Not an add for Synergistic but a recommendation to try someone's (anyone, including home made if you want) grounding system if you think you have any of the problems Almarg and Atmasphere describe
A New Ground -- Benefits of introducing the Synergistic Research Active Ground Block SE
Dedicated ground solutions are not a novel idea but over the past year it seems everyone has been coming out with their version. For a few months I’ve been thinking about introducing one to my system and had considered Entreq, Telos, Nordost and others. Although I have a bunch of Synergistic Research (SR) kit I had dismissed their older basic ground block as too rinky dink -- however when I heard about the new Active Ground Blocks I thought that could be the way to go. The Active Ground blocks are smallish devices with a mains connection and a plethora of outlets for grounding cables to every component. They incorporate a range of the latest SR UEF tweaks
http://www.synergisticresearch.com/isolation/ground-isolation/active-ground-block-se/
While the blocks alone are quite expensive ($2995) you will also need to lay out for connections to all of your components -- ideally the HD links. In my case as I have two distinct zones in my system I needed two ground blocks and 13 links -- quite an outlay
Question is is it worthwhile? Most certainly yes. The impact of implementing a full grounding solution in my system was one of the most profound changes I’ve experienced. It’s not a change that can be described in the usual audiophile terms of dynamics, frequency response, transparency etc. Instead it’s a shift in the wholeness, the verisimilitude, the gestalt of what you are hearing. Probably this is most obvious in a couple of places. Firstly is in background washes of sound (e.g. classic synth backings, or massed strings, or the whoosh that opens "Private Investigations") -- which now take on a scale, texture and clarity that had previously been completely masked. Secondly in vocals where a whole level of shading, nuance, breathwork, and subtly inflections are now audible. This is not simply more "detail" or a "reduction in the noise floor" it’s as if things which you did not know previously existed are suddenly there, as they had been all along
The effect is enhanced the more things you ground -- obviously all active components but even stands (my GPA stands are conductive so I connect a basic ground link to the bare metal inside the stand posts -- the surface metal is varnished and non conductive).
While I obviously can recommend the SR products I imagine any ground solution will bring similar benefits and would strongly suggest that anyone with a high resolution system explore some form of ground solution
ps For those in the now the music to accompany this review is A New Ground
http://www.synergisticresearch.com/isolation/ground-isolation/active-ground-block-se/
While the blocks alone are quite expensive ($2995) you will also need to lay out for connections to all of your components -- ideally the HD links. In my case as I have two distinct zones in my system I needed two ground blocks and 13 links -- quite an outlay
Question is is it worthwhile? Most certainly yes. The impact of implementing a full grounding solution in my system was one of the most profound changes I’ve experienced. It’s not a change that can be described in the usual audiophile terms of dynamics, frequency response, transparency etc. Instead it’s a shift in the wholeness, the verisimilitude, the gestalt of what you are hearing. Probably this is most obvious in a couple of places. Firstly is in background washes of sound (e.g. classic synth backings, or massed strings, or the whoosh that opens "Private Investigations") -- which now take on a scale, texture and clarity that had previously been completely masked. Secondly in vocals where a whole level of shading, nuance, breathwork, and subtly inflections are now audible. This is not simply more "detail" or a "reduction in the noise floor" it’s as if things which you did not know previously existed are suddenly there, as they had been all along
The effect is enhanced the more things you ground -- obviously all active components but even stands (my GPA stands are conductive so I connect a basic ground link to the bare metal inside the stand posts -- the surface metal is varnished and non conductive).
While I obviously can recommend the SR products I imagine any ground solution will bring similar benefits and would strongly suggest that anyone with a high resolution system explore some form of ground solution
ps For those in the now the music to accompany this review is A New Ground
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- 96 posts total
Check out this review on the Gutwire grounding approach. They don't think boxes are the answer since they eventually become saturated and have to be disconnected every few months and "shaken" to clean them out. Their approach is to drain the ground directly from the circuit board by using an unused input, out to the ground in the AC outlet. After reading the article, I'm thinking of trying one out myself. All the best, Nonoise |
@nonoise I agree, it’s always seemed odd that the boxes like Entreqs could really act as a ground while separate from the electrical ground. my problem with what Gutwire propose is that you need a hell of a lot of cables if you have a complex system like mine, and more to the point a lot of available outlets sharing a common ground. I have prior experience grounding my FEQs to a different outlet to the one they are powered from and that didn’t sound at all good ... it is interesting that Gutwire actually specify that the ground for their cords should NOT be shared with the rest of the electronics ... oh well, lots of room for different approaches I guess |
Folkfreak, your concerns mirror mine. I've gotten to where I actually like the way everything looks now so if I were to get one, it would involve a long cord to get the next outlet box and even then, it may not work the way I thought it would. The thing that keeps me interested is the high praise that Glen gave the Gutwire. He's not prone to hyperbole and the sometimes maddening prose that Srajan employs. He gets right to the point and rarely raves about anything. For him, it either works or it doesn't. All the best, Nonoise |
- 96 posts total