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The Grid Protector By Schnerzinger – In My System and I’m blown away

Schnerzinger Grid _ Whats Best Forum _ Steve Williams 1v3
A Post in What’s Best Forum by Steve Williams (Site Founder, Site Owner)

Many years ago as I started my audiophile pursuits, I was basically a digital guy and only got into analogue (turntable and reel to reel) over the past 10 years. I remember vividly when something called a CD player hit the audio market and how one could pause, reverse, fast forward simply and unlike anything that could be done with vinyl or tape. I remember buying my fist CD player by Kyocera and was so enamored that I sold my Ampax reel to reel and a modest turn table and for me the die was cast and I had crossed the Rubicon. Having said this, those early years were filled with fun but a sound that was anything but perfect and certainly not analogue. Digital sound was harsh, sharp. In your face and fraught with listener fatigue.

Over the past 3 decades digital sound has evolved considerably and listening has become far more enjoyable but for many the glare of digital has hampered their use and adoption of digital in their systems. In the early years I was known online as “the ultimate tweak” as I went down the rabbit hole so many times only to get lost in turns, swerves and unnecessary dents in my wallet.

As digital got better and better I found my way out of the rabbit hole and have found a path that I find so compelling for my ears that it has resurrected my desires to continue to find ways to improve my digital sound. Taiko products have made me love digital and my audio path has always been a tube system and along came LampizatOr which has endeared my ears with the sound I love.

As I have been sitting patiently waiting for my Olympus and IO to arrive shortly I have been kept busy with something I discovered that has truly gobsmacked me. Not only has it made digital something so much better to which to listen but what it does to analogue is every bit as big or even bigger. I have been listening for days and have kept asking myself if I have taken the plunge down the rabbit hole as I don’t know if the Grid Protector could be considered a tweak or as I feel now, an absolute essential stand alone to any audiophile system.

I have no idea how this product works but I have to say that after a week of listening it is so easy to demonstrate what it does is to turn it off. A typical A-B-A test . All too many times audiophiles will do an A-B test and hear a difference and go with it. I, on the other hand have learned painfully, that the critical test is A-B-A . You have to remove what you added and ask yourself what have you lost or are you finding A is still better. My mantra has always been been “is this something better or is it just something different” This can only be answered with an A-B-A test

Installation of the Grid Protector takes all of 5 minutes. There are 2 power supplies; one with a fixed Schnerzinger power cord and a second that employs a simple wall wart. You can pretty much put it anywhere in your system but I elected to place it where I assumed the most has is in my room and that is behind my speakers in the proximity of my mammoth Lamm ML3 signature amps with each channel having 6 large transformers for a total of 12 transformers

I’m of the ilk that I prefer plug ’n play and set it and forget it. This was that very thing. Screw in an antenna and plug in both the wired power cord and the wall wart (no need for the use of an LPS). There are three switches on the back, two of which IMO are needed (the third switch as I understand it is to daisy chain this with additional boxes. In my room, that was completely unnecessary. Each switch has a middle OFF position and an up 1 position and a down 2 position. This essentially can be simply stated. The 1 is GREAT but the 2 is WOW

The change is instantaneous but initially very subtle.This is a unit that is left on and it seems maximum change is achieved at about 24 hours of the unit being on.Here is what I know about the unit……..

It has two dedicated circuits that target interference fields and suppress it via the live lines and protective earth. Focusing on the domestic power grid it's aim is to improve resolution, purity and flow.

SO WHAT DID I HEAR?

There is such an amazing change in clarity that the simplest and faintest of nuances that was previously heard was so much more obvious. The harshness is gone. There is an ease to the listening that completely for me eliminated any fatigue whatsoever. In fact listening to the music totally relaxed me. There is no immersive effect or change in the soundstage. Rather there is a feeling of being closer to the music. What initially I thought was my imagination but easily disproved by turning off the Grid Protector was being able to hear so much clearer especially spoken words in the lyrics of sound. Also the slight background nuances that I previously knew were there were now so much more a part of the presentation. Everything was more palpable.

I hate to use clichés but the hash was indeed gone and the palpability and realism of the music seemed to have been brought to life. This is 100% reproducible as I had my wife (with me blindfolded) turn on and off both switches and when they were off, the first time I said, “what just happened?”. It’s not that everything collapses but things become less palpable and less distinct . As for which position I use, I did find each time that if one is good two is great.

