The Ground Control is a passive device made by Computer Audio Design, UK, and is supposed to suppress extremely high frequency noise which the designer claims can have a very deleterious effect on sound quality despite being well above audio frequencies. Anyway, it is a product of the year in Stereophile and the reviews on the website are glowing. However, even their base device is not cheap at $2k, going up to $20k for the largest device. Does anyone have any experience with this product? It seems that reputable reviewers are extremely positive about the improvement it can produce, so I am very curious as to whether it may be a justifiable expense. As the base GC-1 unit can only provide ground for two system components, is anyone (assuming anybody is using these) using more than one GC-1 or the GC-3 which can ground up to six components. The designer/owner also claims great benefit if a dedicated unit is connected to the AC mains ground. Anybody tried this? If so, how efficacious was this compared to grounding system components? Anyway, lots of questions, I hope someone may have some light to shed on this product.
I am very interested in giving one of these a try. I will most likely buy the middle version as the $20k version seems like more than I will need. My dealer prefers to use two of the least expensive version as it gives him more flexibility. I could choose that way as well. All the reviews I have seen have been very positive.
Long time passed. Have you tried the CAD ground controls as yet?
I’m still intrigued by the reviews.
No sir. I have been trying everything else instead. Perhaps I should have.
Maybe I’ll take the deep dive rather than starting down the rabbit hole of moving away from the bridge II streamer on my DSD sr. I think you’ve researched that pretty thoroughly, though I am curious as to your current opinions.
I am a fan of the Bridge 2, and I am puzzled by all the comments about it. I did do the whole Matrix and power supply and expensive cables and tin foil hat routine and found that nice as well. But I never had any problem enjoying the Bridge 2 route myself. I do not believe the Matrix path with all its related costs is a path worth taking at this time. The DSD MKII is on its way to release. It may not need the Matrix, my Gryphon DAC does not need it.
Have either of you (or others reading this) tried the Sonore products UltraRendu or Optical Rendu (sic) through their USB-I2s converter?
I own a MicroRendu, a UltraRendu (2 of them), and a Signature Rendu Optical but I have never tried their converter. If its as good as the rest of their gear it should be wonderful. I should add I am not currently using any of the above. It’s all sitting in a vault waiting for me to fade away.
We hope you remain non-faded for a long time yet.
I’ve done the Bridge II, the Matrix I2S, and the MicroRendu routes. I’ve concluded all 3 are inadequate. Ok, but not great. I’ve found getting rid of that entire scenario, the network, USB, etc and just going with a CD or DVD transport + DAC sounds best. It has been a revelation ditching that snarled mess. Darko had a video in which he said audiophiles who discard the CD do so at their own peril. When he figured that out a couple of years ago, he promptly bought gobs of CDs.
In my experimentation, I agree with him 100%.
I’ve held steady with digital discs all along. My brief experiences with computer audio and streaming audio just left me wanting to spin discs! Glad you resurrected your old Tjoeb.
OK, I still like and play CDs and SACDs (PSA memory player or whatever we call it via I2s to PSA DSD sr) but also like to be able to stream new music. So how to optimize the streaming sound quality without having to sell the house and car? Stick with Bridge, or what? I think it is pretty good this way, but can imagine improvements (there lies the danger).
I’m in the Matrix/ Microrendu sounds better than the BII camp. But it seems to be a matter of personal taste vs a definitive standard.
Darko says he has been a committed computeraudiopile for the last 15 years. See his Roon Nucleus review. He buys quite a few CDs because much of his favoured electro is not available to stream - I’ve looked - and he rips them to his Server. His two top products of 2020 were Tidal Connect and the KEF LS50 wireless speakers.
The Bridge II is an old piece of third party hardware. There is a vast range of excellent streamers from $1,000 to $5,000 and plenty more up to $50,000. Some by the likes of Auralic and Innuos are optimised for usb, with galvanic isolation, internal linear power supplies, mains filtering, vibration damping, low noise processors etc.
In this video, FWIW, Darko declares that audiophiles abandoning CDs do so at their own peril. And it was because of his discovery through direct comparison of audio quality, that he bought gobs of CDs. Not because he wanted to rip them to his server, but because they sound better played in various transports.
In my experience, adding LAN isolation & re-clocking in the form of audiophile network switch brought Bridge II to a level that I did not expect. The cost of such switch is equivalent to Matrix X-SPDIF 2 + two audiophile cables needed to connect it to the streamer on one side, and to the DS DAC on the other (which I did acquire). Both setups need a linear power supply. Bridge II is limited to DOP (DSD 64) and PCM up-to 24/192. My music collection and streaming are within those limits. So, Bridge II is not obsolete for this guy, and would still give me hours and hours of enjoyment.
Well, he preferred listening to CD via a Hegel than a Mytek Brooklyn Bridge, which is a relief because the Hegel is a lot more expensive and the Mytek doesn’t sound very good. The spec of the Mytec suggests there is too much going on in one box so there is quite a lot of electrical noise. He preferred the $6,000 PS Audio transport to the $800 PS Audio Bridge II, which is unsurprising. He then said that the PS Audio Transport sounded much the same as the Innuos Zenith Mk2 server/streamer, which is a relief as I have the improved Mk3 version. It cost me £2,100, with 4tb storage, compared to £6,000 for the PS Audio transport.
At the end he says, in defence of 16/44, there is an unhealthy obsession with HD audio. I agree (tried and rejected DSD) and listen to lots of 16/44. He then says CD can be just as good as streaming, but the downside is the cost of the players, referring to the €6,000 PS Audio transport, and the storage space and cost of CDs.
When he says abandon CD at your peril, he does not say why. The irony is that he devotes much of this video fawning over the Hegel CD transport with the header “NOT DEAD YET” - which it apparently is as it has been discontinued and not replaced.
Darko’s primary sources has since 2015 been a Roon Nucleus and the Innuos Zenith SE Mk2, because they sound great, are convenient and relatively cheap.
I suspect many PS Audio customers will not be convinced about streaming until the Octave server comes out, but in my experience if you can choose components to exclude electrical noise you will get a very good result. The way I do it is pretty commonplace and not expensive.
Can I recommend this - been using it for years - just bought another one due to moving the audio system. That’s about $50 for 7m terminated.
I bought the Chord branded version - English Electric 8 - £450 / €500. I’m not convinced of any benefit in my system, but will give it a critical listen later this year. I’ve never used a laptop or Mac mini as a digital source, but I imagine the digital stream from one of those needs a lot of cleaning up to sound very good.
Context: Roon Nucleus+ core to manage Tidal and Qobuz in addition to local files are stored on Naim Core ripper/server. I added another SSD to Nucleus+ and it sychronised with the one on Naim. All go through Melco S100. Jason Kennedy was quite complimentary of Ansuz Powerswitch X-TC. It has a built-in power supply, but no optical cable option like the Melco. I know they’re costly, but I am now convinced that I will need one whether I stick to Bridge II or upgrade to something exotic from dCS, Grimm Audio, or Pink Faun. I started streaming with Uniti 2 + Uniti Serve. Computers never got in the middle. 
Fairly early on, I think 2011, I used a device from AVA Media, which was basically the same as a UnitiServe and used the same software. It served me well. The Ansuz Powerswitch X-TC is pretty expensive at £2,000. JK compares it to the Cisco 2960, which he says is almost as good. I have one of those, it cost me £55 (about €65).
The dCS Bridge is a brilliant product because it does lots of tricks with power and reclocking, just attach it to NS storage and forget about fancy switches and the like. Connect by AES.