The skin effect in cables Speaker

What is theskin effect (skin effect) and why is it so important for cables Speaker ? This was explained, for the first time, in 1887 by Lord Kelvin (born William Thomson), British physicist and engineer, developer of the Kelvin scale, as well as engineer and inventor of the electric telegraph, with the latter securing him fame and wealth.

By skin effect we mean the tendency of an alternating electric current to distribute itself inside a conductor unevenly. Its density is higher on the surface and lower on the inside. This results in an increase in the electrical resistance of the conductor, particularly at high frequencies. In other words, part of the conductor is not used. This means greater dissipation Speaker for the same applied current or a lower current for the same applied voltage, according to Ohm's law.

The skin effect is fundamental because it affects not only electric current, but any type INTERCONNECT, including audio current. The skin effect means, to recap, a decrease in the density of current flow with increasing distance from the surface inward.

There is some disagreement about the skin effect and its practical consequences on audio frequencies, i.e., whether it causes damage other than simple loss Speaker . The problems are due to the fact that, even before the loss Speaker , the skin effect causes changes in resistance and inductance values. These values will tend to change continuously depending on the distance from the conductor surface. If the cross section of a cable is too large, the skin effect will also affect the reproduced audio frequencies. Delicate high-frequency information will be flattened with a dull sound of truncated details.

The cable "sounds" less at the reproduced high frequencies, reducing them. This problem is most noticeable in cables Speaker , where the conductor sizes are larger and the connecting sections longer. In cables INTERCONNECT the skin effect is less influential, because it acts outside the audio band. The consequences can be many, however the most common are as follows:

1. Dark and brooding high notes
2. Puffy and unnatural bass (Loudness effect)
3. Loss of tonal balance
4. Worsening in dynamics
5. Loss of three-dimensionality

The skin effect affects the quality of cables and how much they affect sound transmission, especially when it comes to cables Speaker , which run from the amplifier to the speakers.

One possible solution is to coat the wires in silver. This metal has, in fact, a lower resistivity than copper however, silver wires artificially color the sound which tends to emphasize the higher frequencies, not returning a neutral sound to the listener.

Our tests have shown that increasing the number of conductor wires by reducing the grains of processed copper results in a substantial reduction of the skin effect. In other words, the Ricable technology exploits the use of a single conductor small enough to expel the audible distortion induced by the skin effect out of the audio range.

Years ago Ricable introduced AM-RCC conductors in power cables with outstanding results. Since then, research has moved toward further improvement of conductors. This has developed on several points.

The first goes through the multiwire conductor argument, with strands as thin as 0.08 mm in the Invictus series (and a noticeable reduction in the skin effect compared with single-wire, also called solid core). The second point is large-section conductors. This always allows for a greater conductive surface area and lower resistance.

The third feature designed by Ricable to reduce the skin effect is provided by the RCCP connectors (Ricable Copper Connector Project). By using copper instead of brass in the connectors, the skin effect in the terminations is also reduced. Finally, from the studies carried out and the research activity, the new conductor MARC©, an acronym for Multicore Annealed Ricable Conductor, was born, which characterizes the entire production Primus, Magnus, Dedalus e Invictus.

The improvements made made it possible to produce a copper conductor with 7N (99.99999%) purity that is more malleable than its predecessor, due to the reduction of grains per meter by 25% compared to AM-RCC. This production implementation allowed strands to be produced that was smoother on the surface, more ductile and smaller in diameter.

We, as enthusiasts, worked to find a solution to the skin effect that truly satisfied us 100%. The differences between the cables in the entire production break down the skin effect in a unique way. Whatever your system needs, you can look among our cables Speaker .