Finally I did audition vinyl and some tape today and to my ears the change was even better I hate to say that everything sounded much more natural but what it does is to breathe air into the sound stage and to separate the instruments and the vocals. Turn it off and the sound as I knew it and thought it to be superlative was suddenly just OK and made me conclude, that whatever this Grid Protector does is a must have for my ears and my system.

As I understand the basic concept there is a filtering out of RFI and to a lesser extent EMI. Schnerzinger is a well established Germany based company and quite reliable in their products..I discovered that they also produce an EMI Protector and I have one of these on order so I am very anxious to hear what this box will do as well. There is no coloration Nothing stands out but in summary, there is a sense of air and relaxation, yet far more clarity and the nuances previously heard just seemed so much more audible.

I guess I might have stuck my head down this rabbit hole with this Grid Protector and now with a desire to hear the EMI Protector. Nothing is added but what is there just seems so much more real and palpable that this has become a permanent part of my system.

My interest in this unit came about after reading Mike Malinowski’s superb thread here on WBF re Zellaton (https://whatsbestforum.com/threads/zellaton-the-end-of-my-speaker-journey.37829/ )and I wanted to inquire about the speaker. I reached out to Gideon Swartz in New York who is the USA importer. We have had many discussions and Gideon commented that the two companies codevelop together in order to maximize Zellaton potential. I have heard Schnerzinger cables and was completely unaware that the company is actively involved in projects such as the Grid Protector. I was told that these amazing little boxes will improve any system universally, despite the known Zellaton connection. I was curious enough to ask for a demo and received the Grid Protector last week and for me the rest is history (other than await the arrival of the EMI Protector which also is plug ’n play) as I bought the Grid Protector

Steve Williams

(What’s Best Forum 08/2024)

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IMAGE HIFI 06/2021 TESTBERICHT
SCHNERZINGER ESSENTIAL LINE (CABLE)
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BETTER SKIN - time-correct signal transport without electronic carry-over effect

The BETTER SKIN technology ensures an almost uniform flow of all frequencies due to the special surface coating within the SCHNERZINGER ATOMIC BONDING process, thus combining the advantages of different designs without accepting their disadvantages.

SKIN EFFEKT- Frequency-dependent signal transport in the conductor

An important sound-relevant factor is the so-called skin effect. This can be explained in a very simplified way as follows: High frequencies flow near the surface, medium and low frequencies are oriented more towards the center of the conductor.

For a nearly lossless transport of high frequencies, often flat wire resp. foil conductor, hollow conductor or litz wire (often several distinct isolated strands with very small width) are disposed.

These constructions– having a large surface and a small core portion - favor the transport of high frequencies; but from our experience just this characteristic complicates the desired uniform transmission of low, mid and high frequencies. However or because of that, at first these constructions are often perceived as being more open and having with a higher resolution. In our book for a time correct, natural and not artificially accentuated presentation of the upper spectrum it’s of elementary importance, that all frequencies will be transported holistically. A few of these cable designs also tend to higher capacitance, whereon certain equipment combinations respond with unpredictable performance.

A performance displaced to higher frequencies may be perceived – as mentioned above – as more dynamic and three-dimensional and having higher resolution, but from our experience this is accountable for the so-called hyper hi-fi sound; soon the listener will be stimulated to yet another compensating action and so forth. 

DIE VORTEILE DES SCHNERZINGER DIELEKTRIKUMS

SCHNERZINGER uses a special, air-filled material as dielectric, which - unlike PTFE or Teflon, for example - is applied to the wire while avoiding structurally damaging temperatures and yet is completely stable. Combined with the special SCHNERZINGER process of DIELECTRIC CHARGING, it shows better dielectric and sound properties than pure PTFE, FEP, cotton, linen, silk or even air.  In addition, it is absolutely leak-proof and thus offers reliable long-term protection of the conductors against oxidation....

