Good ground

The perfect ground is a point that can absorb as much electricity as is thrown at it without changing its state. In other words, ground is like an infinite sponge that absorbs electrical currents. Perhaps an electrical black hole might describe the perfect ground even better. A point at which nothing escapes once entered. I remember a few years back when I visited TAS Editor Robert Harley's home. Outside his listening room he proudly showed off his ground sink. It was a crafted plot of land with a copper stake at its center and all the equipment in his listening room was tied to this electrical black hole. And Robert explained the difference it had made in sound quality was well worth the effort it took to dig out the hole and fill it with a conductive slurry. I was impressed. And yet, even that superior grounding system had its flaws. The most elaborate grounding schemes for audio equipment can be found in some of the best recording studios. In these installations, there are two such electrical black holes: a technical ground and an AC ground. The technical ground ties the signal grounds of every piece and rack of equipment to this same arrangement of conductive slurry and copper ground stake. The key to this arrangement's success is that NO AC equipment shares the same wire. Only signal grounds and chassis are tied here. Electrical grounds for the actual equipment's power are totally separate and tie to their own electrical black hole. Paying attention to this level of detail can have major sonic benefits and tomorrow we'll delve even deeper into the subject.