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
Hearing is believing. Rational discourse does not get you into the holy of holies of audio reproduction. What he told you may have sounded absurd at the time. It does to most people until you actually experience it. You should realize that now that you have the Entreq in your rig. Are you happy with the Zus?
I'm really allergic to the hard sell.

Of course you are. You're British.

Fraser is a master salesman. He sold you something, and now he has you singing his praises and reviewing products he sells in more than one audio site. At the end of the day, hard or soft, its still about the sale. Nothing wrong with that.

Did you pay MSRP?
Miguel is a music fanatic. He has over 10,000 albums. He is crazy for music. Also a good family man. But he can be misunderstood when he talks how things work. I am an engineer and we debate about things all the time. And we do not always agree. All in all I really like my Troy and can't wait to get the Signature. It made a HUGE improvement on my system.
My experience mirrors that of the spiritofmusic post.
I first tried a small Minimus with my DCS Puccini/Word clock,YG Carmels and Naim 500/552 DR using the Patricia Barber SACD.About 90 seconds into the Postmodern Blues track a piano comes in and the improvement was huge and impossible to miss.
Since then I have bought two silver Tellus and a small one for the Entreq Konstantin speaker cables. The 500s have been replaced with a Vitus SIA 025 and the rest of the i/cs and power cables are Entreq and they are superb. They realy reduce the noise floor and give clearly improved fidelity.
I have also invested in Stillpoints - Ultra SSs and Minimus - and they really complement each other superbly.
The Vitus 025 by the way is an incredible amp and the 25 watts Class A output is the biggest 25 watts I have ever heard anywhere.
Well said Doug. Miguel is a nuttier audiophile than I am and we have spent hours on the phone talking about all things audio, and I don't even own his stuff! No hard selling there...