I would guess that all
audiophiles have at one time struggled with ground loop problems, such
as hum. I know I have. I have used cheaters, tested for minimum
leakage voltage, and tried system star grounding ideas. In the main, I
have been able to deal with hum and other noise associated with ground
loops. Ground loops always loom as a possibility when a component has
a ground pin connection to its chassis as is required by Underwriters
Labs in the U.S. In addition to that ground, using wire interconnect
between components allows a second ground of typically a different
potential through that other component and its AC ground. Having
multiple dedicated lines, each with a different route to ground,
further aggregates this.
About four years ago, I noticed
the Granite Audio Ground Zero while at CES. Their talk was convincing,
so I bought one. When I tried it in my system, I was somewhat
disappointed. It featured three levels of impedance to ground for each
of three sets on connections. Inside the central box, after the
selectable impedance, all are connected to the main ground through an
AC plug with only the ground pin connected. It did help slightly.
My H-Cat electronic’s circuit
is very sensitive to ground loops, even if inaudible. The manufacturer
strongly recommends having only the line stage grounded. This is how I
have been running my system the last several years. Most recently, I
have been using cheap cheaters from Home Depot that were later
“Quantum Tunneled” by Synergistic Research. These are the best
cheaters I have ever heard. This was the state of my system when
TriPoint Audio approached us for a review. Since I have the reputation
as always interested in tweaks, I was assigned to review their Troy
passive EMI/RFI filtration system, which I thought was quite like the
Granite Audio Ground Zero. It is substantially more evolved. As
TriPoint says, “Come experience the holographic transportation
of the real musical event with our proprietary passive filtration that
eliminates EMI/RFI from the signal and impulse signal flow. Hear what
your electronics, room, and vibration control really sound like.”
I did exactly that. According to TriPoint, “Music without Tripoint
is nothing more than amplified noise.” It does eliminate ground
loops also.
The Troy is the first product of
Tripoint. The motivation behind it seems entirely one of achieving the
best possible sound using the very best materials that the ear can
identify. For proprietary reasons, we are told little about what goes
on in this smart looking African Bubinga chassis with 14 coats of
clear piano finished box. You see three Cardas pure-copper binding
posts, a three-conductor, substantial fixed “power” cord with an
Oyaide P-79 male plug, which only has the ground pin connected, and
the solid silver grounding cables with Oyaide spades for connecting
all your components. A continuity check shows the three binding posts
are connected to each other and to the grounding pin on the wall plug,
possibly only at the wall plug.
The investigation of how this
device works should note: it is passive, it has no transformers, no
caps, no ferrites, no coils, and no LEDs. It has impedance ground
matching, vibration control tuning, and composite materials that
absorb EMI and RFI. It is heavy and apparently uses a non-metal box.
Finally, there is an Apollo model with only two Cardas binding posts
for a thousand dollars less. This seems to me to not be a good way to
go.
The Tripoint was merely added to
my existing system sitting on the floor on its brass points and with
provided brass cups protecting the floor. This is where I was
encouraged to set the Tripoint by Miguel Alvarez, the designer and
owner of Tripoint. With one exception, I used a chassis screw on
components to attach the provided grounding wires. The other end was
connected to the binding posts on the Tripoint. One component had a
ground lug. Each unit comes with four pure silver cables for grounding
components to the Tripoint. There are: one 3 meters, two 2 meters, one
1.5 meter grounding cables with Oyaide spades.
At initial turn on, I realized
that the Tripoint was quite audible. The sound stage was encompassing
and the noise levels had gone down substantially. But after a good
deal of settle-in time with the Tripoint, it was on Sinatra at the
Sands Reprise, a live recording with the big Count Basie
orchestra with much audience noise, that I first realized the
magnitude of the improvement it gave. While I have had substantial
improvements over time in reproducing a facsimile of being there with
this recording, it still did not have the placement of Frank, the
orchestra, and the audience that was plausible. And when the orchestra
raged, all plausibility was lost. The musicians were just back there
on the stage. Some of the quieter songs with only Frank and a single
piano (Basie) were better. My vinyl copy was much better but still
failed to have a satisfying realism.
