I have the Everest conditioner.
Made my own signal grounding cables from some spare AntiCable solid core speaker wire and these RCA connectors available on Ebay.
All my components are now signal grounded to the Everest grounding.
After seeing this thread, and your post, I decided to make my own signal ground cable. I used some 16 gauge magnet wire I had around. Instead of making five separate wires, I combined them all into one. One spade on the Everest side, then I twisted it for about 4 feet. The last 3 ft is a single magnet wire to each negative pin on the rca/xlr connectors. This saved a lot of space on the ground post of the Everest, and is a little tidier.
After seeing this thread, and your post, I decided to make my own signal ground cable. I used some 16 gauge magnet wire I had around. Instead of making five separate wires, I combined them all into one. One spade on the Everest side, then I twisted it for about 4 feet. The last 3 ft is a single magnet wire each negative pin on the rca/xlr connectors. This saved a lot of space on the ground post of the Everest, and is a little tiddier.View attachment 90040View attachment 90041View attachment 90041
Thanks. Yeah, there was a slight improvement. I have yet to go back and disconnect it to hear the difference. That may be more telling.
Could put some sleeving on it to make it look a little better.
I am wondering if lower gauge wire (larger diameter) would be an improvement? It would be quite difficult to go much bigger on signal wires, because the pins on the rca/xlr connectors are small. Would probably need a custom connector.
The Altaira grounding boxes are interesting. I wonder if they will be designed to tie the grounds to earth at the wall or Everest, or if they just absorb the energy with minerals of some kind? Or maybe a combo of both? Nobody wants to give away their trade secrets, so we probably won't learn exactly what they are doing.
Tonite I decided to do some comparisons of the sound, of the signal grounds connected to the Everest, and disconnected from the Everest. I did not unplug the signal grounds from the equipment, just the spade going to the Everest ground post. So the signal grounds were all still connected together when the spade was not connected to the Everest, because of how the cable is constructed.
I used Misa Criolla by Ariel Ramirez. First track Kyrie played through my Holo May Dac. Not really the quietest recording, but the space is captured well in it. Switching back and forth it is somewhat subtle, but the sound is a bit more you are there, when the ground is connected. When not connected to the Everest it sounds a bit more like the performance is in my room. A bit less realistic, and more reproduced sounding.
So I think it was a worthwhile endeavour in my system. Have not tried connecting chassis grounds to the Everest yet, but after this result I think I will give it a try. It will be more challenging because most of my equipment does not have a convenient ground lug to attach to.
Thanks. Yeah, there was a slight improvement. I have yet to go back and disconnect it to hear the difference. That may be more telling.
Could put some sleeving on it to make it look a little better.
I am wondering if lower gauge wire (larger diameter) would be an improvement? It would be quite difficult to go much bigger on signal wires, because the pins on the rca/xlr connectors are small. Would probably need a custom connector.
The Altaira grounding boxes are interesting. I wonder if they will be designed to tie the grounds to earth at the wall or Everest, or if they just absorb the energy with minerals of some kind? Or maybe a combo of both? Nobody wants to give away their trade secrets, so we probably won't learn exactly what they are doing.
Both units are fully passive. I was told by Richard the chassis ground gets you the most bang for the Buck but the signal ground completes the picture.
I am thinking I can bypass the chassis ground and use the CGS on my Denali and spend my money on the signal ground unit. I only have two mono amps, a DAC/pre and Server to ground.
...I am considering a similar investigation/approach, @Macattack
I have Luxman amps and pre, and they have isolated ground design. They do not utilize the safety ground from the wall. Presumably, any possible "improvement" would be limited to the signal path. More research is required.
It looks complicated, but I understand dealers have to go thru a training program to sell it. Shunyata makes excellent gear. So, I would expect it to be excellent.
It looks complicated, but I understand dealers have to go thru a training program to sell it. Shunyata makes excellent gear. So, I would expect it to be excellent.
1) Do we really need both signal grounding and chassis grounding for each piece of gear in our system?
2) What is the difference sonically between these units and other similar products such as Nordost, Tripoint? Entreq?
3) Does the Shunyata system confer benefits immediately or must one wait 24 hours or longer to notice the effects?
4) If the effect is immediate, that presumes one can hear the effects of discontinuation immediately in an A/B/A comparison. Has anyone done that in a blinded or controlled manner? (I recall AXPONA in 2019 where Bea Lam allowed me to D/C and then re-connect the Nordost ground units on her show system (unblinded). The results were immediately noticeable.)
1) Do we really need both signal grounding and chassis grounding for each piece of gear in our system?
2) What is the difference sonically between these units and other similar products such as Nordost, Tripoint? Entreq?
3) Does the Shunyata system confer benefits immediately or must one wait 24 hours or longer to notice the effects?
4) If the effect is immediate, that presumes one can hear the effects of discontinuation immediately in an A/B/A comparison. Has anyone done that in a blinded or controlled manner? (I recall AXPONA in 2019 where Bea Lam allowed me to D/C and then re-connect the Nordost ground units on her show system (unblinded). The results were immediately noticeable.)
Apparently Richard from Shunyata demoed these at the Florida Audio Expo and he did an A (Altaira on) vs B (Altaira unplugged) demo and the sound change was immediate and people walked away wanting one. I was not there, but in another email exchange with Richard, he said that the CG makes the biggest impact and the SG is the icing on the cake.
Apparently Richard from Shunyata demoed these at the Florida Audio Expo and he did an A (Altaira on) vs B (Altaira unplugged) demo and the sound change was immediate and people walked away wanting one. I was not there, but in another email exchange with Richard, he said that the CG makes the biggest impact and the SG is the icing on the cake.
If I remember correctly, he said that it does make an improvement even if we have one of the conditioners you mentioned. That said, he didn't quantity how much improvement that would be.
I'm hopeful that Music Direct gets trained on these soon, since they have a 60 day return policy - I don't have any dealers nearby for an in-home audition.
If I remember correctly, he said that it does make an improvement even if we have one of the conditioners you mentioned. That said, he didn't quantity how much improvement that would be.
I'm hopeful that Music Direct gets trained on these soon, since they have a 60 day return policy - I don't have any dealers nearby for an in-home audition.
I think when you make your own wire, you want a magnet wire as it has a coating of lacquer over it. You then want a shield like mylar over that with a drain to one end. You could use dead soft silver, but you would need a fine insulator like cotton over the wire, then the mylar shield and drain, then tech flex over the top. I think?????? That is what a friend I know does. Others can chime in.
I think when you make your own wire, you want a magnet wire as it has a coating of lacquer over it. You then want a shield like mylar over that with a drain to one end. You could use dead soft silver, but you would need a fine insulator like cotton over the wire, then the mylar shield and drain, then tech flex over the top. I think?????? That is what a friend I know does. Others can chime in.
In this document, they say you don't have to spend money on anything more than Venom or Delta for short runs, so you don't have to break the bank -
"For most systems requiring shorter lengths of cables, the Venom and Delta models are sufficient to demonstrate the ALTAIRA’s abilities. If there are longer length cables needed for connections between ALTAIRA hubs or between the ALTAIRA hub and the power distributor the Delta, Alpha, or Sigma models are recommended as budget allows. In summary, for shorter connections, the less expensive models will do the job, but for longer lengths the larger gauge models will deliver notable system improvements."
www.monoandstereo.com
