Ground 'box' what's in them?

Let me take a shot at this ... first to answer the OP's original question ... "what's in the box" ...

I see at least 3 or 4 different schemes employed

First there is the use of strong magnetics ... second I believe Tara uses a special ceramic mix ...third and completely different is the use of the grounding box as a central single point ground and lastly is the use of crystals such as Tourmaline as Davidpritchard has mentioned

Starting with the magnets and ceramic mix ... electrical signals are always accompanied by magnetic fields ... electrical fields follow magnetic fields when magnetic fields are properly aligned in a North South orientation

Strong magnets when placed on the ends of a conductor will help draw the current through the conductor based on the magnet's orientation

The use of magnets and ceramic mixes are attempts to increase the flow in the direction of ground from your components attempting to pull any extra voltage riding on the components ground plane away from the component

Grounding boxes used as Central Single Point grounding scheme ... here this type of grounding box attempts to create a single point of ground and equalize all ground paths to a single grounding point ... similar to Star Grounding schemes

When ever there is a difference in the actual length of the ground conductor's length ... there are small difference in the ground potential which translates to additional voltage ... which translate into noise and ground loop

By using special cables of exact equal length connected from your component's chassis to the grounding box ... you are attempting to equalize all your components ground planes and then the grounding box is connected to the wall outlet attempting to create a single point of ground ... there is still a bump in the rug with this system I will explain later ... bear with me

Most common is when the cable company doesn't tie their ground to the house ground ... you get a ground loop that presents itself as a humming in the speakers or a bar traveling across and up your display device

You will also have issues if you use two separate circuits that are not on the same phase of your main panel box ... different length ground paths cause potential differences and ground loops

Here's another good one many audiophiles are guilty of and don't realize

You plug your amps directly into the wall but you plug all your sources and low level devices into a power conditioner and then plug the power conditioner into the wall ... there is a big difference in ground path length from your low level devices to your power conditioner to the wall than your amp plugged directly into the wall

Besides creating ground loops the difference in ground potential is a open invitation for RF to couple to that conductor and invade your components

For more on this check out the Core Audio Technology website where they discuss problems with different length ground paths and how RF is easily coupled to your components

The last in the box scheme is Crystals ... I don't see how they can draw Voltage / Noise away from your component ... I'm under the impression that when current passes through or near a Crystal .. the Crystal is heated up and emits a beneficial counter wave reducing RF ... sorry I just don't get how Crystal work in a ground scheme

Now the Bump in the rug I mentioned earlier

All components should have two separate and Isolated ground planes from each other

One is the Third wire safety circuit which provide a low impedance path way to the ground rod in the event of a fault or short circuit until the breaker can trip ... this circuit is completely separate from the audio signal circuit and only provide a safe path in the event of a fault or short circuit ... there is no audio signal content on the Third wire safety circuit nor should there be ... it's a safety circuit not and audio circuit

The other ground plane should be a separate ground plane in each component of 0 voltage for the positive half of the audio signal to reference to ... the ground boxes are an attempt to remove any voltage attached to this ground plane as this noise will increase the Noise Floor

Problem is most manufactures designing to a price point of "good enough for Audiofools mentalities" only employ the Third wire safety circuit and tie the Signal ground plane to it (the Third wire safety circuit)

Bump in the rug ...

The Third wire safety circuit is a cesspool of noise created by high soil resistivity creating high impedance at the ground rod and pushing current back to the main panel because the current sees the main panel box as a lower path of resistance ... your town's Zoning has a minimum spec for ground rod impedance .. check with them ... you may be SHOCKED ;-)

Chemical reaction between the copper ground rod and chemicals in the soil will create galvanic reaction and voltage ... RF is also picked up by the ground wire from the ground rod to the main panel box and all the other safety wire through out the house are acting as antenna capturing RF and carrying it to the main panel box where all the safety wires are bonded together on a ground bus bar

Impedance difference between you main panel box and the ground rod can also set up reflection back to the source for any current the ground rod can't dissipate

As you can hopefully see there is a tremendous amount of potential for voltage to be generated and transmitted back to the main panel box through all the Third wire safeties in the house and then back to each component through their Third wire safety connection to ground

This is why you need a separate isolated ground plane in each component lying at 0 volts for the positive phase of the Audio signal to reference to ...

If your component uses the Third wire safety circuit ( and almost all do) as the Ground Reference for the positive signal ... then the positive half of the audio signal will see all the voltage/noise floating on the Third wire safety that has accumulated and the noise floor of the component will be raised or much higher

This is possibly what all those mega buck ground boxes are trying to address

For more info on noisy grounds and how to defeat them google "Ground Transient Blocker"

.

Boxes like Acoustic revive and Entreq contain a mixture of solids, presumably "minerals". The problem is that most homes are inadequately grounded. In Arizona where I live, I'm sure that the outside ground bar is embedded in bone dry dirt. So those three prong plugs aren't really helping your rig to sound better. Some adventurous souls have claimed that chopping off the ground prongs from all the plugs will make one's system sound better. I use Entreq, and I like it in my system.

Davehrab, thanks for the technical help. But, it still doesn't explain how or what is inside one of these pricey ground boxes.

Psag, I have been very interested in trying one of the Entrq units but, I can't get past the price. For a unit to handle my whole system it is > $5000. I mean it doesn't even plug in the wall?

So, what the heck kind of high priced components are inside that unit that should warrant such a high price?

I have purchased some tweaks that really do improve the sound, and I have always felt that the tweak shouldn't be judged by what it is made of but what it does to improve sound quality.

