Entreq Tellus grounding

[Mike Lavigne]

Hi Mike,
please, may I know if you connected the 3 Atlantic Minimus boxes using the supplied cables or, if you ever tested to connect the 3 Atlantic Minimus boxes using the second wire of Atlantic Eartha cable.

I am using the very short 'provided' cables that came with the Atlantic Minimus boxes. and using an Everest on each one. those provided cables appear to be silver.

if I were to upgrade the provided cables to the Atlantic Eartha, and I add up the Poseidon + 3 Atlantic Minimus boxes + 6 Everests + 3 'more' Atlantic Eartha cables + the pair of Atlantic Eartha cables I use to connect to the negative speaker terminals, + the longer copper Eartha cables I'm using to connect to the bass tower amps........we start to enter Tripoint Troy Signature/Thor Reference territory in terms of investment. and that step is likely another order of magnitude of benefit.

we can argue exact effect to a degree, as this stuff is quite subjective.......however, that's how I see it.

I can see the rational that I am so committed to the Entreq approach in this neighborhood of of my room/system that it's a little late to bring the Tripoint into the picture. but; I'm still planning on grounding the chassis of my dart 458 mono blocks in one way or another. that could end up being a Tripoint box or boxes, or possibly a pair of Silver Minimus's and another pair of Atlantic Minimus's.

decisions, decisions.

 

[caliaripaolo]

I am using the very short 'provided' cables that came with the Atlantic Minimus boxes. and using an Everest on each one. those provided cables appear to be silver.

if I were to upgrade the provided cables to the Atlantic Eartha, and I add up the Poseidon + 3 Atlantic Minimus boxes + 6 Everests + 3 'more' Atlantic Eartha cables + the pair of Atlantic Eartha cables I use to connect to the negative speaker terminals,

Sorry, I did not mean to upgrade the provided cables to the Atlantic Eartha. I meant to connect the second wire/spade of Atlantis Eartha cable you currently use to ground your Amplifiers, one to the Poseidon and the other to Atlantic Minimus box.

 

[Mike Lavigne]

Sorry, I did not mean to upgrade the provided cables to the Atlantic Eartha. I meant to connect the second wire/spade of Atlantis Eartha cable you currently use to ground your Amplifiers, one to the Poseidon and the other to Atlantic Minimus box.

oh, I see I did not read your post clearly, it now makes more sense. thank you.

when I have the time I will try your suggestion for the 2 outer Poseidon/Atlantic Minimus boxes that connect to my dart amps. the middle box does not use the Atlantic Eartha cables.

 

[Barry2013]

Thank you Barry,
I solved the PC noise due to the bad switching Power Supply by modifying the MacMini applying a couple of kits from Uptone (JS-2 external power supply and DC-Conversion / Linear Fan Controller Kit (MMK)).
Concerning the footers for my Poseidons, I use Nordost Sort Kone AC with satisfactory results.
Best wishes,
Paolo

Thanks Paolo.
That is helpful to to know particularly for other Mac users.
I'll report on progress on the Wavekinetics when they get back to me.
ATB
Barry

 

[Fiddle Faddle]

when I use the 'stock' wood footers sitting on my composite wood over concrete floor, I get a bit of brightness and super focus. I like it in some ways for it's ultra detail but it's not really musical and it's tiring. when I add the Wave Kinetics A10 U8 footers on the Poseidon and Atlantic Minimus boxes I get a more refined balance, the tipped up brightness goes away, and ease is added. much better.

Hi Mike,

I wish I had known of these when I was auditioning the K2 versus Everest knobs. The Everests were ultra detailed and a little bright which is why I dismissed them in favour of the less resolving and more musical K2 knobs. I now wish I had tried the Everests with the Wave Kinetics.

Can I ask you how large are the A10 U8 footers please? I went to their website and they only show a photo without any mention anywhere of the actual dimensions. I am wondering what they would look like sitting under a standard sized CD player, for example. They look quite large to me and I am wondering if they would only work optimally under quite heavy components such as high end CD players and the heavy Entreq boxes.

I'd been considering getting Ringmat Cheetah feet for everything including the Entreq stuff but I suspect the Wave Kinetics stuff is much more highly evolved.

 

[Mike Lavigne]

Hi Mike,

I wish I had known of these when I was auditioning the K2 versus Everest knobs. The Everests were ultra detailed and a little bright which is why I dismissed them in favour of the less resolving and more musical K2 knobs. I now wish I had tried the Everests with the Wave Kinetics.

Can I ask you how large are the A10 U8 footers please? I went to their website and they only show a photo without any mention anywhere of the actual dimensions. I am wondering what they would look like sitting under a standard sized CD player, for example. They look quite large to me and I am wondering if they would only work optimally under quite heavy components such as high end CD players and the heavy Entreq boxes.

