German engineering is a phrase that immediately screams no nonsense quality. From cars to wristwatches, the general presumption being that if it’s mechanical and it’s made in Germany, it’s likely to be built on solid engineering principles.
Based in Ballrechten-Dottingen and in the audio game since 1977, In-akustik is now part of the Braun Group which also includes cable specialist brands Braunkabel and Eagle Cable, alongside the slightly less obvious model railway manufacturer BRAWA (which you just know will always run on time).
Nicely packaged and proudly sporting their Made In Germany badge, the Micro Air range is well presented
With cables starting at less than a hundred quid for the brand’s premium range up to its Reference Air Pure Silver offerings extending into five figures, In-akustik caters for wide a range of budgets, with its Micro Air offerings sitting around the midpoint at £260 for a 0.75m stereo pair of the NF-104 Micro AIR RCA interconnects and £400 for a pair of 2m runs of LS-104 Micro AIR loudspeaker cable, terminated with banana plugs.
In the air tonight
As part of the same 104 family the LS-104 loudspeaker cable and NF-104 interconnects are both billed as an entry point into the brand’s Micro Air line. As the name implies, both feature In-akustik’s Micro Air tech, which is focussed on the cable’s insulator and jacket. This tech highlights that cable capacitance is like a battery, whereby it can store and then release delayed energy, which can unduly influence the audio signal the cable is also transmitting.
In-akustik’s Micro Air tech’s woven outer mesh sits over a polyethylene layer, insulating the internal concentrically arranged copper strands
This capacitance is governed by a number of factors including the impact of its insulating material and its dielectric qualities. Air however does not impact these unwanted or unpredictable influences, making it an ideal insulator, which is why In-akustik’s Micro Air tech employs a complex, diamond-shaped structure that surrounds the jacket. These chamber shapes increase the distance between the conductors and by default, increase the air content in the insulation.
LS-104 speaker cable includes a personally signed certificate, highlighting its hand crafted and assembled production
A thin layer of polyethylene then sits between the woven outer jacket and high purity concentric copper conductors to protect them, including against oxidation. And that concentric arrangement isn’t just for show, as In-akustik intentionally arranges its copper in this formation to ensure maximum contact between each strand.
In-akustik offers three types of termination for the LS-104 including high quality spade connectors, BFA banana plugs or crimped on cable ends, which are rhodium coated.
In-akustik’s BFA banana plugs are top quality, featuring screw on caps to keep them clean and away from airborne contamination when not in use
Get connected
Only available in a line-level configuration (with the NF-204 offering a balanced option), the NF-104 Micro Air interconnects come in 0.75m, 1m and 1.5m lengths as standard and also sport a Micro Air based weave that sits between the central copper conductors and double shield layers, with a final more tightly woven protective outer layer.
Like with its partnering speaker cables, In-akustik has also paid close attention to the NF-104’s connectors which are pressure injected (1.5 tonnes) and also get a rhodium plating. And unlike many audio cables, they’re intentionally solder free for a purer signal path.
The NF-104 plugs are nicely finished and feature directional arrows for signal flow, although without colour markings for left and right channels, you’ll need to take care when installing to ensure the channels don’t get crossed
Performance
Thanks to their flexible build and relatively slender profile, these cables are easy to install and unobtrusive.
Reference kit is my Musical Fidelity M6 pre/power amps with the loudspeaker cable fitted between the latter and my legacy Dynaudio Focus 260 loudspeakers. I tested the NF-104 interconnect across various pieces of kit in my system, including between the pre and power amps as well as partnering source kit, mainly my Primare NP30 and NP5 Prisma MK2 streaming front end.
Hooked up to the rear of my Musical Fidelity M6 PRX power amp highlights how easy an installation these cables are, thanks to their quality connections and slender cable profiles
Where this speaker cable package makes itself known is in the clarity stakes, combined with a greater sense of breathing space within the soundstage, especially in comparison to my usual cables (including heavy duty offerings from Van Damme).
On Ondara’s A Blackout In Paris from his Spanish Villager No.3 album streamed at 24-bit/96kHz via Qobuz there’s plenty of air surrounding his vocals, allowing them to fill the soundstage without seeming forced or confined. And this really makes you sit up and take notice on the high pitched harmonies towards the end of the track, which sound gorgeously free of any unwanted mush.
Dialling back the decades for some vintage blues and The Doors’ L.A. Woman at 24/96 resolution doesn’t disappoint. With the In-akustik pairing delivering the musical juice across my system the clarity is taken up a gear. The keyboards and percussion for example on Queen Of The Highway have pin sharp accuracy with crisp leading edges that reveal the sheer quality of this 50 year old recording. And when Robby Krieger’s jazz infused guitar licks kick in the instrument separation makes for a delightful experience. That slight blurring around the edges I’m used to hearing from cheaper cables is thankfully absent, making the music sound much more accessible and, frankly, easier to get lost in.
Moving on to something more contemporary and Ben Howard’s latest Is It? album at 24/44 provides an eclectic sonic landscape to put the In-akustik pairing through their paces. Track two Walking Backwards for example is a pure audio workout that’s full of fast paced and frenetic rhythms, overlaid with Ben’s loose and low key vocals. Capturing these two contrasting elements with equal energy and focus is no easy feat, and with less neutral cables, those vocals can get quickly overwhelmed, but with the Micro Air pairing everything remains nicely balanced.
What this highlights is how these cables don’t overly flavour the sound in ways many cables can (and are designed to do, as I know many hifi users that call on cables to soften their system’s sound or enhance certain aspects). And if the In-akustik pairing had to be labelled with a sonic signature it’s very much in the neutrality stakes, that doesn’t get in the way of your system while ensuring maximum clarity.
In summary
The In-akustik 104 Micro Air range is a well engineered cable set that’s a cut above average, backed by established German engineering. Don’t be fooled by their unobtrusive looks, as their sonic signature is open and blessed with a neutrality that will bring extra clarity to most systems.
