LS-204 XL Micro AIR

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.

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.

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).

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.

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.