I feel like I should include this photo again... Don't worry, this one is not a bank busting acquisition. Be warned though, I sent Kamran a sneak preview and he already bought one.  ;D

I was reading a thread about LPSs and someone mentioned the Zayin Audio Suprareg being the best LPS they have heard and they have experience with a bunch of them. I went to the Zayin Audio website to browse and spotted the Gcude BG/01 I figured I would give two of them a try.

I hooked one to the Spdif RCA on the Lampizator TRP and one to the USB on the backup slot of the Innuos ZENith MK3.

I sat down and just thought “no way!” the change was instant. Music sounded good, so I figured I would just enjoy for a while. 

Zayin Audio’s website provides a brief, three-paragraph description of the Gcude BG/01.

“The Zayin Gcube revolutionizes audio quality with its advanced noise elimination technology. By establishing a seamless connection to digital or audio ground, it eradicates harsh noise, revealing previously hidden details and nuances in your music. 

With a simple setup, this device transforms your listening experience, delivering crystal-clear vocals, vibrant instrumentals, and unparalleled clarity. 

Say goodbye to background noise and hello to a new level of sonic purity. Elevate your audio journey with the Gcube and rediscover the true essence of music.“

They do exactly what it says in the sale copy. I could stop because Zayin is so accurate with what the magic box does.

My system is the most holographic and enveloping system I’ve ever listened to. Adding the Gcude increased the holography and envelopingness. More importantly, it gave more density clarity realness to the musical world around the listening position.

The recording’s setting offers a more tactile experience. Example Branford Marsalis - Blues for One truly feel and hear the sound in the cathedral. Without the guide, when Branford plays, the cathedral’s ambiance is muddled and pushed into the background. With the Gcude the cathedral and Branford are playing together off one another. The cathedral becomes a performer. Perhaps “Blues for Two” would have been a better title.

The Gcudes provide a calmness to the music. Don’t think this means boring! In actuality, the reverse is true. The music is more exciting. The dynamic contrast seems to be increased. Music has a calm intensity to it. It’s also easier to become 100% relaxed and melt into the music.

Adding these effects a paradoxical shift: simultaneously subtle and significant. When my brother came over to give me a reality check, he asked them to be disconnected and reconnected 3 times before making any comments. Paraphrasing what he said. The more you listen, the more you realize what they are doing. Gives everything a more natural sound, it’s faster to relax into the music. 

His girlfriend, also in the room, remarked that the Gcudes sounded snappier when they were in the system.

Cymbals have more texture and nuance. There is a rich vibrant energy to the music. Density and speed. Puts a luxurious feel to the music.

Overall I’m blown away with the Gcudes. I’ve tried a few of the grounding boxes that are connected to unused RCA, XLR, Ethernet, etc and they have made an improvement that I enjoy. Removing unknown hash, the Gcudes are on a whole different level. 

The most obvious functional difference is the Gcudes use a 9v battery while the other ones I’ve used use a mixture of different powders or something.

Zayin estimate the 9v battery to last 2 years. 

I bought 2 units and tried them on 3 components, in order of improvement:

Lampizator GA TRP DAC.
Innuos ZENith MK3 server.
EMIA Autoformer preamp.

The DAC was a massive change. If I had one Gcude I would put it on the DAC for sure. Adding the second gives more of what it’s doing. 

I bought some 2mm banana plugs so I can make a cable for my phono stage and see if I get an improvement on that too. I emailed Matthew at Zayin Audio asking if they make an ethernet cable for the Gcude. He said he would make me one.

I’m blown away with the level of improvement these tiny little boxes make. At less than $300, they are not cheap. However, the level of improvement they brought was significant.

I was using a CAD GC1 “Ground Control” hooked up to the Innuos and Lampizator. It removed some of the hash that wasn’t obvious, it was also not obvious and it was subtle.

Reading reviews of the CAD products, some people are absolutely blown away with the CAD GC1. In my systems, it was always subtle. I ended up selling the CAD unit and I’m going to order two more of the Gcudes and see if I keep getting more improvement. The first one added to the Lampizator was the lion’s share of the improvement. Second Gcude things improved, but less so.

James,

I get it, It didn't even come with any paper work just the two boxes.

