I would say that I am generally late to the add-on party and prefer to improve on big system pieces.
Fuses, filters and footers are cool, and do good things, but usually do not move me like a component or cable. Grounding techniques seem to have no particular place in this hierarchy and they kept floating around in my head for years, with no clear consensus. Experiences varied from little, to vast, improvement.
I narrowed my search to a company that I think is on the leading edge of this field…CAD. The feedback from Al and Paul on its product and people was a good nudge as well. So, at Axpona, I sought out their booth and had several lengthy discussions with Scott and Isabelle. The top two dogs there. Both were unassuming and knowledgeable and had specific hook-up recommendations.
I went home with 2 GC1.1’s. These are separately attached to signal ground on the Jay’s transport and Grimm MU2.
What resulted was on par to a good component or cable upgrade. Not gobsmacking, but a nice bump. Everything got quieter and calmer. Instruments were more solidly in place with more air around them. I could listen more deeply and for longer periods of time. If I was doing a Luca-like analysis there would be upticks in most categories. I’m happily with the GC1.1’s and this cottage company.
They probably sit high on the value equation and there could be others equal to, or better, but I don’t feel the need to wander. Late, and now a grounding geek.
I have a CAD GC3. I have it connected to my MU2, Preamp, and BACCH-SP adio. It seems nice. It is subtle.
Many of the other lads here use a variety of devices. I am going to stop where I am at.
I once borrowed a friend’s Shunyata groundomatic chassis box thing.
I recall thinking it did make a fuse-level improvement to the sound of my phono preamp. But then I got distracted by something shinier and forgot about it.
Where do you get a GroundoMatic?
I miss Ronco products, and the commercials. It “slices and dices”.
Glad to know you are happy with your brand new GC1s.
Try to remove them for a while and you’ll notice how they are effective (more than adding them so to speak).
I use 6 of them in my system, one for each component but the amp. Overkill? Yes of course!
Where did you connect the GC1.1 to on the MU2? Which input or output works best? May have to try one.
If I fished, I’d surely have a Ronco Pocket Fisherman.
Veg-O-Magic, baby! How else are you gonna make potato chips?
I am not well grounded, and neither is my stereo.
I got me a “Sledge-O-Matic” from Gallagher! (sorry couldn’t let that one go by)
Edit; that was a hell of a show. Glad they gave us plastic tarps to cover ourselves. Sure enough, me and my friends didn’t use them. Struggled to get a cabby to allow us to get in.
Popeil, not Ronco…?
Pedantically yours.
The GC1.1 is connected to the USB input on the MU2. CAD thought this was a good spot as well as some here but I have no hard evidence.
I’m using one 1.1 XLR on ethos and USB on the MU1. It seems to work well. I do want to try the CAD USB filter between the Ethos and the Bacch.
Grounding devices work well in my system. I use four Xangsane silver boxes with their silver grounding cables. They are more effective than my previous Puritan GroundMaster and RouteMaster. I heard less improvement with G.& R masters than Xangsane boxes. Also, the silver grounding cables from Xangsane are more effective than the green cables from Puritan too. These grounding cables made a difference unfortunately.
Quieter background and calmer sound are the main benefits from using grounding devices universally from most users here.
All grounding boxes are connected to the signal ground of MU2, MK2, PST, and LHY SW-10 switches. I left SW-6 alone because it is the least beneficial one (here I use it as a secondary converter for F.O. so, it would be different if it were the main switch).
PZ and M1200 are connected by chassis ground to each other using X. silver cables too. Frankly, I do not hear much difference from doing this, but this is how Luca is doing so I am just following him.
I have a Puritan PSM156 using GroundMaster City, and I replaced the green cable to X. silver too. The reason was not because of any sonic benefit but was to match the looks of other grounding cables. There was Zero SQ improvement of the entire setup because I only have an Orbi sat. and an iPad charger connecting to it.
Cap Snaffler…Snaffles caps off of all sizes jugs, bottles and jars and it really, really works!
I’m aware of your grounding journey and setup. I have not tried chassis grounding…yet.
I may have achieved equally good results using cheaper grounding blocks but don’t you know that the benefit is always proportional to the investment? Lol.
I was planning to get a CAD box to compare, but the tariffs and market killed that plan. But that may not be a terrible thing.
Glad you already have the Xangsane grounding boxes. With your current customs tariff, they’re worth twice as much. I found an interesting pure silver power cable on Aliexpress. Someone wrote in a review that it sounds better than their Stealth Audio V10.
ATAUDIO Hi-End HiFi-Powercable
https://a.aliexpress.com/_EJdRmGa
These grounding boxes are not cheap anymore. Luckily, four boxes are enough for me.
The review link showed the review was taken down already, it must be too much BS that even AliExpress could not allow it.
I only found a silver-plated PC from ATaudio, and it is like $400+ for 1.5 meter. You can buy a 1.5" stealth for that. Wait, there is tariffs, but it is still cheap if it is a Stealth beater (I surely doubt that, and I bet it cannot even beat AQ Dragon which is a stepping stone by now).
The link (still?) works for me.
Perhaps because of the trade war, Ali is already preventing views in the States?
There’s just one review BTW …