I was talking to someone that saw inside a base level Entreq damaged in shipping. It was basically a box of thick copper plate (price that stuff out - yikes!) with the terminal lug bolted to that. Most of the filler was a black rock (Shungite, I'd guess) and sprinkling of various metals that looked like copper, silver, iron fillings etc. This guy uses an Entreq and no power conditioner. He said the various models and generations sound different (they basically give it a warmer sound and lower noise floor). I have no idea what his system is. I asked him about the Telos GNR. It's an active unit from Hong Kong. I'd like something active because to me it should be adjustable in some way. He said he'd heard that unit and it worked but not as much as the Entreqs.
That's part of the reason I'd like to try making one out of salt water in a water fountain container (5 gallon plastic jug). You could change concentrations or salts.
And can anyone tell me why these have to be in a wooden box? Why cant I use a plastic pail or storage container? No body mentions this. If this works I'm going to have a lot of big ones. An over sized one for each component.
Before I try to make conclusions I need to digress some more. Acoustic Revive makes a power conditioner called the RTP. It's made buy CNCing a pocket out of a solid block of aluminum. The minimum thickness is 1 inch. It's basically a power distribution block more than conditioner. They pour green carborundum on the bottom then take a fine grain mixture of a specific type of tourmaline and quartz and mix it with epoxy and pour it over the carborundum. Green Carborundum is actually a brand name. It's really silicon carbide. So we're back to silicon and carbon. This compound doesn't exist in nature. It's used for sandblasting and is being researched for EMF sheilding in harsh, high temperature environments.
As far as I can tell tourmaline is just quartz with a bunch of other elements mixed in. I think they were using black tourmaline but not sure. I don't know why they aren't using Rutilated Quartz instead. It's quartz with a bunch of metallic elements embedded inside it. Maybe tourmalines are more consistent?
So that's the Acoustic Revive. Add wires and AC receptacles.
The CAD is supposed to be basically the same type of thing but sourced from a scientifically engineered and developed product. I think it was a ceramic blend. It's not lose. It's cut from a block. Whether it's rubberized or brick like I dont know. They said it's the same as or came from the same technology as used to ground aeroplanes. I looked into it and found nothing.
Tara Labs, the cable maker, uses a proprietary ceramic blend to ground their cable shields. That sounds like a good idea. Usually shielding analog cables is thought to reduce air and dynamics etc. Generally a bad thing so if you can get the benefits without the negatives I'd be all for it. I talked to a dealer recently who warned me away from their cables. He deals in the very best gear so I'll take his word for it. Walked away from a $3000 used cable on his advice. Gotta trust the few who know what's really up.