Hi Sal,
Thanks for the recommended "2 Degrees East, 3 Degrees West" I received this CD yesterday and this is very well done! Sonically it's full bodied mono, natural and present, instruments are captured well and venue ambience is quite apparent. Best of all the music and the musicianship is exceptional.

This CD has 4 bonus tracks that were recorded in 1960 in stereo and are just wonderful(reach out and touch palpable quality). It is a quartet that features John Lewis and Jim Hall, what a delight! I wish these two had done more sessions together, they're a beautiful match. I will play this excellent CD often.
Charles,

charles1dad September 13, 2013 14:09

Sal,
Norm Luttbeg(Tbg on this site) reviewed the Tripoint Troy on Dagogo in July 2009 and in
that review he made reference to the Granite Audio Ground Zero the he'd reviewed earlier. He acknowledged that they're different approaches to grounding with different results.

charles1dad September 12, 2013 11:36

Does anyone have an idea how the Granite Audio Ground Zero or the Acoustic Revive RCC-24 compare to the Tripoint Troy or the EntreQ? It seems that the Ground Zero, the Acoustic Revive and EntreQ are not connected to the wall socket ground, whereas the Troy is. So they seem to operate with some different principles but I am curious if anyone has actually compared the different units. The Ground Zero and Acoustic Revive are much less expensive than the Troy or EntreQ.

salectric September 09, 2013 18:35

That speaks well for the Coincident power cords. I will look forward to your comments on the Tripoint. I had not heard of it prior to your note, but from my reading since it then it seems quite interesting.

salectric September 09, 2013 12:49

Hi Sal,
I believe that the Ocellia cables will work wonderfully in your system and I'll be interested in your impression when you have time. I haven't heard their power cords, just the IC and speaker cable. When I ordered my Coincident components I also got their power cords. They sound excellent and I didn't bother with others. A friend brought his Siltech cords to my home a few months ago and we compared them on the Frankenstein amplifiers.
They were actually very good but no better than the Coincident cords (which are much less expensive). Given my experience with the Ocellia cable loom I suspect that their power cord is excellent (but far more costly
than Coincident). So I've just left well enough alone . I'll tell you I have much admiration for the talents of both Israel Bloom (Coincident) and Samuel Furon (Ocellia), their products speak for themselves.
Charles,

charles1dad September 09, 2013 12:01

Charles,

I ordered a set of Ocellia Reference interconnects and I am looking forward to hearing them in my system. I gather that the Ocellia power cords are also highly regarded. Have you tried them? What AC cords are you using?

salectric September 09, 2013 11:11

Agree! That's is my entire point.

charles1dad September 08, 2013 02:03

Spirit,
I wonder why the Entreq grounding had the largest impact on your SET amplifiers. I know there's a logical explanation, I sure hope to repeat your considerable sucess with addressing the issues of electrical grounding. You sound thrilled with the outcome so it was money wisely spent I likely would have purchased the Entreq Silver Tellus if not for finding the used Tripoint Troy for similar cost. Both apparently tackle the same issue effectively.
Charles,

charles1dad September 07, 2013 23:35

Thanx Iso, I'm totally floored by the effects of grounding. To think, I just tried it initially on a whim, sure that I was not going to be impressed. It's not cheap, but has freed me from the self imposed chains of seeking out the "next best thing" in components. System upgrades rule!

spiritofmusic September 07, 2013 23:19

Spirit I'll receive 4 silver grounding cables with my Troy. I intend to use them on the transport (mandatory site per Fernando and Miguel) line stage and the mono blocks. The line stage is two chassis and I'll try to ground the signal chassis and then the power supply and see which one is better. The PS chassis has the capacitors, transformers and chokes so it would seem to be the logical location. I must admit that I'm very curious to hear what the highly recommended Troy does in my system that has me happy already.
Charles,

charles1dad September 07, 2013 23:19

Spirit, I much enjoy your sharing of your systems progress and your happiness with it. Charles, you have the natural knack to know. Troy will be interesting.

isochronism September 07, 2013 22:55

Charles, my SET grounding leads are breaking in after 24hrs. I've just adjusted the Symposium Acoustics Rollerblocks under my spkrs. OMG, I think I've had a bit of an epiphany.
It's like all the recent purchases in the last 3 yrs (non belt drive tt/SET amps/high eff xoverless spkrs/balanced power) that have bestowed improvements individually are being made to work as a team. Adding the 4th and 5th SET leads has made EVERYTHING snap into clear focus. I can't begin to describe it. I'm sure your Troy is going to do the same. Your jaw will hit the floor!

spiritofmusic September 07, 2013 21:58

The great thing is that unlike switching components, if you're happy with the general character of your system (which I know you are) you'll be enhancing it to the max, not altering it.

Bingo. That's the whole point....

agear September 07, 2013 20:17

Hi Spirit,
That's exactly my objective, enhance and get the most from what I have. The problem with frequent component changes is no matter what you get there's always something that is supposedly better. Maybe it is, but for me I just stop at a certain point and enjoy what I have. High End audio can really get you caught up in the constant chase if you aren't careful. Each of us has our individual limit.

