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
Yeh im looking into Entreq, I just purchased the Elgar 3006 Industrial AC line conditioner. Grounding tweak is next but I wont even bother researching into the Tripoint. Its crazy price for a grounding conditioner. I guess his charging those prices as not many grounding conditioners yet available on the market hence no real competition. Give it few years. High End audio is full of copy cats and someone else will come up with them at lower cost.
D Vibe, I'm just about to install an 8kVA 85kg Westwick 8k balanced power transformer. Together with Entreq grounding, my system has been taken to a whole new level. The cost of these upgrades is equivalent to a pre amp/pow amp upgrade in the scheme of my system, but the improvements go well beyond a simple component change.
Basically, if you like what your system is doing, this is a great way to go if you want to improve things to the max.
Greetings Gents..

The question I have is what is in that box??? Any thoughts apart from what is listed above?

I am visiting a friend tomorrow near north London who also has the Entreq, so will investigate further then, he is also a convert, and the owner of a very high end system.

With the connections by RCA, I am assuming that the GND (outer) is the only connection, i.e. the pin left bare?

My amplifiers and DAC etc, all incorporate GND LIFT switches, and GND posts. The designer is very aware of the importance of correct grounding, and designs all of his components to be used with one single reference to mains GND - recommending the pre-amp GND LIFT to remain connected, but to lift all others. Of course, the IC's between components are the link. In my own cables, and found that by using this system, increasing the csa of the return (gnd) had a beneficial effect, similar to what has been described by Spirit above. For the record, I have a dedicated feed direct to my system, PS Audio P10 for all but my ZL-200 mono power amps. I used balanced/filters etc in the past.

I believe many systems are compromised by lack of attention to the GND issue, by designers and users, and will be an area of development over the forthcoming years without doubt.

Regards,
Paul.
Paul, I'm not privy to what's inside, but from what I can gather it is a combination of silver and copper plates and tightly packed minerals. Unsure how it all pertains to the neutral, earth and positive. The UK Entreq rep may fill you in further, email scotty-42@hotmail.com. I believe this all acts as a sink to balance impedances across those components grounded to it.
Enjoy your experience with it at your friend's place. I live in E. London, so if you'd like a second audition, feel free to contact me.
Thank you Spirit, very kind. I was mostly trying to asses wether signal or Chassis gnd were referenced, or both, and have clarity now;-) I respect that the material is kept protected with these devices, I know I would for sure..

Best Rgds,
Paul.