New -POWER OPTIMIZER with biologically optimized bandwidth (BOB)

Another current filter in the hi-fi? There are already countless! This is what one or the other will say. On the other hand, if you ask what the ideal current filter for listening to music should look like, it quickly becomes clear that we absolutely had to build these current filters with our technologies.

So why current filters from Vortex HiFi?

The first questions we asked ourselves were: Why even a current filter in the hi-fi? What does a current filter improve and what does it have to do with listening to music?

• The fact is that the power grid in today's homes has harmonics of the 50 Hz base frequency as well as interference from a few thousand hearts up to well into the megahertz range. In particular, the frequency range above 20.000 Hz is more and more contaminated by switched-mode power supplies (e.g. energy-saving lamps).
• It is also a fact that classic distortion (i.e. interference up to approx. 500 Hz - that's K10!) Has no or no relevant effect on the sound (see experiment AUDIO).
• It is also a fact that the interference on the power grids does not change the audio signal of the devices, or hardly changes it, since the power supply units have the task of eliminating all grid disruptions through their various components.
• Was not considered practically in the Audio experiment the range well above the usual distortion range with its transients from switched-mode power supplies in the range over 20.000 Hz.
• Was not considered practically in the Audio experiment also the handler who captures her household cabling.

However, what we can say with a high degree of certainty is that interference amplitudes outside the audio range (above 20.000 Hz) and the RF range are hardly capable of causing any relevant changes to the audio signal. The testers at AUDIO magazine also came to this conclusion in the aforementioned fundamental experiment.

Environmental medicine shows connections between the hearing system and disturbances in the power supply system

If you turn your gaze away from the audio signal, which cannot be influenced in a relevant manner, towards influencing people when listening to music, then all of the hearing phenomena can suddenly be explained!

Environmental medicine demonstrates the connection between extremely high harmonics and transients above 4.000 Hz and their effects on humans. As environmental medicine studies under the umbrella terms "dirty power" or "dirty electricity" show, not only are many medical conditions altered by disturbances above 4.000 Hz, but these studies also explicitly identify disturbances of the auditory system in the form of tinnitus. Professor Dr. Magda Havas also presented this information at a WHO workshop in Prague. Tinnitus is, incidentally, also a common complaint among environmental physicians in the high-frequency range.

The measurement method used in Magda Havas's study is based on so-called GS units . One GS unit corresponds to 24 volts per second, or a rate of increase. This rate of increase of 24 volts per second was chosen so that up to 25 GS units, practically no significant disturbances to humans occur; in a zone of 26 to 50 GS units, minor effects are to be expected; and above 50 GS units, the remediation of the power grid with appropriate filters is recommended.

Above is the so-called Microsurge Meter by Graham and Statzer. You see a measurement taken at a wall socket to which an energy-saving light bulb with its switching power supply is connected. A reading of 203 GS units indicates a strongly negative impact on the nervous system and thus also on the auditory system (sound). Magda Havas demonstrated that not only tinnitus but also confusion and memory loss can occur. These brain functions, disrupted by " dirty power," are essential for listening to music. Acoustic patterns must be recognized and compared with learned patterns. If this comparison fails, the experience becomes unclear, leading to stress.

The microsurge meter now shows that not only hi-fi devices, but also electrical consumers in the listening room (also from adjoining rooms) have a significant impact on the hearing system and thus on the differentiated and relaxed music sensation.

Interim conclusion:

Current filters can significantly improve the sound, especially if they work in the frequency range that is particularly biologically sensitive - i.e. in the frequency range above 4.000 Hz up to the mega heart range. Filters that only remove the distortion in the network can, if at all, bring about small sound improvements. The ideal filter should already have good filter effects from 4.000 Hz and work as far as possible into the mega-network range.

Vortex HiFi BOB - line filter with biologically optimized bandwidth

In the HiFi area there are active network optimers and passive network optimers. Active network optimers are the only ones able to reduce the distortion of the 50 Hz base frequency and are very expensive. These filters work, if at all, only in the range up to approx. 20.000 Hz. Energy-saving lamps and other loads with switched-mode power supplies work much higher.

The lower TCO 99 spectrum measurement clearly shows that an energy-saving lamp generates particularly strong interference around 60.000 Hz and its harmonics up to approx. 320.000 Hz on the network. In comparison, a halogen lamp (not a switched-mode power supply) generates practically no interference. Hence, these are ideal for listening rooms.

The active filters do not work in the biologically very critical areas and are only connected to the hi-fi system. We have never seen a filter like this for a floor lamp. That would also be way too expensive. But your hearing doesn’t care whether it’s poor hearing due to interference from the system or the floor lamp.

