Product information "LS-404 Micro AIR"

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.

Click here and discover the exciting details

Application: High-end speaker cable
Cable diameter: 16 mm
Conductor cross-section: 2 x 10.48 mm² (8 x 2.62 mm²)
Conductor design: Concentric copper
Conductor material: High-purity OFC copper
Conformity: CE, REACH, RoHS
Connection type: SBW, SW
Connector housing: Solid metal
Contact enhancement: Rhodium-coated
Contact material: Beryllium copper, Brass
Customized assembly: On request
Design: 8-fold multicore
Dielectric: Air chambers
Length: 2 m, 2,5 m, 3 m, 3,5 m, 4 m, 4,5 m, 5 m
Product group: Loudspeaker cables
Product category: Referenz speaker cables
Quality: Referenz
Technology: Micro AIR Multicore
Connector: Banana Cable lug Easy Plug
Connector highlight: Spring-loaded contact fork
Made in Germany: Yes
Free trial listening: Yes
HiFi Test logo in red and white
"in-akustik recommends the LS-404 Micro Air `first and foremost for full-size floorstanding loudspeakers`“. Personally, I would express this a little differently. The in-akustik LS-404 Micro Air is a fantastic cable for all full-range broadband speakers that don’t require ‘support’ in a specific frequency range and are able to adequately deal with the extremely high resolution and precise dynamics transported by the in-akustik LS-404 Micro Air. Price-performance: excellent" HiFi-Test | 02-2022
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in-akustik Micro AIR LS-404 Best Buy 2022 Label
"We are truly a little proud to tell you that our LS-404 Micro AIR speaker cable has been awarded the "Best Buy of the year - 2022" award. The award is presented by the trade magazine HiFi Review from Hong Kong. We would also like to take this opportunity to thank our sales partner Wellwick for their outstanding work. HiFi Review | 10-2022
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Audio Reader's Choice 2023: Golden Ear for LS-404
We did it again :-) Our LS-404 Micro AIR loudspeaker cable has taken top place in the AUDIO Readers' Choice 2023! First of all, a big thank you to everyone who voted for the LS-404 Micro AIR. Your support makes this award possible and shows us that we are on the right track with our products. We are also delighted for our product developer, Holger Wachsmann. Thanks to his outstanding work, the LS-404 Micro AIR has become a real highlight.  We hope that you continue to enjoy our products and look forward to many more musical moments with you. Many thanks to everyone, and congratulations to the whole team and especially to Holger! Audio Readers' Choice | 2023
HiFi Test Logo 2/22 Reference Class 1+
In-akustik recommends the LS-404 Micro Air primarily for mature floorstanding speakers. I would phrase it differently. The Inakustik LS-404 Micro Air is a phenomenal cable suitable for all fully extended and wide-ranging speakers that do not require any particular support in a specific frequency range, and that can adequately reproduce the high resolution and precise dynamics conveyed by the Inakustik LS-404 Micro Air. Value for money: very good." HiFi-Test | 02-2022
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Logo of the magazine AUDIO in red and white
"Everything is made in Germany, from the copper to the connections. And the developers' stroke of genius. The speed increases significantly, the space becomes larger, but the price remains humane. In our opinion, this is the in-akustik cable with the best price-performance ratio." Audio | 03-2022
Go to the test report
  • 1 x stereo set Referenz LS-404 Micro AIR
  • Quality certificate

If you have any questions about product safety, please contact:
in-akustik GmbH & Co. KG
Untermatten 12-14
79282 Ballrechten-Dottingen
Germany
Tel.: +49 (0) 7634 5610-0
E-Mail: service@in-akustik.de

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in-akustik Reference LS-404 Micro Air Speaker Cable
Reference LS-204 XL Micro Air Speaker Cable
in-akustik Excellence LS-40 speaker cable
Name
LS-404 Micro AIR
LS-204 XL Micro AIR
LS-40
Rating
Description

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.

Click here and discover the exciting details

The new Referenz Micro AIR series 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 new 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-204 XL Micro AIR uses a total of 6 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-204 XL has a balanced sound character with precise timing, on top of a solidly controlled foundation. This cable is primarily designed for full-size floorstanding speakers. Sound, of course, is always subjective and depends not least on the overall constellation of a hi-fi system. In the end, the decisive factor is your own personal listening impression.

Click here and discover the exciting details

Inductance is a critical behavioral feature of a cable, causing resistance to the signal flow, rising with the frequency. Multicore architectures, such as that of the LS-40, reduce this effect and bring more precision and punch to the sound.

The conductors of the LS-40 are made of high-purity copper. Under normal conditions, copper is the next-best electrical conductor after silver. Compared to cheap CCA (Copper Coated Aluminum) in particular, copper has a significantly better conductivity and is also mechanically more resilient.

The stranded wire design is a tried and tested conductor design in the hi-fi sector. Each conductor consists of 50 x 0.25 mm strands that are "twisted" together. The advantage of this design lies in the economical method of production and the mechanical flexibility, which increases with smaller diameters of the individual wires.

The conductor cross-section of 2x5.0 mm² is the foundation for a dynamic and powerful sound. The polyethylene (PE) insulation of the LS-40 has very good electrical properties. Compared to PVC, it halves the annoying battery-like capacitance of cables. The reproduction gains in brilliance and spatial quality.

The PE network jacket protects against mechanical damage and serves as additional insulation.

