Grounding boxes - The real deal

[Duckworp]

Very well written article, explaining the theory behind why these ground boxes are needed.

I was put off the author by the inclusion of 'pace rhythm and timing' as that expression is one of my bete noire's, but that is a different discussion.

Apart from saying the RF energy is converted to heat it doesn't really say how they work though.

Yes the article is good. The CAD grounding boxes are extraordinary in the effect they have, and their DAC is one of the finest I have heard so the designer clearly knows what he is doing. The fact he is an electronics engineer by training and trade would indicate that too. And the point he makes about the difference between using the box for grounding the signal ground or the mains Earth is important as to do both you need a box for each. I messed around with some of the CAD GC boxes and I definitely get separate improvements for attaching a box to the CD player's spare RCA input, and a further box to the mains earth via the earth connection on the distribution block. But if you try and do both on the one grounding box (signal ground and mains earth) the effect is negated, and the sound is actually worse. The article explains why that happens which is interesting.

The effect on the music for the signal ground using a CAD GC1 I found as providing more coherence and space to the music, more depth. Adding a second GC1 and daisy chaining it made this even more effective.

Adding a GC3 to the mains earth connection on the distribution block and attaching a cable each to the case of the amp and CD player was different: this improved what I would define as the structure of the music, the timing of it. It was interesting how the effect was so different to the signal grounding, but equally impressive.

But as mentioned, running signal and mains earth grounding through the same box didn’t work.

For those of you with a grounding box I’d say it is worth demoing the CAD method of using a second separate one on the mains earth via a link to the earth socket on a distribution box. If there is no earth socket on that device, or you plug your components directly into the wall, CAD actually make a cable with a plug on one end which is designed to run from an unused electrical socket next to one you use for your devices. I guess the plug only connects to the grounding pin. Before I got a distribution box this was how I demoed the GC3 linking to mains earth, and the effects were as substantial as using the input on the distribution block.