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Worthwhile $5 Tweak

A recent thread at Audioasylum about an $800 grounding system being marketed at Audiogon got a response from an inmate there suggesting that making a clean and secure ground connection was a worthwhile thing to do. While I cannot comment on the system being marketed, I can tell you that checking the ground in my 40 year old house was a very worthwhile thing to do. An old clamp, all rusted up, attached the ground wire to my main waterline. Bought a new brass or bronze clamp for $4 Cnd. (the cheapies are about $1-looked at them and they appear to be the same as the corroded one I had), gave the water pipe a sand and clipped and stripped the ground wires down and reconnected. A very worthwhile improvement to sound quality for under $5-highly recommended if you are in an older (or maybe even newer property) without dedicated circuits, grounds etc.
hdm

Showing 3 responses by errivera

errivera
22 posts
 
Correct!!! It was a tubed preamp.

If and whenever there is a resolution to this saga (horror story) I will be sure to post the results, along with the preamp information.
errivera
22 posts
 
Just FYI:

About two years ago, a audiophile friend of mine found that his preamp also sounded better with the ground lifted. He proceeded to remove the ground plug by inserting a plug with a pigtail between the preamp plug and the AC plug. While he was at work there was a fire at his condo. After the insurance investigation was completed he was notified of their findings.

The insurance company had determined that the preamp was the source of the fire. Because he had removed the ground plug from the preamp they refused to pay his claim. They are still in court over this. The preamp manufacture has at this point become involved on the side of the insurance commpany.

I think it is always best to try and rectify the problem at the source. If this means hiring someone to track down grounding problems or purchasing a power conditioner, then so be it.
errivera
22 posts
 
I forgot to mention:

I am getting this information second-hand from my friend. Unfortunately, he has been told that he cannot make mention of the manufacture's name until this is resolved. It appears that there is more here than meets the eye.

I mention this because I'm sure many of you will want to know the brand of preamp; well, I don't know. What I do know is that he paid $4,500.00 for it.

Apparently, the plaintiff (my buddy) and the defendant (the insurance co.) are battling each other to prove their own cause. My friend tells me he had to hire engineers to attempt to prove a design flaw in the electronics. The manufacture on the other hand has stuck to their guns by insisting that the equipment was modified and therefore they are not responsible.

Did I mention that my buddy is also being sued by the neighboring condo owner who also suffered damages during the fire? What a mess!!!
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