Omega Mikro
Planar Speaker Cables I, II, & V
"...nothing gets you closer to the music."
Contact Us
Instructions
(Connection diagrams at bottom of page)
Introduction: Omega Mikro cables and interconnects are a joint venture of Mapleshade Electronics and inSound. Omega Mikro cable and interconnect designs reflect a simple design philosophy: minimize dielectric and skin effects, impurities and susceptibility to stray fields. This minimalist philosophy achieves more natural sound at the expense of ruggedness. Our cables therefore require extra care when handling, installing, and while in use to avoid damage. Unlike the heavy, thick, but rugged dielectric materials common to most speaker cables, our outer shields are light and open, mostly air, but are prone to snagging. If the shields break, the sound will be degraded. Stepping on the cable will likely damage it. The inner conductors are ultra-thin and will break if subjected to undue stress. Because our shields are open and airy, the conductor inside can be contacted from outside. Please avoid making electrical contact with the conductor as this could damage your cable or other equipment!
Omega Mikro Planar Speaker Cables are supplied as four individual conductors for a stereo set rather than two bundled conductors as is the common practice. The active version of the OM Planar Speaker Cables comes with two specially marked battery boxes, one for each channel. Planar II and V Speaker Cables must be used only with these specially marked battery boxes and not any others!
Speaker Connections: Install the cable so that its pigtail leaded ends are at the amplifier. Connect the single red stripe or dot end free of pigtails to the speaker + or red terminal so that a positive voltage moves the cone outward. The end with single blue stripe or dot free of pigtails then connects to the speaker - or black terminal. For passive speaker cables the double stripe or dot ends connect to the amplifier terminals (Refer to attached connection diagrams).
Battery Box Connections: There is one specially marked battery box for each channel. The speaker cables’ pigtail lead with black pin-connector connects to any of the battery box’s black jacks. The jumper with the white pin-plug connects to any of the battery box’s red jacks. Use either red pin-jack for the white pin-plug. On some battery boxes one red pin-jack remains unused on each battery box.
Amplifier and Battery Box Connections with respect to Absolute Polarity (with reference to “The Wood Effect” by Clark Johnsen): The attached connection diagrams assume that the signal at the input to your amplifier is in absolute phase with respect to the original acoustic wave front. That is, a positive going voltage represents a positive leading edge on an acoustic compression wave of the original sound. The pin-plug connections are as shown in the connection diagram for either polarity of input signal. If your amplifier does not invert, connect the double red-striped or dotted cable end to the (+ or Hot or Red) amplifier terminal. If your amplifier inverts, connect the double red-striped or dotted pigtail end of the cable to the (- or Ground or Black) amplifier terminal. Connect the double blue-striped or dotted pigtail end of the cable to the opposite amplifier output terminal. (Refer to attached connection diagrams). If you’re not sure whether or not your amplifier inverts please check with your dealer or the amplifier manufacturer.
Out of Absolute Phase input Signals: If the input signal to your amplifier is out-of-absolute-phase, then connect the double red-striped or dotted pigtail end of the cable to the (+ or Hot or Red) amplifier terminal if your amplifier inverts. If your amplifier does not invert, connect the double red-striped or dotted cable end to the (- or Ground or Black) amplifier terminal. Connect the double blue-striped or dotted pigtail end of the cable to the opposite amplifier output terminal. The pin-plug connections are as shown in the connection diagrams for either polarity of input signal.
Batteries: Batteries are included in the battery boxes. These are ordinary 9V carbon zinc (we do not recommend any other type) batteries with our LCX methods added and should last the shelf life of the batteries. Each battery box uses four batteries to bias the shield 18 volts negative with respect to the amplifier’s negative or positive terminal. If you have a voltmeter, you may want to check the in-circuit battery voltage every few months. The voltage should be greater than 18 volts. If not, replace the batteries. If the in-circuit voltage is much less than 18 volts with fresh batteries, there is a problem. In that case, return the cables and battery boxes to Omega Mikro for repair. There is no charge if a problem develops during the first year (not due to accident or misuse.) After a year, there will be a nominal charge. If you don’t have a voltmeter, replace the batteries once a year and trust your ears to detect any problems.
Important Tweaks: If installed and handled properly, and with appropriate music sources, Omega Mikro planar speaker cables will provide very natural instrument voicing, accurate music dynamics and simultaneously, delicate and subtle details, sound staging, instrument focus and delineation and that elusive sense of a solid foundation that live music has. The better your system, the higher the degree of these natural musical qualities you’ll hear.
We achieve a high level of musical faithfulness by, amongst other techniques, minimizing dielectric material. Therefore, for best performance with our cables, they should be separated from dielectric materials in their environment as much as practical. If you can tolerate the resulting aesthetics, avoid laying cables on rugs made from plastics. Elevating the cables by even six inches above plastic rugs will improve sound quality significantly. Natural materials, such as wood, wool, cotton or silk, do not degrade the sound nearly as much but elevation or separation from these materials will also improve sound quality.
Additionally, aim to keep the red and blue cables as far from each other and from other objects in the environment as you can tolerate.
Break-in: Omega Mikro Planar Speaker Cables will “break-in” during their first few hours of play. Thereafter, sound quality remains constant.
Warranty: Omega Mikro interconnects and cables are warranted against defects in materials and workmanship for a period of one year from receipt by the end user (proof of purchase required.) The warranty shall not apply to defects resulting from improper or accidental misuse. In any case, Omega Mikro is not liable for incidental or consequential damages of any nature. This warranty applies only to the original purchase of this product.
Connection Diagrams: PLANAR I, II and V SPEAKER CABLES