  • Combination of air-filled material & DIELECTRIC CHARGING process.
  • Pristine sound & better dielectric properties than air
  • Unrestricted signal flow due to significantly minimized electronic memory effect
  • Production without material-damaging high-temperature processes
  • Absolut stabile Isolierung und dauerhafter Oxidationsschutz ("Insulation, not oxidation")

DIELECTRIC

To prevent electrical short circuits between the wires, they must be insulated. The insulation material, also called dielectric, has an enormous influence on the transmission quality of audio cables. Pure air is theoretically the best dielectric, but it does not insulate. However, in the case of cables marketed in the audio sector with air or AIR insulation, for example, the individual conductor wires are provided with an insulating layer of varnish, which has significantly poorer dielectric values than PTFE, for example. In addition, this insulating layer is often applied using structurally damaging high-temperature processes, which often negatively affect the quality of the conductor's material structure. This is clearly not the case with SCHNERZINGER.

Our test runs utilizing various isolators – starting with best polyethylene PTFE, FEP, across foamed material, natural fabric, like unbleached cotton or silk up to extremely expensive and exotic approaches with costly inert gas and specifically deployed battery voltage - confirm the enormous importance of the often underestimated dielectric.  

However, the contradiction between high insulation on the one hand and lowest storage capacity on the other hand could not be solved so satisfactorily with any of these approaches that it did not lead to a limitation of the performance potential of the SCHNERZINGER SIGNAL CONDUCTOR.

DIELECTRIC CHARGING

A time consuming production process, DIELECTRIC CHARGING, counteracting the adherence ("parking") of the electrical charge at the dielectric, provided SCHNERZINGER the crucial progress and breakthrough.

To better illustrate this sound-degrading memory effect, one can imagine that the individual signals flowing through a wire are attracted to the dielectric, "park" there, and are carried away again by subsequent signals.

SCHNERZINGER research shows that this effect results in a slowed down, time-delayed electron flow, counteracting the crucial target of time correct and integrated signal processing.

Therefore an ideal isolation material is a dielectric without both attractive and buffer effect; a requirement profile, many manufacturers work on with major effort.

The production process of the DIELECTRIC CHARGING works quasi directly against the memory effect and thus ensures a timely and unrestrained signal flow, which is essential for an unimpaired playback quality. Even wires operated without dielectric, i.e. surrounded by pure air, were at a disadvantage sonically compared to DIELECTRIC CHARGING!

For a simple understanding of DIELECTRIC CHARGING, you can imagine a road with many intersections: 

It is not by improving the road surface, but by reducing the number of intersections that one achieves significant progress toward unimpeded traffic flow.

BACKGROUND 

In theory electrical signal propagates in vacuum with the speed of light (c). Cable connection limits the speed, copper conductor for example to about 9/10 of the speed of light. The ration of actual speed to speed of light is known as speed factor VOP (Velocity Propagation Factor). This number describes the transmission speed of a material compared to the speed of light in vacuum in percent.

Here even foamed PTFE reaches 85% only.

Material                                 VOP

Geschäumtes PTFE                85%

FEP                                         69%

Silikon                                53-69%

TFE                                         69%

Polyethylen                             66%

PVC                                   35-58%

Nylon                                 47-53%

ATOMIC BONDING vs. Monocrystalline OCC und UPOCC Leitermaterial

In contrast to the often only temporarily effective advantages of established treatment and manufacturing processes on the reproduction quality of high-quality audio cables, e.g. cryogenization or OCC or UPOCC casting processes, SCHNERZINGER cables with ATOMIC BONDING conductors enable an audibly purer and unrivaled true-to-life signal transmission - and this permanently! 

In order to recognize the essential advantage of the SCHNERZINGER ATOMIC BONDING technology compared to conventional methods, some background knowledge about the industrial processing of wires used as conductor material in the audio sector is required:

CONVENTIONAL CASTING METHODS:

To manufacture the conductor material in most audio cables, thick copper or silver strands are repeatedly drawn through so-called drawing dies until the wires are thin enough for further use. Every drawing process means enormous mechanical stress, which causes the crystalline grain structure of the wires to disintegrate into many crystals. In a sense, the audio signals have to find their way through many of these grain structures. The flow through the grain boundaries from grain to grain creates an enormous resistance potential every time, which is known to cause slowed signal transport.

