Tripoint emperor : a breakthrough

[TBG]

Thanks much Norm. Just that I understand you correctly: this star grounding remains (for a while?) if you only disconnect the Thor se's from the emperor/troy but not from the components and leave the pc of these units in place?

Just disconnect the grounds from all the components and unconnected the Troy or Emperor from the wall. Leave all the grounds connected to the Troy or Emperor. In effect the grounding unit is connected to no component nor the earth ground. It is not in the system at all.

 

[Barry2013]

I realise that this may or may not make any sense but has anybody tried connecting Tripoint ground cables to an Entreq Silver Tellus?

 

[LL21]

I realise that this may or may not make any sense but has anybody tried connecting Tripoint ground cables to an Entreq Silver Tellus?

I have done the opposite, since i own the Tripoint Troy Signature with Thor PC. I connect Atlantis cables to it (but make sure to use different binding posts on the back...mixing was a bad idea). I think it works extremely well. 1 Binding post for the 4 Tripoint cables to the chassis. 2 binding posts for the Atlantis (Pre & Zanden) signal grounding and the same 2 binding posts for 3 Atlantis.

 

[Barry2013]

I have done the opposite, since i own the Tripoint Troy Signature with Thor PC. I connect Atlantis cables to it (but make sure to use different binding posts on the back...mixing was a bad idea). I think it works extremely well. 1 Binding post for the 4 Tripoint cables to the chassis. 2 binding posts for the Atlantis (Pre & Zanden) signal grounding and the same 2 binding posts for 3 Atlantis.

Thanks Lloyd.
I had forgotten you had done that till your post reminded me.
Presumably if it works that way it should work the other way, ie Tripoint ground cables to Entreq box providing the Tripoint spades are not too big for the Entreq. It will be interesting to hear if anybody has tried that and with what results.

 

[LL21]

Thanks Lloyd.
I had forgotten you had done that till your post reminded me.
Presumably if it works that way it should work the other way, ie Tripoint ground cables to Entreq box providing the Tripoint spades are not too big for the Entreq. It will be interesting to hear if anybody has tried that and with what results.

Hi Barry...yes, i would have the reverse could work. Are you going to try a Tripoint Thor grounding cable? Pricey, but supposedly amazing.

 

[Barry2013]

Hi Barry...yes, i would have the reverse could work. Are you going to try a Tripoint Thor grounding cable? Pricey, but supposedly amazing.

Hi Lloyd.
It was a thought that struck me after reading the 6 Moons review and hence the post.
Not currently planning to do it and I have very recently bought the Kipod Signatures so it would have to wait even if I was tempted to try it.
It may be that nobody has tried it but it would certainly be interesting to know.

 

[LL21]

Hi Lloyd.
It was a thought that struck me after reading the 6 Moons review and hence the post.
Not currently planning to do it and I have very recently bought the Kipod Signatures so it would have to wait even if I was tempted to try it.
It may be that nobody has tried it but it would certainly be interesting to know.

Agree...in fact, I believe that Lincoln Chen of Audio Technique uses Siltech specially made ground cables with his Tripoint...so again, it seems many have had good success in this approach.

 

[Barry2013]

Agree...in fact, I believe that Lincoln Chen of Audio Technique uses Siltech specially made ground cables with his Tripoint...so again, it seems many have had good success in this approach.

Thanks Lloyd.
That is interesting.
There are obvious differences between the two products but they cannot be fundamentally different so swapping the ground cables should not be a problem as you have found using Entreq ground cables with a Tripoint box.
I would have thought somebody would have tried it, perhaps in the Far East where both products are strong. Potentially it looks as if it could be a very cost effective approach.
Maybe this exchange will reveal somebody who has tried it, or alternatively encourage somebody to experiment and post their experiences.

 

[TBG]

Thanks Lloyd.
That is interesting.
There are obvious differences between the two products but they cannot be fundamentally different so swapping the ground cables should not be a problem as you have found using Entreq ground cables with a Tripoint box.
I would have thought somebody would have tried it, perhaps in the Far East where both products are strong. Potentially it looks as if it could be a very cost effective approach.
Maybe this exchange will reveal somebody who has tried it, or alternatively encourage somebody to experiment and post their experiences.

I doubt if "cost effective" has much meaning here. I have tried many, many grounding cables on the Tripoint but gave up on the Entreq shaped wire spades. Every cable has a different sound. Just today I tried two prototypes from one manufacturer that sounded quite different from each other.

I also expect that knowing the differences between the Tripoint and the Entreq that they would have comparable results.

This is all trial and error stuff. And frankly I have no interest in findings using the Entreq.

 

[Barry2013]

I doubt if "cost effective" has much meaning here. I have tried many, many grounding cables on the Tripoint but gave up on the Entreq shaped wire spades. Every cable has a different sound. Just today I tried two prototypes from one manufacturer that sounded quite different from each other.

I also expect that knowing the differences between the Tripoint and the Entreq that they would have comparable results.

This is all trial and error stuff. And frankly I have no interest in findings using the Entreq.

Chacun a son gout

 

[TBG]

Qui!

