@guakus thanks for the pics very helpful. Is the copper wire from the internal end of the bad boy banana required since all the copper plates are connected?
My power conditioner does not have an input plug just an external twist nut. I did read you can also use an open input (rca) and plug it into your component (neg only) with banana/spade connected only to the ground outer wire on the opposite end. We’ll see how it works out. I have made 2 boxes made from scrap wood just waiting for parts/ingredients from amazon in a few days. Thanks for the inspiration
A Second Noise Floor?
We hear the term, “noise floor” being casually tossed around and it has taken me years and thousands of dollars to figure out what it is and how it impacts the music I listen to. Then…the floor drops from under you and you’re forced to look at it again to relearn what you thought you had already understood.
My previous understanding was that there was erroneous electrical signal being propagated, absorbed, emitted, etc, that was veiling or hiding frequency within music. It is noise, but not an actual audible sound. I had understood and heard how that acted on speakers, components and amplifiers. There was a variety of products and tweaks that could reduce the “noise floor.” Over the years, as I added equipment, products, upgrades and tweaks, I started noticing what emerges when the noise floor drops. Micro details and/or instruments, larger and expanded sound stage, and more realism to the tone of the sound, like the timber of vocals or the metallic, vibrating decay of a piano note.
That’s when it happened. I discovered there was another “noise floor” being impacted that I didn't know existed.
I discovered that my power distributor, the Shunyata Venom V16, has an external chassis ground connector. This is part of their CGS tech and it isn’t advertised on the product; yet there it is, ready to be used. It is marked for Earth Ground and not Chassis Ground, which I thought was odd; in engineering, those two symbols are not interchangeable. I built my own external Earth Ground Box and created a custom cable to connect the box to the power distributor. I wasn’t expecting any real benefit, but it was DRASTIC! So drastic in fact, that it destroyed my understanding of the “noise floor.” The instant I plugged it in, the sound changed. Snare drums, cymbals, tambourines, xylophones, and various other percussion instruments didn’t just show up in the background. They came in front and center in the most in-your-face way that it completely altered the majority of the music I listen to. Vocals were clearer, resolute, and separated pin-point from all the other instruments in a 3D space, and not in a subtle way.
I thought, there was NO WAY, bleeding off excess electrical signal into ground is going to suddenly make micro details louder and more evident without changing the volume level of the lead singer and other instruments. It didn’t make ANY sense…until I realized an important detail. My music isn’t pure analog; it’s digital. O_O That meant, there was another “noise floor.” The digital “noise floor.” Packets of information not only relay what instrument/sound is played, but what position it is in and how loud it is. My computer is plugged into the same power distributor and is therefore benefiting from the Earth grounding box. It must be allowing a cleaner distribution of digital packets over USB to the DAC and the DAC is then able to generate and create a more accurate analog signal.
At least, that’s what makes sense to me. I could be very wrong; but how else do you explain the drastic changes?
Showing 6 responses by tksteingraber
Interesting! I like experimenting with inexpensive DIY tweaks and have usually had good success. I read your prior post on building the box so I kind of get the set up. How is the ground wire from the Power Conditioner connected to your box set up? The wall plug is connected by banana plug to wall plug cable which is plugged into the box. Also, if you were to build your box without concern for the special cable with spades would you only need 2 banana posts? One for the wall socket plug and one for the Power Conditioner ground wire. Is there a reason you used banana plugs versus spades or nude? Thanks for sharing your project! Sounds like a good project. |
Assembled my box today. Did reduce noise and improve clarity when connected to power conditioner ground twist nut. Noise floor appears quieter- not in a big way but worthwhile. Plugging a ground only RCA cable into an open negative RCA plug in my Integrated Amp did not seem to improve results. i posted some pics on my system page as well. @guakus Thanks for the inspiration and sharing your fun project. |
Ok connected my second 6x6 grounding box ( copper plate lined, 45% rock salt, 45% horticulture charcoal, 10% crushed tourmaline) to my Goldenear triton speakers with built in subs. Used banana plugs from box to the neg speaker plug. Wow dramatic improvement. Clarity, the percussion, background rhythm section stands out now while it was hidden before. Sounds more real really shocked!. |
@guakus were you able to compare whether gauge size/metal type of the wire made a difference in SQ? Or materials you added…Thanks |
@guakus Thanks…good that it broke! Ozzy has another thread going on discussing ground boxes you might want to check out. Good info there as well. He recommends solid silver 16 or 18 ga. I’m just trying to determine if the cable makes a SQ difference before I purchase more. I used wire I had on hand basic 16ga copper speaker wire twisting both ends together making it 13ga with gold plated bananas, spades and nude. |