Nordost QB8

Fitzo,

I managed to find a used Acoustic Revives RGC-24 and look forward to sharing experiences when I receive it.

Fitzo, did you find the order in which you plug in your equipment into the QB8 or QB4 made a difference?

I found that my equipment sounds better with the Meridian MS600 plugged in on the opposite side of the primary earth socket than my amp and CD player/DAC. Not sure if it's a matter of better power noise rejection of my pre-amp vs. other components in rejecting noise from the MS600 switching power supply of if the MS600 is sensitive to the big power draw from my amp. Or other reasons? I get better soundstage depth and detail with the current configuration.

"There is a big difference if you ground QB4 or QB8. I use Acoustic Revives ground conditioner rgc-24. I have also heard nice results using the grounding equipment from Entreq."

How would you describe this difference Fitzo?

Can you share the configuration ordering which your equipment is plugged into the QB4? Did you notice differences in the sound after moving your amp from the QB4 to the wall socket?

My QB8 is under my credenza so it needs to be on its side. Not ideal but that's what happens when your gear is in the living room rather than a dedicated audio room. I do have a pair of Black Ravioli isolation pads under it, though.

The Acoustic Revives agc-24 seems to have made an improvement when connected to the QB8, although my normal DAC is out for upgrades and I'm just listening directly from my Meridian MS600 so I can't tell the effects for sure yet.

Thanks Kiwi - how did you hook up your garden earth?

Thanks Bjesien - I found examples on how to set it up on Nordost's website. I also contacted them and they told me to plug in the pre-amp in the star earth socket and it doesn't matter where you plug in the other gear. However I find small changes in the sound when I change the order in which I plug in the other gear, so I was curious what configuration others are using when plugging their gear into the QB8 or QB4.

I've re-ordered the way I'm plugging in my gear which has led to more body and bass authority to the sound by plugging in the amp closer to the mains input side of the QB8. Starting from where the mains connects to the QB8 here's the new order:

1) Simaudio W8 amp
2) empty
3) empty
4) Primary Earth Socket - Simaudio P8 pre-amp
5) empty
6) Simaudio 650D Transport/DAC
7) empty
8) Meridian MS600 streaming endpoint/DAC

Thanks Msom,

I'd love to hear your input on what effect grounding the QB8 with the Tellus. I've bee trying out an Acoustic Revives RCG-24 and while it does add detail and depth, it also seems to emphasize the high frequencies. This adds sybilance to female vocalists in particular and I'm not really enjoying the effect.

I've moved the wiring around again to follow the order recommended in Nordost's Odin brochure:

1) Empty
2) Meridian MS600 streaming endpoint/DAC
3) Simaudio 650D Transport/DAC
4) Primary Earth Socket - Simaudio P8 pre-amp
5) Simaudio W8 power amp
6) empty
7) empty
8) empty

This is a little less "powerful" and dynamic sounding than the previous set up but also a little more coherent. Addiing a QV2 into the #8 position adds some weight and bass power to the presentation, along with better bass definition and an overall "fluidity" to the music. Adding a second QV2 to the #7 position is too much, though, in that it seems to mute the high frequencies too much.