The solution would be passive parallel filters. However, in order to fully cover the biologically sensitive area downwards, the filters would have to be very large (large capacitors), which in turn brings with it considerable sound problems via vortices and considerably limits the bandwidth upwards.

Therefore, we developed our BOB concept. BOB stands for biologically optimized bandwidth and enables perfect filtering precisely in the frequency range where a medical/biological effect on our nervous and auditory systems has been proven.

That means BOB line filters have the maximum possible sound improvement of a line filter!

On the left you can see the same measurement as above with the Microsurge Meter (203 GS units) and on the right the same measurement only with our Power Optimizer with BOB concept.
We use a very large capacity of 15uF in our parallel filters, which has been compensated in its HF behavior. The parasitic effects of these large capacitors, which are extremely damaging to the sound, are thus reduced to an extremely low level. Norbert Maurer had this compensation method patented in crossovers as early as 1984.

The diagram below illustrates the fundamental relationship between impedance curve (low impedance equals high filtering capability) and capacitance size. The impedance of the 4,7 µF capacitor begins to rise below 600 kHz, while the 10 nF capacitor only starts to increase slightly below 20 MHz and remains consistently below the impedance of the 4,7 µF capacitor in the RF range. For significantly larger capacitors, the impedance rises sharply above 100 kHz, meaning that only the fundamental frequency of a switched-mode power supply can be filtered. The biologically more critical (because of their higher frequency) harmonics remain poorly filtered or unfiltered.

Thanks to our compensation process, our filters allow rates of increase of over 50.000 volts / uSec while otherwise only around 30 volts / uSec would be possible with large capacitors. During the research into the causes of the “condenser sound”, it was shown over 30 years ago that any further compensation, even up to the GHz range, could be clearly heard. Therefore we compensate as much as possible.

As is often the case with audiophile tubes, the filters are directly dated. In addition, the wiring and the arrangement of components are extremely HF - optimized. After all, what use is a perfect component if the malfunction does not come “via the cable”. The audiophile processing concept is optimized by silver solder as well as informed and silver-plated wires (the two TOP models).

The components are mounted with vibration damping and partially potted. Additionally, depending on the price, the filters are equipped with all the technologies that Vortex HiFi offers for interference suppression and stress reduction .

Even though our filters are high-end products, a low price is extremely important to us, because you need these filters in several places in your listening room and throughout your home. Therefore, we have dispensed with superfluous visual and tactile embellishments and designed the filters purely for functionality. This is because, contrary to what most filter manufacturers claim, it is not the hi-fi system itself, but rather, as environmental medicine studies have shown, the entire electrical installation that degrades the listening experience.

That the entire home electrical system, with its interference and individual components (antennas), is the cause of reduced music quality is also demonstrated by daily experience in high-end hi-fi. Here, we hear differences in sound when replacing power cables, wall sockets, and circuit breakers. Until now, no changes to the audio signal have been measured – but they are clearly audible. Today, these clearly audible changes in sound can be explained by radiated electromagnetic radiation and a biological/medical perspective – and all this without any actual signal alteration!

Therefore we have developed 3 different Power Optimizers in 3 quality classes so that you can solve your sound problems in a differentiated manner. The interference suppression effect measured with the microsurge meter is the same for all 3 power optimizers.

The BOB - Power Optimizer models

Power Optimizer 1 AIO:

Parallel mains filter with Vortex HiFi BOB concept. 15uF capacitor with RF compensation up to 13.000 volts/µsec. All-in-one information and vibration damping. €99 each. Available January 2017

Power Optimizer 2 PI Ultra:

Parallel line filter with Vortex HiFi BOB concept. 15uF capacitor with Ultra Speed ​​HF compensation up to 51.000 volts / uSec. PI - information and vibration dampening. Wiring with informed, silver-plated conductors. 1 Schuko socket.
Piece 199 € Available December 2016

Power Optimizer 3 Ultra Diamond:

Parallel line filter with Vortex HiFi BOB concept. 15uF capacitor with Ultra Speed ​​HF compensation up to 51.000 volts / uSec. New Diamond - PI - information with 4 additional precious stones including diamonds and biological vital ceramics. Vibration dampening. Wiring with informed, silver-plated conductors. 1 Schuko socket.
Single 399 € Available December 2016

Download (PDF, 300KB)

Test report listening experience: Vortex HiFi BOB filter here

Test report audiophil-online: Vortex HiFi BOB-Filter here