The more complex casting process is therefore often used for higher-quality audio cables. Here, liquid copper or silver is continuously poured into molds, which results in longer grain structures. In the even more complex monocrystalline OCC or UPOCC (Ultra-Pure Ohno Continuous Casting) process, the molds are even heated and slowly cooled to prevent the material from solidifying too quickly. This process was developed by Prof. Ohno in the 1980s for industry so that fewer cracks occur in the sheet metal when the copper strands are rolled out

INNOVATIVE APPROACH WITH ATOMIC BONDING:

SCHNERZINGER ATOMIC BONDING, on the other hand, takes a completely different approach:

To easily get the idea of the innovative development approach ATOMIC BONDING, simply envision a conducting wire as a pipe filled with ice cubes, whereby the ice cubes symbolically illustrate the inner grain structure of the wire.

Since long-chain metal structures are quite sensitive and easily disintegrate again after the manufacturing process, e.g. due to vibrations and bending processes, ATOMIC BONDING is a technologically extremely complex process which does not aim at bonding individual ice cubes to form a closed, long-chain monostructure, but on the contrary at crushing the cubes. This results in the smallest ice structure components, which can subsequently be compressed into a stable, homogeneous ice mass with very high cohesive forces in the tube.

A compacted, fused mass of ice has a closed, extremely stable structure - without any gaps. This fact forms the basis for a highly pure and perfect impulse chain - for a true-to-life signal transmission.

BIDIRECTIONAL BARRIER - KONKURRENZLOSER STÖRFELDSCHUTZ

Each SCHNERZINGER cable is designed to provide unique and effective protection of the signal against both low-frequency and high-frequency interference - without reducing the signal bandwidth and signal speed in the slightest - with its BIDIRECTIONAL BARRIER.

By foregoing the use of compromising dummy solutions such as capacitors, diodes, parallel or series filters, which are often used in common market solutions, SCHNERZINGER CABLES transport the audio signal with breathtaking and hitherto unattained authenticity and information density. Electronic braking and carry-over effects are reduced to a maximum, the bad influence of high-frequency interference fields on the quality of the reproduction is effectively prevented.

The double interference field protection of the BIDIRECTIONAL BARRIER blocks and stops 

  • the introduction of external interference fields radiating via the mains and cables into the signal path
  • the forwarding of internal interference fields caused by the components themselves within the audio chain.
 
Due to the increase in wireless transmission technology and modern media use, e.g. WLAN, Power-LAN, cell phones, etc., increasingly complex high-frequency interference fields are radiating into the wired transmission path of the audio signal. Although shielded audio cables, which are often used, provide protection in the classic AF range, they draw the aforementioned high-frequency interference fields even more strongly into the sensitive signal path ("antenna effect"). Sensitive quality losses in the playback and a limited music enjoyment are the result. 
 

The BIDIRECTIONAL BARRIER enables for the first time a truly contemporary, highly effective interference field protection for the sound information transported in the cable. The pure and unaltered transmission of the signal results in significantly better dynamics, resolution, rhythm and fine detail. 

The full sound potential of the hi-fi components is preserved and the quality and performance of the music system can unfold 100%.

In case of very strong interference field loads, the effectiveness of the BIDIRECTIONAL BARRIER can be increased for the cables of the TS-LINE and the RESOLUTION LINE for the cleaning of external interference fields by an optional power amplifier, the CABLE PROTECTOR

For the RESOLUTION LINE, SCHNERZINGER also offers the optional SIGNAL PROTECTOR, an effective power amplifier for diverting the internal interference fields that have penetrated the signal path to the outside.

BETTER GEOMETRY - uncompromising cable design

In order to take full advantage of close-meshed interlocking constructions - without accepting their electromagnetic problems - SCHNERZINGER relies on a combination of intelligent superstructures and revolutionary technologies.

GEOMETRY - twisting, interlacing or parallel cable constructions

The design of a cable must be mechanically stable, create a homogeneous electromagnetic field between and around the conductors, and ensure the time-correct, and loss-free signal flow.

Efforts to use elaborate stranding and braiding techniques to counteract the problems of mutual interference often fail.

