2. tech-talk
  3. 1366070855

Entreq Silver Tellus grounding/earthing system

Hi A'goners, I'd like to tell you all a little about this component which has taken noise elimination in my system to a whole new level.
I run a Trans Fi Salvation/Terminator tt/arm, ESCCo modded Zu 103 cart into a Tom Evans Audio Design Groove Plus SRX phono, Emm Labs CDSA SE, Hovland HP200/Radia pre/pow, and Zu Definitions Mk4 spkrs. This set up is (now) effortlessly dynamic and transparent.
I live in a semi industrial area with broadband on in every apartment, internet booster stations and light engineering nearby.
It became apparent some years ago that apart from the hours of midnight to 5am, I could not rely on a good sound, and research led to conclusion that mains borne noise was likely the culprit.
This led to my first partial success, the installation of the Burmester 948 mains conditioner/filter 7 years ago. This resulted in an immediate reduction in noise and increase in transparency/delicacy ie a major improvement, even in daylight hours. BUT it became apparent over time that dynamics were seriously pinched, and the conclusion I've correctly drawn is that peak current demand was restricted by the unit compromising the power amp output.
This led to my next upgrade, and now real progress: an 8kVA pro studio Westwick 8K balanced power transformer. Now I got all the previous improvements with no current restrictions to the power amp - transparency AND NOW dynamics in spades.
But as with all things audio, the awareness of the Entreq grounding/earthing system piqued my interest further in eliminating mains issues. Entreq are a Swedish audio engineering company with a couple of decades experience, and provide a variety of mains and interconnect products.
The Entreq Silver Tellus is a wooden box, the size and weight of a small power amp. It contains inert minerals and a grounding plate. It's a passive device ie NOT powered from the mains, and sits adjacent to the system. In my system, one Apollo Eartha interconnect runs from one of 4 terminals on the back of the Tellus, to an unused input of my preamp. It is possible to connect another 3 components to a single Tellus.
In effect, it provides an ADDITIONAL earth/ground to the system, NOT replacing the existing protective earth. This then provides an uninterrupted drain for RF/EMI/other hash from the system to the Tellus.
I was expecting a minor improvement at most. What I wasn't expecting was a transformation of the system.
Firstly, soundstage deepens dramatically, so much so that the stage seems totally independent of the spkrs. Phenomenal reduction in noise really enhances the blackness between notes, and brings micro detail to the fore. This reduction in noise has the amazing side benefit of relegating vinyl surface noise way into the background. The overall effect is a fantastic increase in dynamics and transparency, taking what balanced power brings to the party and sending it off the scale.
Vitally, the nature of the system sound hasn't changed, since the Silver Tellus enhances performance, doesn't change it; in many ways is the best system wide upgrade to optimise performance I could make.
My conclusion from the last 7 years is that noise is the major limiting factor in my system, and the installation of Westwick 8k balanced power ($7000) and Entreq Silver Tellus/ Apollo Eartha grounding/earthing ($3000) has led to improvements that even a total overhaul of the system and buying new at 5x the cost could not surpass.
If anyone is getting frustrated with their system, address the mains first before you go down the merry-go-round of endless component upgrades.
In the UK, Kog Audio are the go-to guys for Entreq. I have no affiliation, just an extremely content audiophile, now so much closer to the end point on improving my system.
spiritofmusic
spiritofmusic OP
828 posts
 
About to audition a couple more Entreq Apollo i/cs, a balanced one for my Emm Labs CDSA cdp, and another spade end one with my Soundsmith Straingauge SG200 energiser box. Prev phono performed worse with an Apollo, so this will just be speculative.
LOVING what the Silver Tellus is doing to lower the noise floor with just a single rca Apollo to the preamp.
spiritofmusic OP
828 posts
 
Just installed a spade-spade Apollo from my Straingauge energiser box earth terminal to the Silver Tellus, and a balanced-spade Apollo from the spare balanced output of my Emm Labs CDSA SE cdp to the Silver Tellus - all alongside the rca-spade Apollo from the Hovland HP200 preamp to the Silver Tellus.
The effects of all this are phenomenal. An amazing reduction in noise floor allowing subtle details to emerge from blackness, and a general reduction in hash and bloat.
Aiming to add a last pair of spade-spade Apollos from the earth terminals of each of my new Audion Black shadow SET monoblocks.
All really enhancing, and taking fwds, the effects of balanced power on the system.
audiotunesx
24 posts
 
Thank you for the reviews on the Tellus. I just picked up a Silver Minimus with copper wires. Wires are connected directly to the Chasis of my source and integrated amp. I found that the Minimus did not shift tone or add anything to the way the system sounds. Rather, the effect is that of removing noise to reveal what your system really sounds like. Soundstage and images improve tremendously. Disconnecting the Minimus has the effect of less volume, a flatness of sound towards the wall, less separation between voices and instruments, and a touch of harshness. With the Minimus back in place these issues are corrected and music is overall much more like a live experience.

