Esoteric Digital Separates

Hi Eli,

Let me clear the air on the Tripoint Troy. To say that this is like the Ground Zero with a nicer finish is like saying a Kia and a Ferrari are both cars, with the Ferrari having a nicer finish.

I'm not going to argue the price, because it is certainly expensive. But, this has made one of the most profound impacts on my system and has taken it into new realms. I did demo the SR Powercell 10SE just before purchasing the Troy, and there was just no comparison. I would have no hesitation in recommending the Troy, even at the current price.

Now, the Ground Zero at $600 is certainly more approachable, and if it provides an audible benefit, then great.

Thanks Rtn1 for clarification. I do have the SR powercell 10SE and it works great. Although it is non current limiting conditioner, I have plugged into it only sources and pre amp, having the monoblocks directly to dedicatedmlines. The effect on sound it has is very nice in diferent areas (used together with SR PC).
Now Im a bit confused. you compare the Troy with the powercell? Im not familiar with thenTroy but arent they diffeerent things? One being a power conditioner and the Troy being a ground isolation solution? I thought they both were actually complimentary. You plug PCs of the components into the powercell. But into the Troy only "ground" cables coming from the GRN terminals or chasis of gears? Or does the Troy also accept PCs on top of the grounds?

Also there seems to be a huge price increase here. I saw the review of 2009 quoting it at 8.000 usd and today they seem to be asking 12.000 for the same thing?? May I ask how much you paid for yours?

Thanks
Eli

Hi Eli,

You are correct that the Troy is not a power conditioner, and I apologize for being unclear. I was looking for a method to decrease the noise floor in my system, and tried the Powercell first, with everything plugged into it. The Powercell was one of the largest conditioners on the market (10 outlets), and I figured that plugging everything into one box would reduce the noise by sharing a common ground. The Powercell did not have much of an effect in my system, with the amps plugged in or left on dedicated lines. I had been using a Shunyata Hydra with an Elrod PC, but not everything would fit into its 8 outlets.

Next, I took a chance with the Troy, and it worked-out.

I did purchase one before the price increase, and felt it was expensive then. You would have to contact Tripoint to see what type of prices are available currently.

Ok thanks for theninfo. That iswhat I thought.

Im sure the Troy has a good effect on ur system. If the granite has it as reported here, more so should the expensive Troy.

Now if the asking price justifies the amount of gain, alone or compared to the 600 usd granite, is the eternal question. Not an answer there as it is a personal thing in each case, taking into account perceptions and each ones economic situatuion, I guess.
It is true as you pointed out, and some others, that the amount of "gain" is what should be taken into account when dropping more $$$ to upgrade and decide where to do it.
Besides the speakers, that are somewhat limited by the listening space you have, the decission of upgrading amps, pre amps, sources, power related gears, or cables should be tied to this gain on a whole system approach. Taking one to the extreme while having a weak link in other is not going to yield best return per invested (invested or should I say spent?) dollar.

Per instance the major gain I have experienced so far is with the pre amp upgrade to the ARC 40 annyversary from the classe CP 700. Gain was just impressive. Feels like if I had upgraded not only preamp but also power amps, source.... So probably my classe pre was the weak link in the chain and upgrading provided not only the swap gain but the full potential of the rest fo the gear.

A bit off topic now, but something to consider when deciding if the next big usd should go to a clock, separates or whatever.

I did not have a ground loop present as I had an electric put in an over-built 10-gauge 20-amp circuit with Oyaide cryo'ed R1 outlets, oxygen free high quality copper custom-pulled and had him rearrange my entire panel in the house to balance it and ensure that the circuit was the first off the main and on a leg that had no high-power devices (heat pump, kitchen, washer, dryer, etc...) on it. I utilize the Ground Zero simply to give a common ground reference beyond what the circuit already does and to drop the noise floor further (which it does). I have the freedom to arrange the components into groups and use the Lo-Med-High switches to find the optimum permutation that brings the best results for my system. For EMI/RFI filtering I utilize Tara AD/6C units with great results. Both of these offerings provide the right levels of what I am looking for in each respective area at a low price point.

I have been through several different configs over the years and have utilized MUCH more expensive power cords (Shunyata Anaconda VX in later configs followed by Tara The One PCs) together with Shunyata Hydra8's and later Furman Reference 20i and Exactpower 15A (separate configs). I found that for my tastes, all these units, power cords and configs brought obvious benefits but also injected their own sonic personalities into the equation. I have found (IMHO) that s more simple config with basic grounding, a great dedicated circuit & outlets and straightforward EMI/RFI filtering gives me what I am looking for without any injected personality of the power cord or power device influencing what I hear. Perhaps I left a 'better' solution behind in some of the higher-end gear that I had for power however to be honest, I do not miss it all.

I've read up on the Tripoint Troy on their website and the info that they give as to whether it is a solely a grounding device or it has EMI/RFI filtering personality.