I'd been considering getting Ringmat Cheetah feet for everything including the Entreq stuff but I suspect the Wave Kinetics stuff is much more highly evolved.

I'm at work now, but from memory the A10 U8's are about 1 and 1/2 inch in diameter. so relatively small. and they are firm enough to be stable. they simply employ a couple levels of impedance change and take away that 'edge'.

 

[GuillaumeB]

Hi Mike,

The Everests were ultra detailed and a little bright which is why I dismissed them in favour of the less resolving and more musical K2 knobs.

That's really interesting. I also found the Everest too detailed/bright with my Totaldac d1-six DAC (connecting Poseidon to DAC via Atlantis cable). That was before my Athena rack arrived though. Now it seems ok! Currently I have no feet under the Poseidon, it sits directly on a Level 3 Athena shelf which is ungrounded as I am waiting for some Apollo spade to spade ground cables.

I used to only manage a few hours with the Everest in, and sooner enough would replace with K2 or even the wooden knob. At the moment it's in and hasn't moved... since the Athena moved in!

Guillaume

 

[Barry2013]

I've made contact with Wave Kinetics by email and in response to my query about availability in the UK of the footers I didn't get an answer but they did ask what components I was thinking of using them on.
I've told them that my Entreq boxes are the prime candidates but I would want to experiment with my sources and now await their response.
Will keep you posted!

 

[Barry2013]

Making progress now.
No dealer in the UK but happy to deal direct with a discount. One in France but don't know the name.
Awaiting a quote for four/eight on the direct basis.

 

[Bruce B]

I'm at work now, but from memory the A10 U8's are about 1 and 1/2 inch in diameter. so relatively small. and they are firm enough to be stable. they simply employ a couple levels of impedance change and take away that 'edge'.

I can vouch for the footers. Had them under my MPS-5 and Pass Labs XP-30. They did a wonderful job of taking away the smearing of complex compositions and made everything jell together. The only thing you have to be careful with is putting them under equipment that gets hot.... such as Class A amps.


I can't say the same thing about the 2NS footers though. They are not sturdy enough for heavy or tall speakers. I couldn't tell a difference with or without them in the sound. I had much better results under the speakers with Stillpoint Ultra 5's.

 

[Fiddle Faddle]

I also found the Everest too detailed/bright with my Totaldac d1-six DAC (connecting Poseidon to DAC via Atlantis cable). That was before my Athena rack arrived though. Now it seems ok!

I think we are all "victims" of this sort of problem. We A/B component upgrades and pick the one that works best at the time. Then down the track we change something else which moves the character in a different (but still improved) direction, making our previous choice of component slightly sub-optimal. This has happened to me a few times over the last few years. In each case the system improved, but if I could try everything I have auditioned over the last three years again, I think I might have managed an extra 1% to 1.5% - which as hard-core perfectionist audiophiles will understand, isn't to be sneezed at.

I'm at work now, but from memory the A10 U8's are about 1 and 1/2 inch in diameter. so relatively small. and they are firm enough to be stable. they simply employ a couple levels of impedance change and take away that 'edge'.

Thanks. Ok, they are much more compact and discreet than the impression I got from the photos. So they will not be a problem with any sized equipment, even "half rack" sized components. Thank you.

Making progress now.
No dealer in the UK but happy to deal direct with a discount. One in France but don't know the name.
Awaiting a quote for four/eight on the direct basis.

Hi Barry,

I would be interested to know what price you are given (for four). You can PM me if you wish and are willing to advise me what they quoted you. These feet are clearly significant overkill for my own system based on the US retail price, however I will still consider them because (a) they will clearly benefit the system nonetheless and (b) they can obviously be used to advantage with future, upgraded equipment. They are a component for life, so to speak. As I mentioned to you in a previous PM, I am astonished at what differences good racks and isolation make, even when you think you don't even suffer from vibration / isolation related issues to begin with. I wouldn't have dreamt even two months ago that isolating Entreq boxes would make an audible difference, but then again as I mentioned to you, I never even expected a rack to make much difference when listening through headphones in a silent room, isolated to the outside world and built on top of a concrete slab. So now I am almost inclined to believe anything when it comes to isolation tweaks. I currently have some Absorb-it feet coming for my RPM9 turntable, such is my new-found enthusiasm for solving vibration-related issues I never even knew I had...

http://www.box-designs.com/main.php?prod=absorbit&cat=accessories&lang=en

and the above seem pretty good for a turntable but the A10 U8 being much more compact is obviously much more suitable for other components (and I would say better performing given the A10 is around twice the price). But what I like about the feet I am getting for the turntable is they have the little indent in the middle of them to accommodate the particular triangle spikes that the Projects use.

 

[Mike Lavigne]

Thanks. Ok, they are much more compact and discreet than the impression I got from the photos. So they will not be a problem with any sized equipment, even "half rack" sized components. Thank you.