Yes, plug it into an unused input or possibly output depending on the component. I would say it's in the grounding device "ground box" realm of things. Similar to CAD and Entreq grounding products. It's odd because they don't really ground anything. They do work. I've tried ones by Afterdark too. The Gcude is the first one that I really noticed a wow with.

Over the past hour, I have read whatever I could find about "What is a Signal Ground Box?" From what I could find, it looks good. In the end, however, I thought I need a "Micky." Remember that Life cereal commercial from many years ago with three brothers?
 
Two of them were hesitant to try the "healthy" cereal. They decided to give it to their younger brother, "Mikey," who was known for disliking everything. To their surprise, Mikey loved it, and the famous line "He likes it! Hey Mikey!" was born.  

I was thinking what I need is a "Mikey" to step in and give this cereal, or Signal Ground Box, another review! Then, who pops up precisely at that moment? CA "Mikey" James.

I am looking forward to hearing your thoughts!

Quote:


Ah, the good old days.

And, BTW, you're lagging in the race to get a STR. Just sayin. I'm looking forward to your thoughts in any event.

Very interesting new equipment review, thanks GS. In checking out the rear panel of my Modwright modified CXN 2, I only have an unused coaxial output and XLR outputs. Does anyone know which might prove best for use with the gcude?

I'm trying to figure out whether to get a cable terminated by an XLR or RCA plug (which should work with the coaxial output). Any insights would be appreciated. Oh, and how long is the cable?

HK

I have to say that this wooden mystery box is quite intriguing.  If my wife didn’t put a hault on my audio spending right now, I would have seriously considered making a purchase.  

Quote:
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Roger….I was thinking the same thing.  I guess in theory the XLR input would be the quietest connection by design.  If I had to pick one of the two, I would say the RCA terminal would be my 1st choice.  But without knowing the technology behind what it accomplishes…. My choice would be educated guess at this point.  

Dom

CA James, I'm using the CXN V2 as my streamer and DAC. I currently have my CD transport plugged into my CXN V2 coax input, but rarely listen to CD's these days given my Qobuz/ROON steaming sound quality.

That said, I could always try out the coax input and output Jack to see if there's any difference. Hopefully GS will chime on since he seems to be the only one with direct listening experience at this point.

HK

Shucks Groovy. I was thinking of using this device in the ZDAK usb input. I get the feeling it will not work with it. ZDAC uses physical switches to switch between digital inputs.

Blaze the way!

Hopefully more info will surface down the beaten path.

JBzen, Does it lift the ground when switching? Most components have all the grounds tied together.

Where to place it is a tough one, especially if different connections are needed. I really don't know what will make the biggest difference. Matthew from Zayin Audio got back to me and said that it will be the end of April when the ethernet cables will be ready.

I made 2 cables that I can use to try hooking up to the ground of the speakers. I'm also going to try on the the phono stage.

The Gcude connects to the ground of the component, if it lifts ground then the Gcude won't be doing anything.

There are DIY plans out there for grounding devices they use a mixture different materials. The Gcude seems to be an active version of these.

Here a photo of the unit with the "cover" taken off.

I got the same e-mail.

Hey Groovy,

I did look inside the ZDAK. The grounds are all interconnected. The switches are connected to the main/only board. I think the Gcude, no matter how it does its thing, will work with the ZDAK being swithes are attached directly with the circuit board instead of breaking circuit before it.

My old school ways

Thanks for the picture.

Bob, you jumped in too, nice!

Quote:


I don't know. I'm guessing it will have a positive impact on most systems.

Ditto

This has to be the slowest FedEx in the history of mankind.

It's like, how much more black could this be? And the answer is none. None more black.

-Nigel Tufnel, This is Spinal Tap


TL;DR: My Gcube landed a few hours ago and I'm very happy.

My digital story is much too long for this post, but the bottom line is while I'll never say never, I'm pretty sure I've got my endgame digital, as shown in my sig. Every time I have improved the quality in front of it, is has responded with better and better sound. So if anyone else besides GroovySauce had said plugging a $300 mystery box into your DAC will make it sound better I would have (quickly) moved on to the next thread. Instead, I spent the $300, got the box and I'm glad I did.

