
Audiopath Phono Ground Cable Award from Positive Feedback
Joe Fratus of ART Audio mentioned he had a ground wire he wanted to ship to me. He didn't say why, just took down my requirements: spade on one side, alligator clip on the other, four and a half feet long.
It never ceases to amaze me, how the least likely suspects often turn out to make a significant difference.
Finally, a real cheapie product I can heartily recommend! I can hear you now, "No way! You're telling me that this ground wire changed the sound? But everybody knows it's nothing but a piece of wire conductor, isn't that so?"
I connected the Audiopath Ground to the Simon Yorke S9 Record Player, let the table warm up for one side of an LP, and then listened. The S9 didn't sound like it had the night before. It was definitely faster and crisper. PRAT had zoomed up, along with image focus. Dynamics were popping so that ordinary vinyl acquired the characteristics of a Direct To Disc LP, possibly even to the point of being a tad aggressive. I noted there was a change in timbre-not any additional bloom (I didn't want that), but increased accuracy to the ID of the instrument.
Audiopath's designer, Tom Hills, says the big difference between his product and the usual stock ground wire is in the termination quality. The wire itself is no big deal, a tin copper braid, but he uses good silver solder and Cardas (or equivalent) spades. He's very modest. $49.95
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