An example of this would be the Synergistic HFT's and the Audio Prism ground controls.I applaud these companies for thinking outside the box.(pun intended)

But, even with that,the Entreq ground boxes still baffle me.

Now the Bump in the rug I mentioned earlier

All components should have two separate and Isolated ground planes from each other

One is the Third wire safety circuit which provide a low impedance path way to the ground rod in the event of a fault or short circuit until the breaker can trip ... this circuit is completely separate from the audio signal circuit and only provide a safe path in the event of a fault or short circuit ... there is no audio signal content on the Third wire safety circuit nor should there be ... it's a safety circuit not and audio circuit
07-02-15: Davehrab

Dave,

The ground rod and Mother Earth has nothing to do with the circuit of a ground fault event on the safety equipment grounding conductor.

There are three components of a 120Vac branch circuit.
*The Hot ungrounded conductor.
*The Neutral, The Grounded Conductor.
*The Equipment Grounding Conductor, often referred to as the safety equipment ground or grounding conductor.

The typical residential single phase 120/240 volt electrical panel found in our homes has 3 service entrance conductors that are supplied by the Utility Power Company's transformer.
Two Hot 240Vac single phase ungrounded Conductors and one neutral conductor, that is a center tap connection on the secondary 240V single phase winding of the power transformer. The Utility Power Company usually connects the secondary winding low voltage neutral conductor to the primary high voltage neutral conductor and connects them to Mother Earth.
Why? Mainly for lightning protection. And it is also to help limit the high voltage from crossing over to the secondary output of the transformer in the event of a high voltage to secondary fault.

The low voltage service neutral conductor will be connected to Mother Earth again at the main service equipment disconnecting means. Translation the main electrical service equipment enclosure that houses the main breaker/s.

To keep it simple let's use an electrical panel for the house that has the service main disconnect breaker.
So after the Power Company's meter the 3 service entrance conductors enter the main electrical panel. The 2 Hot ungrounded conductors connect to the line side of the Main 2 pole breaker.
The Neutral conductor connects to the neutral/ground bar.
Per NEC code as well as State and local electrical codes, The neutral Conductor must be connected to Mother Earth again.
Why? Lightning protection and to limit any high voltage that may enter the service conductors from the high voltage feeding the power transformer in the event of a fault condition. (Remember the utility high voltage neutral conductor is connected to the low voltage neutral conductor and then connected to mother earth.)

Finally we are getting to the heart of the relationship of the neutral, (The Grounded Conductor), and the Equipment Ground, (The Grounding Conductor).

So the service entrance neutral is connected to earth using wiring methods and materials that meet NEC as well as AHJ, (Authority Having Jurisdiction), local governing codes in your area. The service neutral must also be bonded, connected, to the metal enclosure of the electrical panel either by a green bonding screw through a hole in the neutral/ground bar to the metal enclosure or a supplied bonding strap that will connect the neutral/ground bar to the enclosure.
We now have created a grounded AC power system with ONE electrical ground plane for the dwelling unit structure, the house.

If we measure from Hot L1, leg, to Hot L2, leg we will measure 240Vac nominal.
From L1 to neutral 120V nominal.
From L2 to neutral 120V nominal.

Note at the main electrical panel the neutral conductor bar and equipment ground bar are one in the same. This is the only place that branch circuit neutral conductors and equipment grounding conductors are connected together. They cannot electrically be connected together at any point thereafter.

Next, finally, lets look at a piece of audio equipment that uses the safety equipment grounding conductor.
If we measure the voltage at the wall receptacle we will find,

120V nominal from the HOT, (small slot hole contact) to the neutral, (larger slot or 'T' hole contact).

From the HOT contact to the U shaped equipment ground contact 120V nominal.

And from the neutral contact to the equipment grounding contact zero volts.

Remember the equipment grounding conductor is connected to the service neutral conductor in the main electrical panel.

So let's create a ground fault event inside a power amp that uses the safety equipment ground. For an example the hot conductor after the safety fuse was installed laying against a sharp corner edge of the iron core of the large EI power transformer. With passing time the heat and 60Hz vibration of the transformer wore an ever so small hole in the insulation just barely exposing the hot wire of the insulated conductor.

Houston we have lift off! If the equipment ground was not defeated and enough current is traveling now on the chassis of the amp to the equipment grounding conductor the safety fuse inside the amp will blow when the ampere rating of the fuse is exceeded breaking the HOT conductor to equipment grounding conductor ground fault completed circuit.

Mother Earth has nothing to do with it. She is not involved in any way. Now of course if you are standing outside in your bare feet on wet grass and come in contact with a hot wire, Ya, then she is involved!

It also should be said Mother Earth does not possess some magical mystical power that sucks nasties from our audio equipment.
Henry W. Ott , Grounding Myths

As for the OP's question about the ground boxes I do not have any experiences with them one way or the other.
With that said I can only add our 120V grounded power system is asymmetrical. We have a Hot conductor that is 120V potential nominal above ground and a neutral conductor that is at zero volt potential with respect to ground.

Food for thought. What is the reference ground plane for a Stealth B1 Bomber's electrical system? Not Mother Earth...
.
Jim

Ozzy:

You are absolutely right that the Entreq system is expensive and with so many possible units and connecting wire combinations one could go crazzy trying to get the perfect sound.

The Entreq thread at Whats the Best Audio forum is hundreds of posts.

I have the Synergistic Research Grounding Block and at $599.00 it is not a major budget breaker.

With their friendly 30 day trial, I looked at it as an opportunity to learn how my system's sound could change.

I found it a worthwile addition to my system.