amplifiers and to loudspeakers"; there is no mention of phono, except in the general introductory text. The invention itself is completely unsuitable as a phono cable; the hum would likely be louder than the music.

[0011] US 4 954 095 A also wrestles with microphonics, apparently à la mode in the 1990s. Here, thin, hollow copper tubes are proposed as sound-enhancing "cables." These tubes are apparently housed in a larger tube made of insulating material to prevent short circuits, which at least maintains a certain distance from the two signal tubes. It's true that thin tubes offer electrical advantages over bundles of stranded wires. It's not bad in some ways, but other ideas are better, and above all, it's completely unsuitable as a "cable" due to its inflexibility, and even more so as a phono cable due to hum, which isn't even addressed here; the inventor doesn't even attempt it and makes no claims in this regard.

[0012] US 7 446 258 B1 even attempts to achieve a sound improvement using three plus / minus phases wound around each other, each bundle individually shielded and then encased in an overall shield. This seems rather unlikely due to the direct contact of the signals with the inner shields. The inventor claims that an audible sound improvement was even observed when used as a power cable. He was also suggested to use it as a starter cable for cars. It is not a phono cable.

[0013] More talented designers can build an acceptable-sounding cable, but unfortunately, the better it sounds, the more humming it becomes. The problem is combining the two previously unconnectable primary requirements.

[0014] Because what is stated in DE 10 2023 001 225 B3 applies to phono cables as well as to speaker cables. However, a multi-core design massively increases the "antenna effect" against inductive interference.

[0015] Therefore, at the same time, a solution must be found to combat the hum and crackling from nearby power lines, which make any enjoyment of records impossible with an unshielded cable.

[0016] Carbon shielding to protect against inductive interference has long been known in aviation, where maximum weight savings are paramount, as exemplified by DE 199 07 675 A1 and EP 2 960 990 B1. Unfortunately, carbon shielding near a conductor completely ruins the sound. The high-frequency signal components are cut off, creating a musty, droning, and threatening atmosphere, completely unacceptable.

[0017] This is due to the braking effect of the conductor, postulated by Maxwell in one of his equations as early as 1865, to which, according to my own research, all material touched by the signal-carrying field must be added, resulting in the speed of field propagation v = c / √(µ r × ε r ) - that is, the speed of light divided by the square root of the electric and magnetic field constants multiplied by each other. As can easily be proven experimentally, this field speed is crucial for sound quality, with even small variations being clearly audible. Unsuitable materials in the cable and its surroundings can quickly reduce the speed from almost 300,000 km / s (ideally) to just 3,000 km / s, for example, which completely ruins the sound. Interestingly, "good" conductors in particular tend to have massive deceleration properties. Unfortunately, the global hi-fi industry has not yet realized the significance of this Maxwell equation.

[0018] The solution offered by the invention is: At least two or more conductors per phase (1) separated by small cardboard discs (2) (µ r + ε r ideal) are kept separated from each other in a tube (3) made of foam with the highest possible air content and the lowest possible electrical and magnetic fundamental constant, around which a carbon shield (4) made of carbon nanotubes is wound as a distance shield, the distance of which to the signal-carrying conductors is greater than the EM field that can be determined with conventional hand-held measuring instruments, i.e. at least 3 cm all around for the phono cable.

[0019] In an advantageous embodiment of the invention, this is further supplemented by multiple outer windings of loose copper wire braid (5) and a layer of graphite spray (6) from electric guitar technology on the foam tube. This triple distance shielding is advantageously connected to the amplifier-side ground terminal of the cable connector by at least one pure copper cable with a diameter of at least 1.5 mm. Thinner cables, due to their increased internal resistance, tend to transmit hum, which always seeks the path of least resistance, which explains the ineffectiveness of many thin, commercially available grounding cables.

[0020] Even excellent turntables sound significantly better, more powerful, and more accurate when using this invention. Transients become more realistic, the reproduced stage size increases, and the sound and positioning of reproduced instruments noticeably improve.

[0021] Even the smallest sound events that are lost with conventional solutions become clearly perceptible. Industry testers unanimously referred to an "SACD player effect," which represents quite an advance for phono.

Claims

[1] Device with at least two or more conductors per phase (1), which are kept separated from each other by small cardboard discs (2) and only brought together at both ends, in a tube (3) made of foam with the highest possible air content and the lowest possible electrical and magnetic fundamental constant, around which a carbon shield (4) made of carbon nanotubes is wound as a distance shield, the distance of which to the signal-carrying conductors is greater than the EM field that can be determined with conventional hand-held measuring devices, i.e. at least 3 cm all around for a phono cable. [2] Device for improving the sound of record players according to claim 1, wherein the distance shielding is supplemented by a multiple outer winding of loose copper wire braid (5) and by a layer of graphite spray (6). [3] Device for improving the sound of record players according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the shields are connected to the amplifier-side ground of the cable by copper cables of at least 1.5 mm diameter.

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