"Blacker backgrounds" has always seemed like a throwaway line but as soon as I plugged in the Gcube that is exactly what I got. The background screamed MORE BLACK. And to be clear, what "blacker background" really means is bigger dynamics and more detail, both spatially and musically. So there it is. If you want to know if this is worth 300 bucks I'll put it this way: for me it isn't WOW! like the STR, the improvement is small but important. I would call it a "cable level" upgrade, a really good cable. And $300 is cheap for a really good cable in my book.

A brief technical aside, I have the Gcube plugged into the COAX input of my DAC. I tried it in the DDC feeding the DAC and the CD transport feeding the DDC and the effect was almost imperceptible. So my advice is use it in your DAC. One question I can't speak to is this: will the Gcube make as big a difference on a more modest system as it does on a higher-end DAC like mine or Groovy's? I don't know the answer but based on my experience I wouldn't hesitate to try.

Hearafter, I've used some of those boxes too. I still have 3 of the Afterdark Ground Boxes which I will be putting up for sale. I still don't really get what either the passive or active ones are doing. I know both are effective.

I did try hooking up the Gcude to the negative speaker posts on the amp and had an improvement there too.

James, Glad you're also having positive results. Seems you also had the "subtle yet significant" observation. If you have an open RCA on your preamp might want to try it there too. I'm guessing based on my experiments that the DAC will be the biggest improvement.

Adding the Gcude to the TV setup, Schiit Syn ($300) and a borrowed Douk amp($100). Yes, it does offer the same flavor of improvement. Much more apparent in the main system however, every change is clearly heard in the main system. TV system yes, it's better and I don't feel compelled to spend $300 on it. I also don't really care much about the TV setup.

Interesting impressions. Some of the benefits that are described I have encountered using my power regenerators. If I had extra audio dollars to spend I might try one of these. . . but that's a sum I don't have right now. I'm practicing "attrition" in my audio world right now: if I sell something I can use those funds to buy something else. And by the time I sell enough things to make a purchase I've developed quite a wish list!

If your system benefits from e.g. high end cables or fancy fuses then you are likely to appreciate the Gcube. If not then it might not be the best use of your money.

Thanks, CA, for that reference; it gives me something to hang my hat on.

My little GCude box has arrived and I'll be hooking it up today. 6 days from ordering to arrival from Taiwan via FedEx.

HK

Well mine (one) showed up a week or two ago, and I can say I definitely hear a difference, but working on my DAC mostly, that is my focus. Also, I need time with things to figure out if initial excitement influenced by change pans out across recordings, or does it end up being more change than improvement, so I am slow.

I have experimented quite a bit with different minerals as sound tuning tools, in small rock form, tumbled pieces, crushed, crushed finer, and powders. The size makes a difference in sound with the same mineral. Also, those I have tried, whether in a grounding box, or in small bags or containers put near cable ends, transformers, tubes etc, all have characteristic ways of influencing the sound... I think all I have used adjust noise, but some are pretty neutral, clarifying, fast and dynamic; some warmer and still dynamic; some still fast and accenting the upper mids and highs; some between warm and neutral; and more notably warming ones that tend to be "smoothing" while darkening, but on their own often being dulling and thickening to me even though noise seems cleaned.

I also have some Bybee things that were too strong for me on speakers magnets or components, but make some difference out in the room... one of these is battery activated. Hearing the extra effect from being active, and having explored this with a notably more powerful adjustable "light" I made... the heat of a refrigerator bulb creates a chimney effect through a glass cylinder, the heat rising through chunks of select minerals above the bulb. Placed near my wall receptacle and cable ends, adjusting the clarity with bulb intensity with the rheostat is a nice tuning tool. Anyway, I have been meaning to experiment with something in between, similar to the  Gcude BG/01 using batteries, but have not gotten around to it... After Groovy's nice review, I ordered one.

With a lot of these sorts of things already in use in the system and room, and all placed by sound, this little box was a little shocking to me, overwhelming a sound balance I had pretty carefully arrived at. My mineral based tuning complex was already contributing to nicely resolving, dynamic, and musical balances that have good time throughout. And really, introducing anything these days is obvious, and rarely a shoe-in, the many balances easily disturbed. Most decent things need work to get them to fit.

Something else notable here, is my need for resolving, harmonically rich gain tuning pre-stages... bringing out and fine tuning optimal spectral balances, lucidity, resolution, density and space/time top to bottom. Not the same as cleaning with "ground tuning," but effect-wise, any of these can contribute sonic qualities similar to this ground box.