Spirit it's encouraging to know that your grounding box is yielding such noticeable improvement. I hope it works out successfully for me as well.
Charles,

charles1dad September 07, 2013 19:58

Charles, now up to 5 grounding leads from components to Entreq (SETs just recently, in addition to Straingauge energiser, cdp and preamp).
Phenomenal. Getting a little warmth to add to the extra air, ambience and detail I got before the SET connection.
The great thing is that unlike switching components, if you're happy with the general character of your system (which I know you are) you'll be enhancing it to the max, not altering it.

spiritofmusic September 07, 2013 19:36

Hi Agear,
I should get my used Troy in about a week. I'm having smaller spades placed on the grounding cables to fit the chassis screws on my components.
I suspect the Lampizator is wonderful but I love the Yamamoto DAC with Duelund CAST capacitors (pure and beautiful). The Tripoint Troy will finish my fine tuning phase . The Troy seems to definitely fit the natural-realism character I've worked to established.
Charles,

charles1dad September 07, 2013 18:50

So Charles, I heard u picked up a Tripoint Troy. Well, I have a prediction to make: the parade float gets even bigger.

The only piece missing now is a Lampizator dac.....

agear September 07, 2013 02:17

Thanks Brett, I was very lucky no doubt,the Tripoints are pretty rare on the used market.
Charles,

charles1dad September 06, 2013 03:46

Charles, I saw that unit in a fluke search. When an offering such as that surfaces, one has to act swiftly. Very nice score!! You cannot go wrong, either way with that purchase. I am happy you got it. We will listen vicariously with you through your review (s) :)

isochronism September 06, 2013 03:02

Spirit,
My DAC and Coincident components have a handy fuse holder on the rear panel so replacing the stock fuse is simple and quick. Don`t ask me why/how(better current flow in the wire???) but the premium fuses definitely improved the sound(clarity,transparency and openess).They`re very cost effective.
Charles,

charles1dad September 05, 2013 23:31

Charles, I'm going to lose any common sense credibility here, but what have you done re Synergistic fuses? Have you actually opened up your equipment chassis' and swapped out fuses? Other than removing components from the mains first, what are the considerations here?

spiritofmusic September 05, 2013 22:43

Tjkurita,
Finding a used Tripoint Troy MK II was simply luck for me so I took advantage. If it's only half as good as its reputation it should still be a meaningful addition to my system. I don't doubt the significance of room treatments if done right. It might be plain dumb luck but the sound in my room is very good so I' ve not put any attention in that direction. I'm not suggesting that it couldn't be improved but the present room acoustics are not an issue.
Charles,

charles1dad September 05, 2013 13:25

Hi Spirit,
To be honest I've never been on the merry go round with audio components. My current components have been stable for four years and the system prior this I had 12 years. I haven't any desire to change, that's why I decided to just get the best out of what I have. It worked out very well with the following,
Duelund CAST caps for the DAC and speakers.
Star Sound Sistrum/Apprentice platforms for all components and speakers.
Synergistic Research Quantum fuses .
High Fidelity CT1-U digital cable.
Ocellia Silver Reference IC and speaker cable loom.

I feel the Tripoint Troy will compliment what's been done so far.
Spirit I same as you have had balanced AC power for quite some time and I consider it mandatory. This balanced AC along with grounding via the Tripoint should be successful just as you've discovered. I'm glad Tripoint uses pure silver for their grounding cables. I just find silver to be superior in sound compared to copper, more natural with better tone, transparency and nuance retrieval.

I can appreciate your interest in the silver upgrades for your Audion SET amps, but the cost skyrockets when you get into silver transformers. That's a substantial premium they're asking.
Charles,

charles1dad September 05, 2013 12:41

Hey Charles, good luck with Troy. As you know I've gone down the Entreq Silver Tellus route, which has more similarities than differences to Troy I'm sure, but at a fraction of the cost.
It's been a total revelation in my system, securing the soundstage to allow notes to bloom and decay naturally. Hash and mains borne noise/rf/emi really does seem to be a limiting factor, and once you're aware it's gone with grounding/balanced power, like the move to SETs, you'll feel whole steps closer to the music/message. Entreq is soon to release an add on Atlantis box to provide even more silver in the grounding grid and hopefully more noise elimination. I'll check it out.
Like you I'm getting off the merry-go-round of component upgrades and concentrating on system wide improvements - first Entreq Silver Tellus/Atlantis, then an uprated balanced transformer Westwick 8kVA, then trying a whole cable/power cord loom from one company, either Sablon or Zu, then finally extending Symposium Isis isolation across my whole rig.
THEN, I have the biggest decision of all - whether to spend a small fortune on the "Level 9" upgrade to the Audion Black Shadow SETs, approx £35k/$60k to uprate everything in silver incl transformer.
An interesting dilemma...

spiritofmusic September 05, 2013 09:43

Charles,

It seems like you are nearing a point where you can truly say you are "done for now." I am curious to know whether you have experimented with room treatments. I have noticed a major improvement resulted when I treated my room a bit.

tjkurita September 05, 2013 03:40