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
Guys, please contact Fraser on the email contact I posted 12-11-13, he'll be able to give you definitive answers to tech qs. I can help out with user experiences.
Hi Dragon.
I am a fan of Entreq too. I have Konstantin speaker cables and interconnects, two silver Tellus and one Silver Minimus.I have found them all to be very effective in dramatically lowering the noise floor, stripping away the veils and increasing transparency and fidelity. The first time we put in a Minimus on the DCS Puccini the improvement was immediately obvious and it just kept getting better with each Entreq addition and upgrade.
On the basis of my experience I can certainly recommend that you try them.
I have had the Entreq Silver Tellus and the upgraded Atlantis in my system (with Atlantis cables) for several weeks. IMHO, it is the real deal.

I am told it acts like its own earth ground and somehow balances the impedances across the components which are attached to it...I am no techie.

In any event, grunge continues to drop, allowing for more contrast between notes, but also a finer sense of timing due to shaving away the blurred edges...which means you suddenly get far clearer and instantly recognizeable contrapuntal themes in music where there may have been none before. That is quite cool because suddenly Hans Zimmer (Gladiator, Dark Knight, Sherlock Holmes) or Beethoven or jazz ensembles where different instruments are not just playing in synch...but actually play off of each other becomes a lot of fun to appreciate. My experience.

Note...if you choose to go this route, my experience is: Silver Tellus, then Atlantis Cable and then Atlantis Box...without the Atlantis Cables, just adding the Atlantis box is an 'okay' upgrade whereas the Atlantis cables are a very good upgrade alone, and added to the Atlantis box become a truly great upgrade.
I was researching into The Tripoint. Dam those prices seem like this guy has put some magical potions in those special African wood boxes. what's the magical formula? Must be some nano technology with over 20 years R&D to justify that price tag. Im sure it works very well but 15000 dollars is no joke for a ground conditioner!!!