Vortex HiFi
Ground Optimizer
GO MK2 Ground cable

For a clean sound, you need a clean ground. The Vortex HiFi Ground Optimizer is your trash can for ground distortions.

Mass disturbances are elementary for the sound
Ever since HiFi devices have been designed, developers have been dealing with the interference on the bulk of the devices. In any case, the ground is the reference point for the circuit, i.e. the basis for the structure of the signal. Second, the ground is used as the shield potential of the connected cables. All disturbances that reach the mass in the device are radiated through the screen and all disturbances that reach the screen also reach the reference point – the mass. This creates signal errors and disturbances in the human nervous system – dirty power effects. Professional devices and a few high-end devices are therefore symmetrical in order to compensate for the errors caused by the contaminated mass. Unfortunately, all symmetrical connection cables work with a ground shield, which means that the interference is radiated and thus affects hearing. For all others, however, it is the case that the crowd influences the signal and – as our research shows – the hearing itself.

Vortex phenomena produce bad sound
Medical research shows the influence of higher harmonic waves on the hearing system. The environmental biologist Prof. Dr. Magda Havas describes the harmonics from approx. 2.000 Hz to 150.000 Hz. Among other things, she describes strong noises in the ear – i.e. the failure of the hearing system. We found clear sound changes even in the gigahertz range in components. Our more than 35 years of research into components and cables as well as their connections clearly show that vortex phenomena lead to biologically relevant fields.

Characteristic impedances and perfect impedances in the HF range
Therefore, we optimized the Ground Optimizer derivations via perfect wave resistances in order to avoid reflections and such strong eddy currents. Our goal is to achieve a more optimal sound and not a superficial metrological effect.

Whether eddy currents and so eddy fields arise in the field radiation of the devices or eddy currents in a discharge to earth does not matter to your hearing – hearing is disturbed one way or another. This is best seen when comparing protection class 1 devices with grounding and protection class 2 devices without grounding. With protection class 1 devices with earthing, we measure almost no radiated fields. With protection class 2 devices, we measure strong ground disturbances and strong fields. Despite these field differences, there are no sound categories to be ascribed to. In the case of protection class 1 (with protective earth), this is due to the bad, accidental disturbances that sometimes flow through the housing, which generate considerable eddy currents and vortex-generating field radiation inside.

Due to the direct earth connections to the housing, earth interference is capacitively coupled directly into the circuit. In terms of sound, the goal is not to ground the disturbances, but rather the vortex arms and thus biologically / aurally uncritical annihilation of the disturbance – we do that in the Ground Optimizer.

The perfect field in the Ground Optimizer
One principle of our Ground Optimizer is the controlled, low-eddy build-up of a field to bind the energy. This takes place in a capacitor group of our Ground Optimizer. This controlled field is essential to reduce biological disturbances. The quality of this field, i.e. the potential vortices that arise here, fundamentally determine the sound quality of the Ground Optimizer. During development, we were able to fall back on Norbert Maurer’s more than 30 years of experience with malfunctions in capacitors. As early as 1984 Norbert Maurer applied for a patent for a high-speed crossover, which primarily dealt with RF impedances and parasitic effects of the components. It was not until much later that the realization came that the impedance optimization of the capacitors resulted in a drastic, biologically relevant vortex reduction.

The vortex theoretical basis for the tonal / biological relevance comes from the considerations of Prof. Dr. Konstantin Meyl. These basics explain the different sounding capacitors due to the biological effect via the potential vortex, although the audio data does not change relevantly. Tonal changes over time can also be explained in this way.

Reviews:
Albert Erklärt die Ground Optimizer
Hifi-Ground Optimizer von Vortex von Robert Schmitz-Niehaus & Marco Kolks @ Hörerlebnis.de
VORTEX HIFI Entstörungsprodukte in der Praxis – HiFi Test von Frank Wacker @ hifi-today.de (German)
Mijn ervaringen met de producten van Vortex HiFi– HiFi Test door Frank Wacker @ hifi-today.de (vertaling door Ed Doggen / Daluso)

General Vortex information (German only… use Google Translate!):
Begrüßung von Norbert Maurer
Was ist Vortex HiFi? In einem 30-minütigen Video erläutert Maurer, wie die Musikwahrnehmung ohne jegliche Änderung im Signal oder in der Akustik völlig anders sein kann. Dies ist die Antwort, auf die die audiophile Welt schon lange gewartet hat. Er demonstriert, wie Umweltfaktoren – einschließlich HiFi-Geräten – den Stresspegel verändern und so den auditiven Prozess im Gehirn beeinflussen können.

Einführung in Energetisches HiFi Zubehör, Teil 1/10; Übersicht
Einführung in Energetisches HiFi Zubehör, Teil 2/10; Wirbelströme und Nervenstörungen
Einführung in Energetisches HiFi Zubehör, Teil 3/10; WLAN, HF Strahlung und Nervenstörungen
Einführung in Energetisches HiFi Zubehör, Teil 4/10; Niederfrequenz und Nervenstörungen
Einführung in Energetisches HiFi Zubehör, Teil 5/10; NF Strahlung des Stromnetzes
Einführung in Energetisches HiFi Zubehör, Teil 6/10; Elektrostatische Ladungen
Einführung in Energetisches HiFi Zubehör, Teil 7/10; Geophatogene Zonen
Einführung in Energetisches HiFi Zubehör, Teil 8/10; Negative Informationen
Einführung in Energetisches HiFi Zubehör, Teil 9/10; Heizungen
Einführung in Energetisches HiFi Zubehör, Teil 10/10;
VORTEX HIFI Workshop Elektrosmog mit Norbert Mauerer
Norbert Maurer Vortrag @ High End 2014