Anyway, if a new thing changes the balances much... like the Gcude BG/01 did, it is pretty easy here to push subtle things too far.

Connecting it to the DAC and the Torii, the effects were similar, sort of subtle I suppose, but thickening, consolidating, and actually reducing apparent harmonic content... I was like... what??? does everyone but me need more "warmth," density and "smoothness" to get what they like!

So first impressions were that it amped up the signal too much, slight smearing, slowing and "warming" effects of a little excess bass in the balance, and the bass being slow, and prone to room "mode" issues that bleed into the mids, it is often the first problem area here to show up.

So I regrouped to try to find what was needed for me to hear this thing's potential.

Adding it was a lot like I had turned up one of my gain stages too much. So 1st I tuned some pre-stage gains down to open the signal some. Well those are all carefully fine tuned too and have optimal ranges in this room... so I could get a more open and fresh sound, but not as open and fresh as before the new box... though clearer and more open, it was still a little too dense/smooth for me.

Next I considered the much bigger ground box I made possibly not playing well with the BG/01. It is pretty powerful, with three RCA jacked wires for connection. The box is maybe 2.5x4x6 inches, a little less than half full with a blend of mainly quartz and tourmalines, with smaller amounts of citrine, amethyst, and bits of other minerals... also I think a little silver powder. In it is a rectangular, shallow copper "pan" I made with sheet copper connected to a silver stranded wire untwisted, the strands integrated into the rocks. Also, I had some Duelund silver wire I did not love as much as others in gear or ICs in most cases, so I used three pieces of it, soldered to the copper pan along with the silver stranded wire. A fair bit of rock, tuned to sound, it makes a notable difference just being in the cabinet with the gear, though disconnected from the gear, with quite a bit of tourmaline, it is a little dark and dull. But plugged in, it seems really good to me... well balanced and increasing extension, dynamics, density, some warmth, and supporting more very fine detail and associated harmonic complexity throughout... It had been connecting my Singxer USB bridge, the newish Musical Paradise DAC, and the Torii IV. I guess it was not night and day in some senses, but since I am always playing, and the system/room has become really refined toward musical resolution and balances over time, everything tends to show in pretty notable ways... so I am not sure if anything is very subtle here anymore.

1st I tried leaving my box in disconnecting the RCAs from gear. Then, the Gcude BG/01 plugged into the Torii, I could start to discern some of the good things it was bringing out, at that point, more midrange bloom mostly, but the bass to lower mids still slower and darker, and the upper mids revealing pretty well, but comparatively still a little overly smoothed/warmed to me... But it could hear it was pretty complex under that veil and wanted to hear more.

So I pulled my ground box of rocks out altogether, and ah, the Gcude BG/01 plugged into the Torii let me hear what the maker was trying for. Is it "better" than my setup using my box of rocks... I am not sure yet, but it is really nice to me, relaxing and refining the baseline sound without taking away from my careful balances, including harmonic complexity, nicely adjusting finer frequencies a little smoother and softer without losing textures, while giving a pleasantly relaxed vibe to the music.

Plugged into the less colored DAC, it does all the things it does in the Torii with more spaciousness, more transparency, still slightly bloomy and relaxed ... maybe the sweetest part for me, but less of it in the DAC... a more transparent and revealing version. I liked it best there, but continued to play with it in the CSP3, or Torii.

It taught me something important also. With my new DAC, my ground box was too strong, contributing to the challenges I have had toning down the signal intensity and clarity of the DAC once burned in, sped up, and more resolving. I had my ground box in the cabinet on the shelf between the DAC and CSP3, with the ZStage and ZRock above, and the Torii below, and all of those pretty intensely modified. All told, the box was close to all the main gear, and even without the leads plugged in it is pretty powerful, but with, more powerful than I knew. So I moved the box up onto the top of the teak cabinet, further away from everything and with RCA connections to the DAC, Torii, and CSP3, and so far I keep coming back to my ground box over the BG/01...

They are actually really close in all balances, surprisingly so to me. But mine (in its new location) is not too much anymore for the most part, and a bit more revealing, transparent, dynamic and immediate than the BG/01. Also, it is a bit more spacious, harmonically complex and live ... really it seems like a slightly clearer and more powerful version of very similar, doing a bit more of everything the BG/01 does on its own. I am guessing this is probably because mine was tuned with similar objectives, but has quite a bit more minerals, and more connections, spreading the mineral effects to more of the system.