I chose the disc off my music server (Exemplar
through the Exemplar/Xindak DAC 5) and was totally taken aback. I
was there, and at a choice table in Vegas! I listened through the
entire disc, with the exception of several talks by Frank. Symphonic
works show some of this space and realism, but you get a sense in
studio records of more limited space in the recording venue. Even
some live recordings, such as Clark Terry’s Clark Terry Live
at the Village Gate, Chesky, suggest a much smaller area,
especially for the band. The point is that the TriPoint has a major
benefit in the realism of the sound stage.
Frank Sinatra’s Only the
Lonely, an Original Master Recording from Capitol is a monaural
recording. With the Tripoint, it has an outstanding open and
encompassing sound that makes it nearly stereo. This is an excellent
recording and performance both by Frank Sinatra and Nelson Riddle.
Songs, such as “One for my Baby” and “What’s New”involve you
in the pathos intended by the composer.
Willie Nelson and Wynton Marsalis
have a new album, Two Men with the Blues. It is a live album
of some pretty funky music, such as “Ain’t Nobody’s
Business”and “My Bucket’s Got a Hole In It”. I have always
enjoyed the music, but struggled to understand my perspective on the
music to have a realistic sense of the recording venue. Last evening I
happened to play it. My involvement was now assured, and I tapped my
way through the entire recording, wishing that I had a further
opportunity to hear them together. Since the only thing that had
changed since I last listened to this disc was the adding of the
Tripoint, it gets the credit for greater realism and involvement.
I should say that my H-Cat
electronics and the Synergistic Research cabling and power cords and
conditioning I use contribute mightily to this holographic imagine,
but the Tripoint takes it over the top. Wow! Since several others have
noted this great improvement in sound stage when using the Tripoint in
their systems, it must have similar impact in a wide variety of
systems.
Tripoint does not recommend
lifting the AC grounds on your components, but H-Cat does need all but
the line stage lifted. I decided to see what the sound was like were I
to also lift the AC ground on the H-Cat line stage. Earlier doing so
was not the equal of having it grounded. Now, with the Tripoint, I
thought lifting the line stage ground improved both the top- and
bottom-end of the frequency response. The treble was more delicate and
sparkling, while the leading edge of the bass was better defined and
more realistic. The dynamics and apparent volume also improved. This
was most evident on the Two Men with the Blues album above.
I don’t know, of course,
whether all other systems would be so advantaged when using the
Tripoint, but I do suspect so. Many are concerned that lifting their
grounds is unsafe, but this is not really lifting the grounds as all
components are well grounded through the Tripoint. Furthermore your
sound may be greatly improved.
I
could say more about what I heard on specific recordings, but there is
little need to do this as the benefits hold for everything I have
tried.
The main test of the Tripoint was
withdrawing it from the system. This entails unplugging the wall plug,
as well as removing all the connector wires to the components from the
binding posts behind the Tripoint. There is no need to turn the system
off, so it is a relatively quick A/B comparison. The sound was
comparatively more two-dimensional with it out of the system.
Involvement with the sound stage and depth were lost. With it out, I
realized I needed to ground the H-Cat line stage. Doing that improved
the sound substantially but not to the level using the Tripoint. I
listened to this sound for some time to let everything stabilize
before reinserting the Tripoint. On doing so, I must say I was
somewhat disappointed, but then I recalled that earlier I had noticed
that the Tripoint somehow seems to settle in. At least in my system,
with the benefit of settling in time, the Tripoint is a monumental
improvement. The cost, however, is also substantial! I have heard
interconnects that cost this much, speakers and amps that cost many
times this much, and even AC filtering and power cords that cost this
much, but this is a grounding unit. I suspect that many will have to
hear a demonstration of the Tripoint before they begin to struggle, as
I am, about whether to buy it. Listen at your own peril.
By the way, in my conversations
with the designer, Miquel Alverez, I learned that after his initial
success with going the “all out design” with the Troy, he sought
to reduce the price by going to less expensive parts and material. He
gave the connecting wires as an example. They are solid silver and a
heavy gauge with a high labor cost and cost $450 each. When he sought
to use less expensive cables, according to him, the “magic was
lost.” I did try a simple smaller gauge solid silver wire I had and
did indeed notice that the sound was not as good. There is no question
that no limits were place on the costs of the materials used in the
Troy. Link to the reviewers page: "DAGOGO"
A unique audiophile experience
