Was there continuity between the IEC earth and ground of the RCA spdif?
Antipodes K50
Baseline 0.3
Power Ground to:
- AES Pin 1 - 0.3
- SPDIF BNC - 0.3
- SPDIF RCA - 0.3
- USB Out - Could not measure
- Word Clock - 0.3
- Chassis Screw Upper left of IEC connection - 0.3
- Chassis Screw on back middle of top plate - 0.3
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I too have found that using a spare RCA on my EX (Oladra upgraded) was the best location for signal grounding. I use Nordostās QRT ground units and when initially experimenting for the best signal ground location on the EX I had also tried an unused Ethernet connection, but it was too much of an effect and I found that the unused RCA was the best optionā¦
My CX (also Oladra) is not yet grounded so I have been pondering what would be the best signal ground for that unit. Curious if anyone has thoughtsā¦?
I expect Ethernet on the CX would similarly be too much of an effect as with the EX, but since the CX does not have any RCAs the alternative would be to use one of the USB connections (none of which are in use on my CX). Perhaps one of the USB Audio connections would be best for that unit as they should pertain to signal path moreso than the other USBs on the unitā¦
Shunyata has provided a decision tree that can help one determine the best approach for grounding a device. It involves using a voltmeter to measure resistance to ground. If, for example, RCA, BNC each have a less than 1 ohm variance to ground, they are all good candidates for grounding, but the best choice will be the one that has the least resistance to ground.
I actually have a voltmeter in my Amazon shopping cart as I intend to complete the following worksheet at some point.
Thanks for the reply and suggestion! I might have to get my hands on a voltmeter.
Itās rare in this hobby that we can use objective methods to reduce uncertainty, but this seems to present a unique opportunity to do that.
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I did the continuity measurements and provided my multimeter measurements above. I have been using an Altaira CGS unit for about a month. I have my K50, Bricasti DAC/Pre and Buffalo switches connected to it.
I am using the middle chassis screw on the top of the K50.
The Altaira gets my highest recommendation.
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I tried to ground the K50 to the chassis ground Altaira from Shunyata. Signal ground and chassis ground measurements show that there are less than 0.2 Ohms between. The grounding with the Altaira CG has some influence on sound quality. Without CG the sq is more clear, more details. With CG the sound appears a bit warm, covered with a blanket. I will try next a Signal Ground Altaira for the K50 and my other digital devices like router. Then I have separated analog devices on CG and digital devices on SG.
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I am a bit puzzled how it can be too much of an effect.
I have found noise (and other interferences, distortions etc) gives the impression of more derail and noise reduction can seem more dull ā¦ initially! However I have also found that stripping away noise (and other interferences, distortions etc) in various ways including ground creates a new cleaner foundation of sound that has lots of detail together with other benefits. The detail sounds different, perhaps more accurate. I now think I understand what is meant by āhearing deeper into the musicā.
A simple analogy could be wearing sunglasses on a bright day, especially looking into water where with sunglasses the water surface has far less glare and os a lot more transparent. And grounding just one device might be like using dirty or scratched sunglasses.
Hi @dbastin2605 - too much in the sense that it was detrimental to the soundā¦ to the point that it stripped some of the life out of the music. Sort of became clinical sounding instead of natural with presence.
Just a thought/possibility is that you donāt like the efffect of what has been left behind, and that has been highlighted by grounding a component. That could be a problem that is not addressed by grounding, and/or something somewhere else in your system may be causing it. Sorry this sounds criptic, but something other than grounding may be the culprit.
Thanks @dbastin2605 - I understand what youāre saying. Certainly many factors at play in audio, everything matters.
In my case, grounding to an RCA on my EX does produce a very favourable effect, and is where I left my grounding unit connected on that device.
In contrast, grounding (instead) to the Ethernet connection on the EX did have a positive effect; however it was certainly not as preferable to using an RCA.
Which connection did you use on your K50 for th signal ground?
I just bought an Altaira SG and choosing the pigtails is a bit of a crap shoot for me. The RCA SPDIF or the XLR AWS/EBU??? Thy are not cheap so I would appreciate any guidance you might have.
I would recommend a RCA SPDIF which is also usable on several other audio components. From the viewpoint of signal grounding it should not make any difference. For a first trial you can also try a DIY solution by building your own RCA grounding plug. You only must consider to remove the signal contact and connect only the outer part with the Altaira. For example with a cheap Furutech RCA connector. A copper wire with a spade or a banana will be used to connect the other end. If there is no audible effect you can save the money for the expensive Shunyata RCA.
I would think it does matter which K50 output is used. I assume I want to use one that is on the same board/ground plane as the output I use to my DAC.
Right now I am using the USB output of the Kala K50. I donāt know the internal configuration of the K50 but would think I want an output that can siphon noise from the USB output ground plane.
I am not so sure the RCA or XLR will do that. I wonder if one of the HDMI outputs would be better to use for signal grounding.
You can try to find out if all signal ground path are connected together or conncted to your output signal ground USB. Take a multimeter and measure the resistance between two grounds of different connectors. If the resistance is close to zero then the grounds are internally connected. Then it doesnāt matter which one you use fĆ¼r signal grounding.
Good point. I can try that.
I have a Puritan PSM156. Would it be worth connecting the ground connector to the ground connector on the K50?
Do I need a special cable?
People talk about shunyata?
I too have read many endorsements for Shunyata, but have not listened to the Shunyata . I also had read many endorsements for Puritan Audio Laboratories. I pretty much went full monty with the PSM1512, Ultimate PC, Ground Master City, Routemaster and Puritan grounding cables. I have had a waveform/whole house surge suppressor EP2000 from Enviromental Potentials for many years. However, this year had an unusual event when power returned after an outage. One of my audio pieces was affected, causing me to send in for repair. I made the decision to augment my surge suppression and ended up choosing Puritan. I have several DACs and other audio/video units in my system. Admittedly, I have not tested influence of my Puritan individually without other pieces connected to the Puritan, but have been pleased how my system sounded after implementing Puritan. I would add that it seemed to me that I perceived more system improvement at about 2 week period with further improvement into the first month. At that point I ordered two new power cords, so am hesitant to attribute more improvement from the Puritan devices.
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