I have not come to complete conclusions yet, still playing, thinking mostly that neither is necessarily better, more just different. It does make me wonder what a few of the BG/01s would be like here. But as is, mine acting pretty similarly to how I guess a few of the BG/01s might, I like mine and so far it is preferred... but then I try the less powerful, softer touch of the BG/01, and after getting used to it, I like it...

Close to "finding" this DAC's optimal sound, I hope to have more clear attention to explore the BG/01 soon, but these are my impressions and experience so far. I think the BG/01 is a nice tool!

Will, you got me looking at purchasing rocks! Thanks for sharing your experience

I love it too, though I can hardly call it a hobby... and you are welcome JBzen.

I am playing some today with the BG/01 and my ground box combined, and having moved my box further from the gear, getting nice complexity from their slightly different characters. Mine is connected to the Torii and CSP3, and the BG-01 is connected to the DAC.

A strong effect from lots of new things is not new here, I guess from not having as much to slow down and smear or mask the signal... like I still can't use solid sluggos... too strong. And this DAC, as I mentioned, tended too clear and exuberant in my setting once I got it sped up, spectrally balanced, and more resolving of fine information and space. After lots of tube and cap choices for sound, I found I had to reduce the stock power supply and recommended output capacitance a fair bit to make it faster and less warm/bass biased. But originally voiced clear and powerful, gradually reducing the capacitance to speed up the bass, in part by reducing bass fullness in the balances, the upper mids and highs became freer and more intense... It was especially notable with hard and higher horn blows from clear recordings, and well recorded higher piano notes played with relative intensity. Beautiful with most music, I kept going, but I struggled with what sounded to me like too much power pushing the signal.

I tried a lot of tubes and cap setups, and finally had to reduce the voltage to the tubes along with careful damping and exploring different caps to "absorb" some of the signal push between the DAC chips and tube output stages. Some  clear/lucid Ben Webster recordings have been really good for judging success!

I think finally I have it tamed to a musical beauty place, rich natural warmth sweetened with lucid, harmonic complexity and real feeling space...the semi-smooth and rich qualities of the BG/01 contributing. To warm/smooth it a bit more, just now I have a small cardboard tube of black tourmaline with some selenite sitting on the output board of the DAC between the output tubes and caps... seems really good at the moment now listening to Bugge Wesseltoft's "Playing," and the piano is gorgeous. We'll see with more time, but really nice so far.

John, I hope a few pointers from my experience with rocks might help you to find out whether you can benefit. For me it does not take a lot. I just weighed some to see how much I use, and 1-2 ounces of small ±1/4" tumbled rocks is probably a good starting point for power cable ends, between or under tubes or transformers, etc. I usually used some small bags like resistors or small caps come in, or in recent years, small cardboard tubes with slip on cardboard lids. Those I chose are about 2 3/4 x 3/4 and 3 1/2 x 1.

A long time since I did analytic testing on these, knowing the basic characters of each, for years, without a lot of thought, I just put some of the usual suspects in, or a combination, and see if I like the effects. But hopefully I can give some idea of what to expect from a few different ones that could be good to see if you like it.

The influence of pure quartz crystal is the most dynamic and neutral of those I have used. Similar overall, but amethyst is balanced clearer with more upper mid to highs brought out. Citrine, also family seeming with quartz, is warm here, more lower mid/mid bass biased. I think these three would be a good, low cost test. But if you want to go further, tourmaline is clarifying also, but less lucid and less complexity of finer detail and space, more about smooth and warmish density, a more consolidated sound. Too much for me so far on its own, I mix it, first putting it in with others is separate containers and playing with combinations and quantities, and later mixing it in the same container with a little selenite (crushed) and/or quartz to liven/open it up. For more variety and complexity potential, a few green stones that are interesting here are green jade and peridot. They can be pretty interesting on their own for a slightly warming/smoothing effect that can tend pretty lucid and complex also. There are lots more, and it can also get more complex and interesting with complimentary blends of various sized broken rocks and crushes. Some version of the above would be a nice 1st taste I think though.

And as usual for me, using a number of complimentary things like this (or cables or caps...) around the system, can add complexity and be more beautiful if tuned nicely together.