Synergistic Grounding Block and Tweaking it.
Synergistic Grounding Block and Tweaking it.
I always liked the Synergistic Products and I have to give them credit for bringing out some of the most unique tweaks available today. There interconnects, speaker cables, and power cables were always top notch, perhaps a little pricey, but I always hated all of those extra mini couplers wires! So, I moved away from their wires. I think there new series does away with the extra mini couplers, but they are still IMHO still quite pricey.
I wanted to try the Synergistic Grounding Block. The price was not too expensive, so I ordered one from my dealer. Did I mention I always hated all those darn extra SR wires? This grounding block better impress.
Once I received it, I couldn’t believe the size of it. It is about 6 “long and maybe 1 ½” thick and about 2” inches high. At one end it has a hole for accepting a regular size banana plug and on the top there are 18 pin hole openings. The grounding block comes included with six (6) of the skinniest wires with the smallest banana plugs I have ever seen for grounding! There is also included another skinny wire that is connected to an AC plug (ground only) that plugs into the wall outlet with the other end having a standard size banana that connects to the side of the grounding block.
Well, since I only own one other SR product, I changed five (5) of the rest of the banana plug ends to RCA so I was able to try it with my own non SR equipment.
To my surprise, it did indeed make the soundstage purer and deeper. I don’t understand it? All of my equipment is plugged into dedicated grounded outlets, so why would this little diminutive grounding block with all those skinny wires do more?
Now, the tweaker in me took over. It seems SR also sells higher grade connection ground cables, but boy, are they pricey! Two of them cost more than the block itself! And the Synergistic grounding block can accept 18 of these ground connections!
I had some pure .9999 22 gauge silver wire left over from another project so I installed an RCA connector, sleeved it through some Teflon tubing and pushed one end into one of those 18 pin holes in the grounding block. To keep the wire from falling out of the pin holes, I pushed cut 2” lengths of some .999 18 gauge silver wire also into the pin hole which tightened up the connection. On the end, the RCA was connected to an unused RCA on my equipment. I also had some pure .999 16 gauge silver wire, so I installed this on one end with a regular banana, and then installed an AC plug (ground only) to the other end. This replaced the skinny wire that SR supplied to connect from the wall to the grounding block.
Sounding better… interesting!
On line I found some 12 gauge .9999 silver wire about 6 foot long, that cost about $50. But with this cable, to keep it pure throughout I used no connector on either end. I did this by shaping the wall outlet wire end into a V and pushed it into the wall outlet for a tight fit. The other end was crimped tight and shoved into the regular banana hole into the grounding block.
Each “upgrade” in wire went through a minor break in period. (hours not days) and doggone it, it did increase the purity of the sound.
So, now with the 18 available pin holes in the grounding block, I have all of my system connected. That includes my video and subwoofers!
Someday, I would like to try one of the higher grade SR cables to compare to my DIY version.
Folks, this little grounding block does work wonders and far exceeds the price to performance, but it is still a mystery to me. Plus all those darn wires!
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atmasphere " ... At least one manufacturer of grounding devices mentions right
in their owner's manual that if proper grounding design is observed in
the equipment that the grounding device might not have any effect." Why so coy? Please tell us what manufacturer made this statement. |
It was Entrec or Tripoint; don't remember which. Interesting comments. Not sure if I concur with your conclusion. Have you actually tried the SR device?I'm just reporting the results of the survey. We do take care to ground our equipment properly and so far none of our customers have reported using a grounding device. |
The Synergistic Research Grounding Block as had a significant impact on my three systems that reside in two houses. 1. Art Audio PX-25 amp, Marantz SA-11S2 SACD player, modified Klipsch speakers. 2. Eddie Current Zana Deau headphone amp, Marantz SA11S2 SACD player. 3. Computer, Antellope Zodiac DAC, Emotion Custom type 45 tube amp, Terasonic speakers. All three systems improved as each component was attached to the grounding block. I did find the greatest improvement was grounding the amp first. No pre amps used in these systems. The Hi definition cables do have a greater effect than the standard cables. You do not have to have every component attached to the grounding block to obtain a positive effect. I found the Synergistic Research Grounding Block worth trying as it is sold with a 30 day return policy and the cost of return shipping is small. I would love to someday hear the Atmosphere amps attached to those big Horn speakers Ralph often demo's with at RMAF attached to a Grounding Block. David Pritchard |
We did a survey about a year and a half ago investigating these devices. The owners had to be able to do a measurement on the associated equipment in there system. What we found was an interesting correlation- in all cases, when the grounding box made an improvement (as reported by the owner), it was also found that the associated amps, preamps, etc. had a bug in their grounding scheme somewhere. In some cases the gear was not grounded at all, in other cases the chassis and circuit grounds were the same thing (susceptible to ground loops). atmosphere, thanks for sharing the results. I always believe if components are grounded properly, grounding devices are not necessary. It was Entrec or Tripoint; don't remember which. Can't be Tripoint. :-) |
There is no TV system in my house. I have been off the TV grid for 5 years now. So a poorly grounded Cable TV system does not account for the sonic improvement in my audio system. I do think there is more going on with the third prong grounding system used for the last few decades in the USA. Conditioning a power cable with an Audiodharma Cable Cooker has always improved the sound of my power cords. Recently Allan Kafton developed an adaptor to the Cable Cooker that also conditions the cable's ground wire. I do not know why but it definitely improves the power cord performance. So if you are looking to improve your system's sound try a Synergistic Research Grounding Block. If you have an AudioDharma Cable Cooker get their Ground Breaker adaptor. Then relax and hear some great music that has improved flow, definition of instruments, and more emotion. David Pritchard |
