brubin
I found this thread looking for info to build my own ground boxes. I wanted to make comments and ask questions of the people with experience but thought it would be meaningless on threads inactive for almost a year.
Firstly, there is so much misinformation in this thread I can hardly believe it. Lightning is the number one reason for a safety ground but it's not the only reason. Admittedly it's a complex issue the I dont fully understand. See Grounding and Shielding 4th ed. by Morrison.
And if anyone hasn't heard Ground Boxes and thinks they're snake oil they ought to keep their comments shorter. People are leaving sites like these in droves because it has become a waste of time.
I don't know how these things work. But we theorize anyway. I know how interconnect is supposed to work but I know interconnect that breaks all the rules and sounds even better. I've been experimenting with various wire types on my system and the area between the conductors makes zero difference to the sound. Its supposed to make a huge difference because it's the"loop area" that determines inductance. I've learned the hard way to trust my ears and not reason with incomplete scientific models. I don't ignore them, just am not ruled by them.
The first time I heard of Ground Boxes where I actually paid attention was the OCD Hifi Guy video. Since then I've spend a lot of time looking into it. I almost broke down and bought a used one.
Like Mikey says there are Ferromagnetic, Paramagnetic, Diamagnetic and Piezoelectric materials. You can research that yourself. I'm not going to rewatch the video but I thought he said he used a base of dirt. If so I have no idea why.
Audiogoner tksteingraber said he researched ground soil mixtures or something and they used charcoal and salt. I had never found anything previously about that and searched it now. It looks like they also use calcium chloride (and charcoal). It said that concrete "dopes" the area for good ground. It attracts moisture and provides plenty of icons. Now I know why soil next to concrete is so cold and moist.
That's a different thing than a ground box. I'd imagine that on most ground box designs the moisture and ion levels do nothing. On ground boxes that do use that than it is actually how they work. I read somewhere that making a salt battery might work. I wish I knew chemistry better so I'd know exactly what they meant.
Okay. So we have all these elements. Carbon absorbs certain frequencies of EM (Electromagnetic) energy and converts it into heat. Quartz is crystalized silicon and highly piezoelectric. It converts EM energy into physical vibration. Damp that vibration and you've converted that energy into heat as well.
I'm writing this on my phone so will do several shorter comments so I don't lose anything which would be a waste of my time.