Twisted constructions reduce the susceptibility to interference, and typically result in a low inductance, which is usually targeted. However, as soon as current flows through a wire, its own electromagnetic field is generated. If the cores are twisted, the electromagnetic fields of the individual wires are close together over a large area, acting on each other and impairing the flow of electrons, which is why solid conductors are often used instead of stranded wires.

Braided constructions also typically reduce susceptibility to interference, but accept the effects of a constant but permanent change in the electrical environment of the individual conductors relative to each other, and it is this that leads to electromagnetic clutter, which in turn affects electron flow.

Parallel constructions with conductors running in parallel are not very resistant to external interference fields and favor the proximity effect, which also impairs the flow of electrons due to eddy currents that are generated.

To realize a full speed and even electron flow, the electrical parameters and the electromagnetic fields should remain constant and homogeneous across the entire cable length. The requirement of a mechanically stable design is often underrated, although this is an important factor in order to adhere to constant conditions.

In order to take full advantage of close-meshed interlocking constructions without accepting their electromagnetic problems, SCHNERZINGER relies on a combination of intelligent superstructures and revolutionary technology:

BETTER GEOMETRY uses a high-tech process to directly absorb electrosmog and virtually neglect resulting electromagnetic problems.

CABLE COATING – static problem catcher

Plastic fabric hoses are used by many manufacturers as outer sheathing. They look fancy, are inexpensive, and make manufacturing easier. But the fact is that the outer jacket definitely affects the sound quality of a cable.
In the case of plastics, for example, static charges can occur that impair electron transport. 

As a so-called "tuning measure", antistatic agents are then often offered as accessories to counteract the inadequacies of these materials.

We therefore deliberately dispense almost entirely with plastic fabric tubes, which may make a cable appear professionally manufactured, but in our opinion do not belong in a sonically consistent development chain.

BETTER FLOW -

The BETTER FLOW principle, through the extraordinary quality of the SCHNERZINGER ATOMIC BONDING conductor material and the consistent use of the highest quality bonding techniques and components, plays a major role in ensuring the unique reproduction quality and special features of SCHNERZINGER CABLES.

CONDUCTOR MATERIAL GRADE

Conventional untreated conductor material consists of many short crystalline grain structures, which furthermore conditional of manufacturing are laying in an inappropriate assembly. So to some extend the information has to find its diffuse way through many grain structures. Flowing through the grain boundary junctions from grain to grain implies an enormous resistance potential und thus causes a slowed down signal transmission. In addition information transmission virtually swirls in the grain boundary voids, so tones belonging together are time delayed and torn apart. Above all grain boundary voids allow deformations of the grain structure. This in turn may result in grain contact points, whose resonances may distort the information.

The SCHNERZINGER ATOMIC BONDING conductor material minimizes these sound-influencing effects by providing a permanently compact and enormously homogeneous microstructure of the conductor.

 

CONNECTOR - COMPONENTS, MATERIAL

Our research shows, that the parts performance potential is primarily determined by the crystalline structure of the deployed material rather than by the material itself. Performance deficits because of a non-optimum crystalline material structure of a connector plug may be compensated via clever actions.
With many connector plugs in the audio domain a layer of gold, silver, rhodium, palladium etc. will be added to the conducting material. This improves electrical contact and - via the distinct character of the particular plating - it furthermore allows for compensation of deficits.

But we strive for the solution, not just a compensation of a problem, so we employ connector plugs that are adjusted to the fabric of the SCHNERZINGER CONDUCTOR via the complex process ATOMIC BONDING. We disassemble all plugs into their individual parts and replace the contact pins by ATOMIC BONDING formatted pins. To perfectly protect the contact pins against interfering fields and to establish double operational reliability, the plug receives a two-shelled housing. To reduce contact resistance, after assembly plugs and conductor together will be ATOMIC BONDING processed once again.

Compared to the complexity and effect of these actions the significance of the original material characteristic is secondary.

The decision in favor of the now employed connector plugs was done after a multitude of comparisons utilizing the best respected plugs and sockets of the world market.

Price and reputation of the tested devices were of minor importance, as the costs of ATOMIC BONDING by far exceed the costs of expensive plugs.

We explicitly indicate, that - because of the structural adjustment of plugs and conductor material - any back fitting to other plugs will drastically degrade sound quality, thus irreparably destroy the SCHNERZINGER original connection.