 

[Audiocrack]

About half a year ago I opened this thread regarding the amazing Tripoint emperor. Recently I received a private mail from one of the WBF members with the following remark: you have been quiet about the Tripoint emperor for considerable time so maybe you are dissappointed about its performance? Well, let me be very clear about this: no, I am not dissappointed at all! I consider the Tripoint emperor as a crucial piece of my audio set up and it is an audio component that I dearly love. It is doing all the things that I described earlier at this thread albeit at an even higher level now that it is (very likely) fully broken in. In fact it is so fantastic that I would love to insert a Tripoint emperor in my other audio set up, replace my Tripoint Troy se and connect the emperor to the (dedicated) grounding binding posts of my Tidal La Assoluta speakers. If only the Tripoint emperor was not so difficult and labour intensive to built. I know how much effort Miguel puts into the emperor and therefore this device cannot come cheap. But maybe someone is seriously interested in buying my Tripoint Troy se so that I can start dreaming about the Tripoint emperor in my Tidal LA up?

 

[TBG]

People that have read the Tripoint Troy thread that I started quite a while ago know that I loved and still love the Tripoint Troy signature. I owned two, one for each of my two systems. Because I sold my Tidal Sunrays speakers about 4-5 months ago I was able to install two Tripoint Troys in my Genesis set up. In combination with the Trinity dac, Trinity PC & drive, Taralabs Grandmaster evolution speaker cables and one set of Taralabs grandmaster evolution ic's my Genesis sounded better than ever.

And then Miguel launched the Tripoint emperor, a state of the art 'grounding' device, firstly shown to the public by Audio Exotics at an audio show in Hongkong. After (i) extensive talks with Miguel, (ii) quite some deliberation on my part because of the costs involved as well as my real enthusiasm for the Tripoint Troy signature and (iii) having learned to trust Miguels ears and claims, I ordered a Tripoint emperor grounding.

I expressed on WBF more than once my reluctance to write about my experiences with the Tripoint emperor. And just to be clear about this: my reluctance has nothing to do with the product itself. Nevertheless some fellow audiophiles have requested me to write about my experiences and therefore I have decided to start this new thread.

First of all, please keep in mind that I have installed the Tripoint emperor for only one week in my Genesis set up. It definately needs more breaking in time. Probably the emperor will need at least 4-6 weeks to fully stabilize.

Furthermore, due to the size and weight - including the crate the total weight is 420 pounds! - of the emperor I needed to rearrange my Genesis setup. The Genesis system consists of the following components:
- Genesis 1.1 loudspeakers. The Xovers have been completely reworked by a friend/technician, using only Duelund silver caps. The Genesis 1.1 is an active system coming with two (3000w solid state) power amps that are being used only for the woofer towers.
- Kondo Gakuoh 300B (Western Electric) push pull amps.
- Kondo M1000 mark 1 preamp. I prefer the mk 1 to the mark 2 version, partly because of it’s fully tubed power supply.
- Trinity dac and Trinity pc & drive.
- Walker audio black diamond mk III and Blue Pearl Jem turntables.
- Various cartridges, including Lyra olympos and Lyra Atlas as well as Koetsu coral stone platinum diamond.
- Two specally made wooden racks that are standing on Halcyonics Vario active (magnetic) devices.

Before installing the Tripoint emperor I removed all audio components (apart from the G 1.1) and installed a new larger wooden rack as well as new cables. I needed to do this in order to create enough space for the emperor. I made the following changes in my cable loom:
- New 1 meter Taralabs Grandmaster evolution loudspeaker cables that are being used between the G 1.1 Xovers and my Kondo power amps (they replaced the (fully played in) 2 meter Taralabs grandmaster evolution loudspeaker cables that I will use in my other set up)
- New 1 meter Taralabs grandmaster evolution ic replacing my Taralabs zero gold ic between Kondo preamp and Trinity dac
- Replacing my Argento silver cable between Kondo preamp and Genesis woofer amps by the former mentioned Taralabs zero gold ic.

So all in all a lot has changed before replacing the two Tripoint Troy signatures by the Tripoint emperor.

Because of all these changes (and because it is always difficult to attribute the changes in sound you experience to certain changes in the audio chain) I started with only (signal) grounding all my Taralabs ic’s with a Tripoint Thor se. Why? Because I was doing the same in my former Genesis 1.1 set up in combination with my Troy signature se. The Taralabs ic’s are supplied with their own grounding boxes – ‘double’ boxes that are connected to eachother in case of the Grandmaster ic’s – and I connected the (very small) Taralabs grounding cables to the Tripoint Thor se. Today I added a second Tripoint Thor se, connected to my Trinity pc & drive. I have one Tripoint Thor se left for (chassis) grounding my Kondo preamp. I want to make only one step after another in order to fully understand what the Tripoint emperor is actually doing.

So after this long introduction: what am I actually hearing? To put in three words my preliminary findings (my new Taralabs Groundmaster evolution cables are not played in yet and I can hear this. And, like I mentioned before, the Tripoint emperor needs to settle in as well): refinement, purity and serenity.

