StillPoints Ultra's and other clean ups as presented at RMAF

[Whart]

Originally Posted by DonBattles

Not looking to hijack your thread but since StillPoints is the subject matter this might interest those that are vinyl hounds as well

The Audio Beat - Weighty Matters: Stillpoints Ultra LP Isolato

Got it. You have to retune your system if you are going to use it. It does change the character of the turntable's sound. It's good, and I am using it instead of my factory clamp, but as I mentioned elsewhere, I think you have to get the basics right first on vinyl playback, before spending money on the tweaks.

[Olskool]

Originally Posted by jazzhead

Hi Olskool , here's a follow up to the Seminar in question : The Audio Beat's System Setup and Optimization Seminar: What We Did, What It Did, and Why It Worked - The Audio Beat - www.TheAudioBeat.com

Must have been very insightful to observe and perceive the stated changes. Step 9 is stated to be the big one changing racks to the Stillpoints ESS , did you feel it be of a magnitude, as mentioned.
Step 16 however is my favourite. Talk about the kinks in our hobby ....

Good morning Jazzhead, thanks for sending this article, I can't wait to read it. About to go out for the day with family so it will have to wait till later tonight. I opened the article to see it was a different session than the one I sat through. This one uses the blade speakers vs. the speakers we had demonstrated were the Wilson's designed for difficult rooms or to be mounted on shelves (they placed them on stands).

I can tell you I am completely amazed at the sound difference coming out of my system. The sound stage is definitely wider, deeper, more detailed and the air between instruments is unmistakeable. The still points he is using in the photo's are much larger than the units I bought so I don't think I could afford a complete set of those guys being demonstrated. I cant imagine what a full suite of still points including under speakers would do to improve my sound... I'd probably never leave my listening area. Thanks again for the article.

Olskool

[jazzhead]

Olskool , you are welcome . Am sure you will find it an interesting read. I have Stillpoints Ultras under all my components(except my speakers ) and I can connect with a lot of what has been written up about them . Am saving up, to finish the chain by installing an ESS rack and Ultra 5 s under my speakers. I have an Entreq grounding unit on order , and hope for it to further my cause . Have a great day .

[Wasatch]

Originally Posted by jazzhead

Hi Olskool , here's a follow up to the Seminar in question : The Audio Beat's System Setup and Optimization Seminar: What We Did, What It Did, and Why It Worked - The Audio Beat - www.TheAudioBeat.com

Must have been very insightful to observe and perceive the stated changes. Step 9 is stated to be the big one changing racks to the Stillpoints ESS , did you feel it be of a magnitude, as mentioned.
Step 16 however is my favourite. Talk about the kinks in our hobby ....

Very interesting read, thanks.

[Olskool]

I am really glad to have attended the sessions at RMAF but I think these sessions had a few extra elements included that would have been good to learn about. The whole issue of using the panel controls instead of the remote blows my mind...who'd a thunk it?

[Olskool]

Originally Posted by jazzhead

Olskool , you are welcome . Am sure you will find it an interesting read. I have Stillpoints Ultras under all my components(except my speakers ) and I can connect with a lot of what has been written up about them . Am saving up, to finish the chain by installing an ESS rack and Ultra 5 s under my speakers. I have an Entreq grounding unit on order , and hope for it to further my cause . Have a great day .

Jazzhead, I purchased the Ultra SS set of three and they are under my VS-115, is this the model you are running under your components? What do you think about using the Mini's under everything; I want to have a complete Still Point setup but don't want to break the bank to get there. Due to weight I expect I might have to go with the Ultra SS for my speakers??? Any thoughts you care to share??

Olskool

[Olskool]

Originally Posted by jazzhead

Olskool , you are welcome . Am sure you will find it an interesting read. I have Stillpoints Ultras under all my components(except my speakers ) and I can connect with a lot of what has been written up about them . Am saving up, to finish the chain by installing an ESS rack and Ultra 5 s under my speakers. I have an Entreq grounding unit on order , and hope for it to further my cause . Have a great day .

Oh yeah, how about the Entreq grounding unit? I have dedicated Shunyata 20 Amp plugs and a separate 8' outside ground for those plugs. What I have not done is to run a ground line from the QB4 power conditioner block directly to the plugs for direct connection to the outside ground. I am assuming I get some benefit from the internal grounding provided through the plugs and their ground and further assume this negates the need for something like the Entreq? Your (or anyone else's) experience have any data to share on this?

Olskool

[Whart]

Originally Posted by Olskool

Oh yeah, how about the Entreq grounding unit? I have dedicated Shunyata 20 Amp plugs and a separate 8' outside ground for those plugs. What I have not done is to run a ground line from the QB4 power conditioner block directly to the plugs for direct connection to the outside ground. I am assuming I get some benefit from the internal grounding provided through the plugs and their ground and further assume this negates the need for something like the Entreq? Your (or anyone else's) experience have any data to share on this?

Olskool

Grounding issues are bedeviling. I think you have to separate out several different things that may be going on: first, a good ground- usually that means a separate grounding rod or series of rods or other grounding network outside- sounds like you already have that. It is also likely in common with your house ground for code reasons. If you have separate dedicated lines, they can have a different ground potential, even though they all go to the same ground. That's one of the reasons the Brits typically plug their system into one receptacle and run a distribution box from there to their whole system- it eliminates the differences in ground potential between different outlets. Not so common in the US, what with big, power hungry amps that need current. Your Nordost distribution box is, I think, star grounded, so the outlets act as if they are seeing the same ground. There are also devices that allow you to externally 'star' ground various components, not in lieu of the ground on the AC plug/receptacle, but in addition to it. The Granite Audio device, which I have experimented with does that, and allows you to change the impedance of the different ground hook-ups but it is only modestly effective. The Tripoint products, at a much higher level, do something similar I think. And that may also be what the Entreq grounding product does. Some of this also has to do with how the various components are grounded at their chassis. And, how that, in turn, gets combined when components are connected via various cables to each other. That can create additional grounding issues, which is one of the reasons why, I think, people often 'lift' ground at a component through cheaters. There's a lot written on this that you can read on the Net. (And i'm not advocating using cheaters here, just saying, how different components are grounded internally adds another level of complication to thinking through your grounding harness or AC wiring, because they wind up getting connected to each other and grounding problems then crop up, beyond just getting the AC outlets correctly grounded). Somebody like JDandy can probably chime in here with technical expertise- I'm just telling you what I have learned having to deal with the issues; using very high efficiency horns, I have good reasons to get the noise floor as low as possible, and it makes a huge difference in the quality of the sound.
Roy has a separate ground wire that is accessible in his home listening room. There is a write up about Roy's home listening room and AC/grounding scheme somewhere on the Net. You can reach out to him, he is pretty accessible, and a very nice, knowledgeable guy who, in my estimation, asks the right questions.
I'm going a different route on my next room, using the big Equi=Tech Wall Cabinet. It is not a grounding solution, per se, but with a big isolation transformer, and balanced power, some of the issues associated with AC noise will hopefully disappear.

[turntable]

I have Ultra SS's under my pre amp, phono stage and ss power amp. They are superb and have no downside that I can perceive.

the funny thing is that the Ultra's hat up or down makes a sonic difference as does 2 up 1 down of visa versa.

I originally bought 3 for my pre amp and 8 to go under my speakers. I will do that when my speakers are working again, however atm loth to remove them from the phono stage and amp.

cheers

[jazzhead]

Originally Posted by Wasatch

Very interesting read, thanks.

Wasatch .. my pleasure , glad you enjoyed it .