For years I've read about the benefits of installing a good earth to improve the hi-fi system but I've never got around to it - until today!

Take one 4' copper rod with clamp, a length of Kimber 8TC earth cable, a soldering iron, long masonry bit with hammer drill and good sized sledgehammer or mallet. Total material outlay about £25.

In my new house the usual earthing arrangement to the plumbing is under the sink in the utility room, close to the outside wall. I drilled through the double-brick wall and used a rod to pull the earth cable through. Then came lots of stripping and forming the ends of the cable into loops, soldering them to seal all the strands. Next, piledriving the rod took about half an hour, leaving about 2" protruding. Finally, connecting it all up (remembering to cut the power to the house as I had to dislodge the current earth connections), making everything nice and tight and weatherproofing the outside connection with some vaseline. Altogether, less than two hours from start to finish.

The result was, to be frank, very surprising. My soundstage has become more 3D, more palpable with superb focus on instruments and an enhanced sense of space. Where before I could still locate the speakers with my eyes closed (my preferred mode of listening), now I can't locate them at all, so solid is the image. Timing also seems improved with the Techie showing what it can do by starting and stopping on a sixpence.

If I had known to expect this level of improvement I would have done the job ages ago. Very well worth the cost and effort.