My Genesis 1.1/Kondo set up has always been able to touch me deeply, that is getting me involved emotionally into the music. For me that is much more important than audiophile expressions like power, dynamics, transparency, etc. After replacing the two Tripoint Troy signatures by the Tripoint emperor the system has undoubtedly become more refined, fluid, smooth and pure, that is the emotional impact is even (and clearly) more profound. The same applies to the calmness/serinity of the musical presentation: that was already very good indeed before installing the emperor but has gotten even better. Eg voices are sounding glorious, that is clearly more natural. But at the same time the system has become clearly more transparent and revealing. In short, the sound reproduction is more natural than ever before, that is the use of technical means for reproducing music has become much less obvious.

In all honesty, I can hardly believe my ears. Absolutely astonishing. Please be assured that I am not an audiophile greenhorn getting a kick out of a new audio toy. I have been a music lover and audiophile for more than 30 years, heard an awful lot of equipment and I am very hard to please as regards my greates hobby in life.

I started the thread on WBF regarding the Tripoint Troy signature because I love it and imho much more audiophiles need to hear it in order to find out what their systems are really capable of. However, in all honesty it cannot be compared to the Tripoint emperor. The Tripoint emperor is another world, that is another dimension. Compared to the Tripoint emperor the Tripoint Troy sounds (somewhat) crude. In audiophile terms the differences are: a deeper and wider soundstage, more transparency, a lower noice floor, better focussing and more dynamics/fluidity/refinement/smoothness/silkyness/resolution.

For me it is still hard to believe that my Genesis system that I thought was more or less tweaked out, can play at a completely different level. All I want to say for now: Whow!!

While I share virtually none of your components including your Tripoint Emperor, my experience with the Tripoint Troy would never lead me to assume anything but continued enthusiasm with your Emperor. Certainly, I seldom bother to remove my Troy or connections using the Thor SE grounding cables. I do matter of factually install new components for review using the Tripoint grounding.

I do wish more audiophiles like you lived nearby so I could share their experiences.

Enjoy, my friend!

 

[Audiocrack]

While I share virtually none of your components including your Tripoint Emperor, my experience with the Tripoint Troy would never lead me to assume anything but continued enthusiasm with your Emperor. Certainly, I seldom bother to remove my Troy or connections using the Thor SE grounding cables. I do matter of factually install new components for review using the Tripoint grounding.

I do wish more audiophiles like you lived nearby so I could share their experiences.

Enjoy, my friend!

Thank you very much for your kind words TBG. Would love to hear your and Miguels system! Maybe this will happen somewhere in the future. However, first I will try to arrange for Miguel to come over and have him listen to my two systems. Maybe he can do some of his magic in my set ups as he did in yours. He is extremely enthusiastic about his emperor power cable. Would love to experience this cable. Are you maybe considering it?

 

[TBG]

Thank you very much for your kind words TBG. Would love to hear your and Miguels system! Maybe this will happen somewhere in the future. However, first I will try to arrange for Miguel to come over and have him listen to my two systems. Maybe he can do some of his magic in my set ups as he did in yours. He is extremely enthusiastic about his emperor power cable. Would love to experience this cable. Are you maybe considering it?

Yes, Miguel has reported to me about the impact of this new pc that takes weeks to build. I have many top-of-the-line High Fidelity power cables that have greatly improved my sound. I also have their Waveguide power center and new "Pro" pc leading from the wall to it. The sheer weight of this cable as well as its price in daunting. All of my equipment except my tt is up on Star Sound platforms or racks and on three of their Audio Points. I already have major concerns about the somewhat heavy HFC pcs pulling components off. This doesn't mean that I wouldn't love to hear it. I heard the earlier effort and it was quite good.

 

[Steve williams]

A power cord that takes weeks to build. How so???

 

[Audiocrack]

A power cord that takes weeks to build. How so???

Have a look at this monster cable and you will know. I will ask Miguel to send me some pictures so that I can post them on wbf.

 

[Audiocrack]

Yes, Miguel has reported to me about the impact of this new pc that takes weeks to build. I have many top-of-the-line High Fidelity power cables that have greatly improved my sound. I also have their Waveguide power center and new "Pro" pc leading from the wall to it. The sheer weight of this cable as well as its price in daunting. All of my equipment except my tt is up on Star Sound platforms or racks and on three of their Audio Points. I already have major concerns about the somewhat heavy HFC pcs pulling components off. This doesn't mean that I wouldn't love to hear it. I heard the earlier effort and it was quite good.

Forgot to mention one thing to you Norm: I lately put my Troy signature on a Halcyonics micro 40: big difference for the better!

 

[TBG]

Multiple layers of polished silver shielding and connecting to plugs at either end of the at least 1.5 inch in diameter cable.

 

[TBG]

Forgot to mention one thing to you Norm: I lately put my Troy signature on a Halcyonics micro 40: big difference for the better!

I have been experimenting with Star Sound products under mine. I started with substituting their Audio Point, then the Apprentice, and soon their Rhythm which way too wide. I think their Rhythm would take your Emperor, if you could get enough help to lift it.

Each step has been a nice improvement.