I use -3- the A10 U8's under very small chassis items (Atlantic Minimus, the power supply for my NVS tt) and they still pay sonic dividends. in some cases I add Walker lead-filled pucks on top to get enough weight to engage the decoupling and insure there is a solid connection between the chassis bottom and the A10 U8's. like any tool they need to be used with care.

 

[Mike Lavigne]

Sorry, I did not mean to upgrade the provided cables to the Atlantic Eartha. I meant to connect the second wire/spade of Atlantis Eartha cable you currently use to ground your Amplifiers, one to the Poseidon and the other to Atlantic Minimus box.

oh, I see I did not read your post clearly, it now makes more sense. thank you.

when I have the time I will try your suggestion for the 2 outer Poseidon/Atlantic Minimus boxes that connect to my dart amps. the middle box does not use the Atlantic Eartha cables.

Caliaripaolo,

ok, tonight I did an A/B 'before and after' moving the second of the dual leads of the Atlantic Eartha cable from the Poseidon to the Atlantic Minimus. so now the Atlantic Eartha has one lead on the Poseidon, and one on the Atlantic Minimus.

and I like what it's doing. thank you for the suggestion.

it seems to be making a slight but consistently noticeable positive differences in a few areas; the presentation has a bit silkier delicacy, clarity has improved a small bit along with some roughness not previously recognized is now absent, along with the flow and sense of energy is a bit improved. all these are likely different aspects of the same thing.....just less......reproduced.

more prominent is that bass impact has stepped up a notch. more punch and physicality of the bass. nothing lost in articulation or texture. just more slam.

I love zero cost steps up. this is not a huge change......but a step along the path none-the-less.

 

[Jazzhead]

I have 3 X Atlantis Eartha / Atlantis Minimus , will try separate the earth lugs and see ....

 

[caliaripaolo]

Caliaripaolo,

ok, tonight I did an A/B 'before and after' moving the second of the dual leads of the Atlantic Eartha cable from the Poseidon to the Atlantic Minimus. so now the Atlantic Eartha has one lead on the Poseidon, and one on the Atlantic Minimus.

and I like what it's doing. thank you for the suggestion.

it seems to be making a slight but consistently noticeable positive differences in a few areas; the presentation has a bit silkier delicacy, clarity has improved a small bit along with some roughness not previously recognized is now absent, along with the flow and sense of energy is a bit improved. all these are likely different aspects of the same thing.....just less......reproduced.

more prominent is that bass impact has stepped up a notch. more punch and physicality of the bass. nothing lost in articulation or texture. just more slam.

I love zero cost steps up. this is not a huge change......but a step along the path none-the-less.

Hi Mike,
I'm glad to know you've got an improvement, this confirms how empirical the way to proceed for this kind of stuff.
I tried thinking that since there were two leads, why not split the stream into two different connections?
Just one question, Did you leave the "umbilical" cable connected between Poseidon and the Atlantis minimus?
Paolo

 

[caliaripaolo]

I have 3 X Atlantis Eartha / Atlantis Minimus , will try separate the earth lugs and see ....

Please, keep us informed

 

[Mike Lavigne]

Hi Mike,
I'm glad to know you've got an improvement, this confirms how empirical the way to proceed for this kind of stuff.
I tried thinking that since there were two leads, why not split the stream into two different connections?
Just one question, Did you leave the "umbilical" cable connected between Poseidon and the Atlantis minimus?
Paolo

again thank you. good thinking.

and yes, i did leave the umbilical in place, and did not try it without. maybe another thing to consider at some point, but I'm inclined not to even worry about it.

 

[Fiddle Faddle]

I use -3- the A10 U8's under very small chassis items (Atlantic Minimus, the power supply for my NVS tt) and they still pay sonic dividends. in some cases I add Walker lead-filled pucks on top to get enough weight to engage the decoupling and insure there is a solid connection between the chassis bottom and the A10 U8's. like any tool they need to be used with care.

Excellent. Thanks Mike. Do you specifically need to "load up" the Atlantic Minimus with ballast when using the A10 U8?

 

[Mike Lavigne]

Excellent. Thanks Mike. Do you specifically need to "load up" the Atlantic Minimus with ballast when using the A10 U8?

no, the Atlantic Minimus are dense and weighty enough to engage the A10 U8's 'nude'. nothing flimsy about a few pieces of thick oak screwed/nailed together and some wire and dirt.

 

[Barry2013]

I can't help commenting on what a marvellous thread this has proved to be.
Started by Spirit of Music 4 years ago, beset by controversy and naysayers, 2300+ posts and still delivering good,practical and helpful advice and guidance on how to get the best out of Entreq.
Not the only one,of course, but what a marvellous advert for this Forum!