I think it may still be wise to go for power conditioning first. In terms of passive conditioning I would recommend these non-current limiting PLC's (tested with entire system including amp and sub) in order of price:

Value
Blue Circle FX2 - Excellent all around cleaning and can act as a distributer
Nordost QV2 - Very strong for taming high freq harshness and expanding soundstage
---------------------
High Performance/Value ratio
Audience aR2p-TO - This is a breaker box type unit that will need a distributer. The FX2 pairing is quite good. The Audience is incredible and every bit as good as reviews state. It brings out liveliness and energy in the music, all the while lowering the noise floor and removing harshness.
Running Springs Haley - I'm not sure why this unit doesn't get more attention. Better than anything I've tried in terms of lowering noise and harshness. It would be my PLC of choice if I had to pick one. The combo of Audience & RSA is a perfect synergy.

I would also say that replacing all my fuses system wide with Synergistic Research fuses had just as much impact as PLC and Ground conditioning.
spiritofmusic OP
828 posts
 
Audiotunesx, a few years ago I went from running my system straight out of the wall to using a Burmester 948 power conditioner. I achieved a fantastic improvement in consistency, transparency, delicacy and detail retrieval, but something wasn't quite right - a sort of softening of the sound and clipping in dynamics. So a frustrating improvement and deterioration at the same time.
A couple of years ago, I investigated the benefits of balanced power, and took a bit of a punt - installed a dedicated consumer unit, high grade wiring and spur just for the audio/av system, and hard wired a 4kVA balanced power transformer into this from which the audio/av system is powered.
Frustration for about a month, with all the bass gone and treble burning my eardrums - this in retrospect I discovered was 25kg of cold copper in the transformer gradually warming up.
Then a month passes, and the sound transforms - all the delicacy, transparency and detail retrieval of the Burmester was retained, and surpassed, but now in conjunction with unlimited dynamics and preservation of leading edge of notes with full sustain.
Really getting that "after midnight" sound 24/7.
This is the rock solid foundation that the Entreq Silver Tellus/Apollo ics are building upon, and I really was skeptical that there could be any room for improvement prior to the Entreq UK dealer installing the rig in my system.
Wow, was I incorrect. Each step in upgrade (Silver Tellus grounding box with Eartha Silver i/c from preamp, then this Eartha Silver i/c changed to Apollo i/c, then addition of Apollo i/c from Straingauge energiser box (eff. my phono stage) and Apollo i/c from cdp, and next most likely two Apollo i/c's from each monoblock) has been a revelation.
I would summarise the improvements as a further reduction in noise floor from the already-low level achieved by balanced power, a solidifying of the soundstage - projecting it slightly forward and fixing it rock solid btwn the spkrs, relegating surface noise from vinyl to a layer well behind the soundstage to be insignificant. Amazingly, the effects amount to an increase in excitement and ease at the same time.
In my system at least, it appears noise is the limiting factor, and balanced power followed by Entreq grounding is really revealing what my system is capable of.
agear
1,362 posts
 
Good for you spirit. There are bimbos who inhabit this site who think products like the Entreq and Tripoint Troy are pure witchcraft. I could not disagree more as I have had first hand experience with Tripoint. Its funny how foundational elements like the room and power are coming to the forefront again.

Dale Pitcher, my speaker and power conditioner manufacturer, has always stressed the importance of electrical grounding. My dedicated room has an isolated ionic grounding system from Lyncole, and I plan to snag a Tripoint Troy signature when money avails itself....

Audiotunesx, that is sound advice. Those synergistic fuses are the bomb. I have an audio buddy whose ears I trust that swears I should send in the fuse boxes in my dedicated panel for Synergistic research to treat (quantum tunnel, cryo, etc).
More to discover