First set Well I finally have one of the Ground Control spades installed for about a week. I will admit that these little things don’t look like much but they do provide a marked sound quality improvement in my system. Music seems to be much more relaxed or natural sounding. The soundstage is deeper and wider. Vocals are very nice and defined closer to the real thing. I liked the Ground Control device so much that I ordered another set for my Bi-wire speakers.
Second Set Now that I have installed the second set of Ground Controls on my biwire speakers (Andra 2), I can’t believe how clear and defined the bass has become! This product should be standard with all speakers! How can I invest?
Third Set I just got my third set of the Ground control units. I now have 2 sets on my biwire speakers and a set at my Amp end. I can’t believe how much improvement these little items have made in my musical enjoyment. The bass has become much stronger and defined. So much so that I had to turn down the setting on my JL Audio sub. Cymbals crash and shimmer much more like real cymbals. Vocals sound much more relaxed and real.And the soundstage is very deep and wide. I can’t say enough good things about these little Ground Controls. The ONLY negative is they could be cheaper for what they appear to be made of. But sound quality wise the cost is cheap compared to the sound quality improvement. Way better than HIFI fuses. Way better than most interconnect and power cable upgrades.
The Reference Ground Controls Spades
The Reference GC’s cost quite a bit more than the standard GC’s and they use the premium Shadow connectors. I first tried the Reference spades on my Andra 2’s on the upper part of the Bi-wire setup. On the bottom I was still using the standard GC’s. The music lost the wide soundstage. Also,the treble and bass became much weaker. Not a good sound.It was almost like an impedance mismatch. I then tried the Reference spades at the Amplifier end with the standard GC’s now on both the top and bottom on my Andra 2 speakers. The soundstage was a little better but defiantly not as good as when I used all standard GC’s. So, off the Reference spades went banished forever from my 2 channel setup. I then tried them on my Home Theater setup on some B&W speakers. Now there, the Reference spades sounded great! Very strange indeed.
Ground Control Reference RCA’s So, I then tried the GC Reference RCA’s. I first inserted one in one of my two Cary 306 Pro CD Player outlets and let it play for several days. This time nothing bad happened to the sound, but nothing good happened either.I noticed no change with the Reference Ground Control plugged into the outlet on my Cary CD Player.I then tried that Reference GC’s into one of my unused inputs on my Pass Labs Preamp. Eureka! There was added resolution and a livelier presentation. Still strange indeed.
Summary
So, there is my experience with these small strange items. When they click with the equipment you will think you have upgraded to an ultra $$$ System. The Music becomes lively, toe tapping and makes Music sound as real as I have ever heard on any system. The Ground Control Reference units though costlier are more a hit or miss on potential improvements. Of Course everyone's system is different so the GC's may perform differently, but definatly worth a try to see if the magic they can provide will be created in your system.
Well next, I will be adding a standard GC RCA to either (again) to my Cary CD player or perhaps side by side in my Pass Labs Preamp input where the Reference RCA is already inserted. I may even try it into my Pass Labs Amplifier since I am only using the balanced inputs and the RCA inputs are unused (just as with my Cary and Preamp).
Associated gear Cary 306 Pro CD Player Pass Labs XP-10 Preamp Pass Labs X350.5 Amp Eggleston Works Andra 2 Speaker Synergistic Research Powercell, Apex Interconnects, and speaker cables
Just an update. I now have 4 sets of the Ground Control speaker spades. One at Amp and two on my Bi-wire speakers and a set on my Supertweeters.
I also have 4 of the RCA's. One on my CD Player, Preamp, Amp and one of the Reference RCA's that I am still experimenting with. I have tried it on my LCD TV, and Blue Ray player. Both of these places seemed to improve in picture quality. I also tried it on my Squeezebox Touch but there it seems to add too much detail.
But, overall there is am improvement and no downside with all of them being used.
Ptmconsulting , I think the standard Spade Ground Control at your speakers will work just fine. Try it, you can get your money back if they dont impress you.
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