Measuring what matters.

Macro/Micro-Microphonic reveal the complexity of audio engineering and explain why we look at more than just L/C/R – so that the music becomes clearer, more focused and more vivid. That’s why we analyse all relevant electrical parameters and their impact on the sound.

Tolerances

Tight tolerances preserve stereo balance; only when both channels share identical properties do soundstage, focus and imaging remain stable.

Resistors

A resistor describes how strongly a material impedes the flow of electric current. According to Ohm’s law, voltage equals current times resistance.

Besides the nominal value, classic key figures play a major role: temperature coefficient (TCR), power rating, residual inductance and parasitic capacitance. These determine how stable a resistor remains under changing conditions.

A low TCR ensures that the resistance value changes hardly at all as it warms up. Residual inductance and capacitance influence behaviour at high frequencies; together with the surrounding circuit they form small resonant networks.

On top of that come piezoresistive effects: compression or tension alter the crystal lattice and thus ΔR(t). Magnetostrictive influences as well – tiny length changes caused by magnetic fields – modulate the current flow. These effects are in the micro to submicrometer range, but through modulation and intermodulation they act within the audible band.

Value stability, low selfinductance and minimal temperature drift ensure calm and clarity in the sonic image.

Capacitors

A capacitor stores electrical energy in an electric field that penetrates the dielectric, the insulating material between the electrodes. When a voltage is applied, the molecules align – this is called polarization.

This motion “breathes” with the rhythm of the electric field, which makes the capacitance slightly timedependent: C(t).

The classic parameters include capacitance, rated voltage, loss angle (tan δ), equivalent series resistance (ESR), series inductance (ESL), temperature coefficient, insulation resistance and leakage current. They describe how efficiently a capacitor stores and releases energy.

Dielectric absorption (DA), or relaxation, explains why a small residual voltage remains after discharge: the material does not “forget” the previous charge immediately. This afterringing is not a defect but a physical property that can audibly appear as a subtle smearing of transients.

Inductors

An inductor stores energy in a magnetic field. Its central value is inductance L.

Important measured quantities include inductance at the rated frequency, DC resistance (RDC), quality factor (Q), saturation current, hysteresis losses and leakage inductance.

Hysteresis losses arise in the magnetic cycle of the core material: with each current reversal, energy is consumed and released as heat. These frictionlike losses are particularly audible at low levels, because they mask fine dynamic structures.

Ferrite, ironpowder and laminated cores have different saturation behaviours and temperature dependencies. Magnetostriction – the microscopic change in length of magnetic materials – additionally leads to small fluctuations ΔL(t).

Aircore coils are free from these material effects, but are larger and have higher resistance. The core material determines linearity, dynamics and freedom from distortion.

Cables

Cables are not ideal conductors, but systems with resistance, inductance and capacitance – in short, RLC.

Classic parameters include specific resistance, capacitance per metre, inductance per metre, characteristic impedance, shielding attenuation and contact resistance at the joints.

A good dielectric with low losses and low absorption preserves transparency, while clean contact surfaces and stable solder joints avoid distortion.

All three fundamental parameters – R, C and L – are therefore not completely constant. They “breathe” on the micro scale, and these tiny modulations have an effect.

The crossover region is particularly sensitive: this is where level, phase and radiation of several paths come together. Small shifts in C, L or R change the balance, which becomes noticeable in imaging and soundstage rendering. More on this in the chapter “Crossover transition region – why small modulations have a big impact”.

The ear translates these technical phenomena into sonic impressions: a background that is less “black”, softer transients, glassy sibilants or slightly drifting imaging – the same symptoms as with Macro-microphony, only finer and more broadband.

Conclusion:

Whoever understands these values protects the music – and preserves its authenticity. The component stays silent so that the music can speak.

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