After nearly two decades of working on the development of grounding boxes, vibration damping, cabling, and magnetic fields, many pieces of the puzzle finally fell into place, transforming questions into exclamation points. This led directly to the creation of two new products: Protectus and MaxMix T2. We are confident that we will be able to introduce more new products soon, as our understanding of the importance of magnetic fields becomes clearer.
To understand the development of Protectus and MaxMix T2, let’s quickly review the conditions and issues related to vibrations, magnetism, and high-frequency interference. It’s a bit like the chicken-and-egg question: which is the cause, and which is the effect?
Current generates magnetism and vibrations. Magnetism generates current and vibrations. Vibrations generate current and magnetism. When we affect one factor, the others are automatically influenced.
It is undeniable that:
- In all wires carrying alternating current (AC), magnetism is generated, which also results in vibrations (Ampère’s Law).
- Magnetism, in turn, generates current and vibrations (Faraday’s Law).
- Almost all metals are magnetic to some extent and are affected by and produce their own magnetic fields when subjected to current and vibrations. By understanding how different metals affect various frequency ranges in magnetic fields, we can tailor a mix of metals to filter out high-frequency noise in the signal, reducing noise and dynamic limitations.
We do not receive pure 230V 60Hz voltage from our wall outlet. What we get varies greatly from place to place and from time to time. There is a significant amount of overtones and high-frequency noise on the power grid. This is a byproduct of all switched-mode power supplies, motors, lighting, etc. These byproducts increase the strength, shape, and frequency range of the magnetic fields, which negatively impacts electronic performance. This is what we call “Power Grid Magnetism.”
This can be influenced by the metals used in power connectors, the material of the insulation, the construction of the power cable, and by using various minerals/metals to eliminate high-frequency noise.
Then we have the magnetic fields generated by signal and speaker cables when signals pass through them. We refer to this as “Signal Magnetism.” Speaker cables, in particular, generate the strongest fields in terms of signal magnetism.
Over the years, we have worked on influencing magnetic fields and draining high-frequency noise in what we call signal magnetism with our grounding boxes and Eartha cables from the Tellus/Olympus series. We have drainage features in our cables (EEDS) and a wide selection of boxes and EA cables to connect to the part of the electronics that deals with the signal itself.
One of the most effective places to connect our traditional grounding boxes from the Tellus/Olympus series has proven to be the amplifier’s negative speaker terminal. Imagine an amplifier driving a pair of speakers through speaker cables. Because an amplifier often draws significant current, strong magnetic fields are generated. In addition to the high-frequency noise and magnetism the amplifier picks up from the already polluted power grid, the speaker cables themselves generate magnetic fields, and the speaker itself is an enormous source of magnetism. Here, we have a mix of power grid magnetism and signal magnetism. This largely explains why the power cable is so crucial for sound quality, but more on that later.
The sum of useful signal, magnetism, and high-frequency noise is amplified in the amplifier and sent to the speaker via a cable, which in turn generates additional magnetic fields and high-frequency byproducts. All of this returns to the amplifier via the speaker connection’s negative terminal. The amplifier now has to handle a signal with additional high-frequency overtones, which it sends out again.
The more power-hungry the speaker, the higher the current and stronger the magnetic fields generated. This corresponds with the general perception that speakers that are easier to drive, like horn speakers, often sound more pleasant and musical. By connecting one of our grounding boxes from the Minimus, Tellus, and Olympus series with our Eartha cables to the amplifier’s negative speaker output, we can influence the magnetic fields and drain much of the high-frequency noise coming back from the speaker, preventing it from re-entering the device. This significantly reduces the highly undesirable magnetic fields in and around the equipment. However, negative speaker grounding only avoids exacerbating the problems. The fundamental issues with high-frequency noise and magnetism in the signal source and preamp remain, and these problems are best addressed by connecting a grounding box to the signal ground of these devices to drain away high-frequency noise and magnetism. Still, a significant amount of high-frequency noise circulates within the device chassis, which the protective ground is not capable of handling.
Protectus effectively reduces vibrations and high-frequency noise in power grid magnetism. That is, the interference that hums in the chassis and is primarily generated by the power grid.
Protectus is a platform made of cross-laminated wood, which we have implemented with an “anti-magnetic” metal mix. The reason we use cross-laminated wood instead of the popular and much cheaper high-density MDF, stone, or solid wood is as follows: By having the wood fibers oriented crosswise in many layers, vibrations are absorbed into the fibers rather than being reflected away. Inside Protectus, we have also created cavities in a strategic pattern, which we fill with metal spheres of various sizes and materials, such as silver, copper, titanium, tungsten, etc. The metal spheres effectively convert vibrational energy into heat through friction. Additionally, all cavities are interconnected with copper, silver, and aluminum, which are electrically conductive and create a mild galvanic circuit when combined, as well as conduct heat. By connecting the device’s chassis and Protectus with a cable, we achieve both a mechanical drainage of micro-vibrations to Protectus and a galvanic connection that drains high-frequency currents and magnetism to Protectus.
Thus, Protectus works in three areas:
- As a stable vibration-damping base.
- As a grounding point for high-frequency currents/power grid magnetism in the device’s chassis.
- By using a mix of different metals to create a magnetic field that influences the device’s magnetic field, thus pushing high-frequency noise back.
For those using Schuko plugs, a simple way to understand and experience what Protectus does for the sound is to reverse the plug in the wall socket, causing the devices to become out-of-phase. What happens then is that the magnetic fields around the devices increase. This increase in magnetic fields is said to occur because the current flows the wrong way in the transformer.
For signal grounding, we recommend using one of our grounding boxes from the Tellus or Olympus series along with the Eartha cable.
Tellus/Olympus is designed to drain high-frequency noise in the signal part and complements Protectus, which is designed to address high-frequency noise from the power grid and chassis.
MaxMix T2 It affects both through its construction by reducing vibrations at the speaker terminals and by influencing the magnetic fields around the terminals with the magnetic properties of the metal mix. The result is a lowered noise level, increased dynamics, and better flow.
The perfect combination
We believe these products represent one of the most significant steps forward in our research to date. Both MaxMix T2 and Protectus offer some of the most comprehensive methods to reduce unwanted noise and micro-vibrations in your system. Set up of both is simplicity itself and the results are nothing short of phenomenal. As part of a broader scheme of lowering your noise floor, these are simple and essential first steps.
Both the MaxMix T2 Kit and Protectus are available for purchase from your Entreq retailer now.
Products featured in this article
MaxMix T2 Kit
The MaxMix T2 kit comprises of two Max T ground posts and two Mix T2 posts which attach to the positive and negative terminals at the loudspeakers. These posts, as well as reducing physical micro-vibrations, contain a specific and special combination of metal windings which in tandem work to both reduce vibrations at the terminals and more importantly to influence/reduce the magnetic fields around the terminals. The result is a lowered noise level, increased dynamics, and significantly better signal flow.
Protectus
Instead of letting three feet do the job, Protectus uses the entire surface under the device to cause a greater effect. Protectus is comprised of layers of cross-laminated timber with cavities made in a strategic pattern that we fill with mixed metal spheres of various materials and sizes. These metal spheres effectively convert vibration energies into heat. Since all metals are connected, galvanic currents are generated, forming a magnetic field that affects the electromagnetic fields within the devices.