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Did anyone experience Audio Prism's Ground Control

Fellow Audiogoner's

I wonder if anyone has any input on Ground Control spade versions? I am curious about the impact of these pigtails on your system's overall sound?

I also have their quiteline filter (4pack) installed in my HT room and they have helped lower the overall noise floor.

My gear -
Krell Showcase Pre-Amp / Processor
B&W 803s and 804s (rear)
Marantz UD8004
Audience aR12
Audience Au24e speaker/interconnects.
PAD Power Cables
lalitk
scottmac62's avatar
scottmac62
107 posts
 
Ozzy, according to Earl, the non cryo version is warmer
than the non cryo version. Warmer is a better match for
my HT system. I wish we could get some feed back on how they compare to the Walker mrk3 and the Reference plus.

I am also curious about your experience with the Audioprism
reference GC on your Cary cd player. I had a very similar
experience on my Dac. The standard alone gave a nice rich
tonal balance but became a bit too congested when music with
more bass was played. Adding a fully burned in reference GC
and letting it settle over night was spectacular that evening. Not only did the width and depth increase but there
was an added sense of illumination behind the decay trails.
The added sense of realism was quite addictive.

Unfortunately, my sound stage constricted in between the speakers the next day and remained this way. I have tried
recycling the Reference GC, but have not had much time to
experiment. It is interesting that I also have to reset
my Synergistic Research Powercell SE every few weeks by unplugging and replugging becasue the same kind of sound
stage narrowing and upper frequency boost also occurs.
ozzy's avatar
ozzy
7,589 posts
 
Scottmac62, I have not unplugged my SR Powercell but I do periodically unplug my Preamp. My Preamp has no on or off switch so it is on 24/7. Sometimes it just seems like the Soundstage has gone flat. Unplugging the Preamp for a few minutes then plugging it back in seems to rest it. I might try unplugging my Powercell, thanks for that tip.

I think you meant to type that the Cyro version is warmer?
My system leans toward the warmer side already. The Detail Magnifiers seem to bring out the bass quality quite nicely.

I don’t know if we will ever hear a fair comparison between the Walkers and the Detail Magnifiers. Because when big $$$ are spent on the Walkers I doubt if anyone would say the Detail Magnifiers are as good or better.

Perhaps if the Walkers had a trial period, I would try them myself.

Getting back to the Ground Controls. It seems the latest buzz is connecting a 9 Volt battery to its negative side only and then attaching that to the negative posts of either spades or RCA.
I have tried it in several places and though it seems to be ok in places I do not have the Ground Controls, they do not add to the Ground Controls enhancement.
oddeophile
40 posts
 
The biggest difference is in the slight details. The DM's are about on par with the older Walker Mk II HDL version in total improvement from what I have been able to determine. The reference + would add maybe 5% improvement. If you are into the last word in improvement then the Walker Ref + is the deal. They are triple cryo'ed at each stage and use a proprietary RC network with all silver parts. the DM uses much lower quality parts in comparison. All Walker parts are also nude components. This all adds to a next level degree of improvement. The difference would be in the subtleties of the presentation.

It is indeed interesting to hear what the CG's do with each system. I have yet to experience the soundstage shrinkage others have with the ref GC on source components. Using both together works in a synergisic approach in mine. Interesting. Using them in tandem on my ref BD player was really amazing and seemed to take the video as well to the next level of HD picture. A tad more detail and depth/dimensionality to the picture. Sweet.

Not everyone is interested in squeezing the last bit of difference i their system. DM's would work well for 95% of audiophiles in conjunction with everything else. I am not saying anything negative they are anything less than revelatory to anyone nor am I attempting to knock them, at all. Everyone has their own cup of tea they like, right? I was interested in the last word I could achieve in my system so the difference was worth it. I did not have positive sonic impressions with earlier versions of the caps they use in the MD so that kind of turned me off to the idea. Earlier versions of those caps sounded muffled in my system, so when I saw that it wasn't as much a possible component to me. The all proprietary silver nude caps used in the Walkers were the last word. At least, until they come up with the Reference plus, plus. Ha, ha.
ozzy's avatar
ozzy
7,589 posts
 
Oddeophile, thanks for your comments. You do know that there is a newer version of the Detail magnifiers and they also are said to use higher grade silver parts ?
Is that the version you compared to the Walkers?

On your Blu Ray player, are you saying that you are using the Ref GC's with the Walkers how is that possible?
scottmac62's avatar
scottmac62
107 posts
 
Ozzy, Earl was referring to the non-cryo version being
warmer. The cryo process increases transparency while
usually decreasing mid bass warmth.

About the Powercell,
Ted Denny himself recommends unplugging the Powercell for
about 30 minutes every 3 to 4 weeks. This phenomenon of
a diminished sound stage and strident highs has been observed by a lot of folks on the SR tesla thread. When ever I know I will not be listening to my system for a good three days I will go ahead and reset the Powercell.

I am trying a similar scenario with the reference GC.
I had a listening session today where the reference GC was taken out last night, but the regular GC rca was left on my Dac. After re-inserting the reference GC rca today, the sound stage underwent a vast expansion after about 5 to 10 minutes while maintaining sweet extended highs. Even with
this inconvenience, it is still a keeper for me.

I would love to compare the Walkers, and they will let you
demo them at the cableco. However, I have way too many tweaks and variables on the table at this point.

Oddeophile, I would also like to know which version you compared to your walkers.
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