Price

€651.00*

€591.00*

€239.00*

Application
High-end speaker cable
High-end speaker cable
HiFi speaker cable
Cable diameter
16 mm
13 mm
9 mm
Conductor cross-section
2 x 10.48 mm² (8 x 2.62 mm²)
2 x 7.86 mm² (6 x 2.62 mm²)
2 x 5 mm² (4 x 2.5 mm²)
Conductor design
Concentric copper
Concentric copper
50 x 0.25 mm (2.5 mm²)
Conductor material
High-purity OFC copper
High-purity OFC copper
High-purity copper
Conformity
CE; REACH; RoHS
CE; REACH; RoHS
CE; REACH; RoHS
Connection type
SBW; SW
SW
SBW; SW
Connector housing
Solid metal
Solid metal
-
Contact enhancement
Rhodium-coated
Rhodium-coated
-
Contact material
Beryllium copper; Brass
Beryllium copper; Brass (cable lug)
-
Customized assembly
On request
On request
-
Design
8-fold multicore
6-fold multicore
4-fold multicore
Dielectric
Air chambers
Air chambers
PE
Length
2 m; 2,5 m; 3 m; 3,5 m; 4 m; 4,5 m; 5 m
2 m; 2,5 m; 3 m; 3,5 m; 4 m; 4,5 m; 5 m
3 m; By the meter
Product group
Loudspeaker cables
Loudspeaker cables
Loudspeaker cables
Product category
Referenz speaker cables
Referenz speaker cables
Exzellenz speaker cables
Quality
Referenz
Referenz
Exzellenz
Technology
Micro AIR; Multicore
Micro AIR; Multicore
Multicore
Connector
Banana; Cable lug; Easy Plug
Banana; Cable lug; Easy Plug
By the meter; Easy Plug
Connector highlight
Spring-loaded contact fork
Spring-loaded contact fork
-
Made in Germany
Yes
Yes
Yes
Free trial listening
Yes
Yes
-
Jacket
-
-
PE network jacket

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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).

  • "The stage presentation was more differentiated and at the same time expanded in breadth and depth. There was indeed an unmistakable difference here. Even more subtle, but still audible, is a change in the sound image in the bass range.

    Test listener Josua W. | LS-404 Micro AIR
  • "in-akustik recommends the LS-404 Micro Air first and foremost for full-size floor-standing loudspeakers. Personally, I would express this a little differently. The in-akustik LS-404 Micro Air is a fantastic cable for all full-range broadband speakers."

    HiFi-Test | LS-404 Micro AIR
in-akustik Reference LS-404 Micro Air Speaker Cable

Electrostatics and capacitance

It’s something we’re all familiar with: when you take off a sweater with a high synthetic content you hear a crackling sound. The reason for this is that the integrated plastic material stores electrical energy, and then discharges it again. The same thing happens in the dielectric material of a cable. It “absorbs” electrical energy like a sponge and then releases it again. In the case of an audio cable, however, this electrical energy is part of the audio signal. This problematic storage capacity of a cable is referred to as its “capacitance”. While capacitors intended to store energy should have a correspondingly high capacitance, the capacitance of a cable should be as low as possible. If this is not the case, it can have a serious detrimental effect on the transmission characteristics and also lead to interactions with connected electronic devices. The ideal solution is therefore air insulation such as that implemented with the Micro AIR (and previous AIR technology), reducing the capacitance to an absolute minimum.

in-akustik Reference LS-404 Micro Air Cable View

Cables should not make any sound

The Referenz AIR series cables have already caused something of a sensation in the world of high-end connections. And we have used the very same principles of physics to develop our Referenz Micro AIR series. As the name suggests, air as insulation also plays a key role with these high end connections due to the excellent dielectric properties.


Cables in general don’t make any sound; they have a filtering effect and interact with the devices. We believe audio connections should be as unobtrusive as possible and cause no sound coloration. These would perhaps be astonishing to hear the first time, but they actually distort the original, and eventually are annoying. The trick is to adapt the physical filter effect through the architecture and choice of materials so that losses and interactions are reduced to a minimum. This was our goal when developing the Referenz Micro Air series – and we believe we have achieved our goal once again.

  • in-akustik Reference LS-404 Micro Air speaker cable connected
  • in-akustik Reference LS-404 Micro Air speaker cable connected

Made in Germany

Just like the AIR Helix cables, the Referenz high-end cables with Micro AIR technology are also manufactured in our own factory in Germany. Along with the complex, manual assembly of the cables, this of course also includes the corresponding quality control. Every cable is put through its paces after production. Both functional tests and mechanical tests are carried out. And of course we also check the live performance as part of product development – for maximum precision and low-loss signal transmission.

  • In-Akustik Reference LS-404 Micro Air Cable Assembly
  • in-akustik Reference LS-404 Micro Air Cable Manufacturing
  • in-akustik Reference LS-404 Micro Air Cable Assembly
  • In-Akustik Reference LS-404 Micro Air in the manufactory

Cable manufacturing unit

The beating heart of in-akustik is our manufactory. This is where our success story is rooted – permeated by a congenial working atmosphere, a love of music and a passion for detail. At in-akustik, we believe musical enjoyment stems from a listening experience that remains as close as possible to the original recording and the artist’s interpretation of the piece. That’s why we boast a committed workforce that combines curiosity with a keen sense of precision. With a fascination for music and things that are really special – like the development of our complex AIR cables.

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