Furutech’s New SK-Filter Now Available

August 5, 2016

Japanese cable and accessories manufacturers Furutech have added to their range of static charge eliminators with the new SK-Filter, conveniently designed to remove unwanted static build-up from the surface of records as they play. It’s an unfortunate fact that as vinyl records spin on turntables, friction with the air causes them to constantly gain a static charge. In fact, a record’s level of frictional static electricity can reach up to anywhere between 3,000V and 20,000V. Enter the audiophile’s arch enemy: electro-static noise interference, with its compromising effects on sound quality.

Furutech’s new SK-Filter solves the problem ‘in situ’. As the record spins on the turntable, this neat little device gets to work sending static electricity packing. The SK-Filter uses a patented material, Thunderon®, which consists of a very fine acrylic fibre chemically bonded with copper sulphide. The resulting conductive filament has the ability to discharge static electricity into the air whenever static-charged material approaches – so the SK-Filter’s fibres do not need to touch the record. Rather, they are positioned a millimetre or two above the record’s surface thanks to an easy-to-use stand which is fully adjustable to complement a wide range of turntable set-ups. In developing the SK-Filter, Furutech’s audio design team undertook their usual process of research and development. Thunderon® was crafted into a thread-like material, strands of which were then knitted together to form the brush’s fibres. The precise combination of fibre length, quantity and density specifically required to effectively eliminate static from the surface of a record was exhaustively tested to identify the perfect balance. Their goal? Silence. In eliminating surface static, the SK-Filter reduces the noise floor, allowing you to enjoy listening to music on vinyl with full resolution.