- Thread Author
- #81
Shunyata Launches - ALTAIRA GROUNDING SYSTEM!!
- Thread starter Mike
- Start date
u-sound
Active member
Ok, I’m going to have to try it. I hope my dealer has one I can borrow.
lol, i always look very close what you buy because i am sure you are the one to get the deepest recommendations from mike.
Haha! Thanks but Mike treats all his customers with white gloves. :lol:
u-sound
Active member
sure, i just think its double safe
- Thread Author
- #87
It’s meant to go ON TOP of an existing component (Preamp/DAC). I had this discussion with Caelin. Mine will go on top of my Esoteric or Aurender.
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Michaels HiFi
Well-known member
That was a good try! Did it work? LOL
Esoteric make a big deal about the new floating top design of the current generation Grandioso. Sitting stuff on top of the floating top kind-a defeats the purpose of the floating top.
- Thread Author
- #90
True. I’ll likely do the top of the Aurender anyway.
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Puma Cat
Well-known member
Once you experience Altaira, there is no going back...
Puma Cat
Well-known member
u-sound
Active member
Rack space?
"We don't need no stinkin' rack space...."
hi puma, i see you got the optional footers under the altaria.
did you compare to stock?
i am a big beliver in vibration control, then again i try to understand the influence on a grounding device.
and, why is it recommended to place it on top of a device? just to safe space?
Puma Cat
Well-known member
Yes, the SSF-38s provide improved audio performance as they have better mechanical grounding and impulse transfer speed (to pass vibration away from the Altaira chassis as quickly as possible). Vibration affects pretty much everything, including grounding devices. This is also why they improve the performance of power distributors, as well.
The Altairas are designed to sit directly on top of another component's chassis (e.g. an amp or preamp, etc.) so as to allow the shortest possible ground cables to be used to connect to the system components (as length has a direct impact on impedance for ground cables) and also have a minimal impact on rack space that is required.
For the little Amp Camp amps, I have them resting on the HRS footers just to raise them up a bit more, and provide better cooling for both the Altaira and the amps (the ACAs run a bit hot as they are Class A).
u-sound
Active member
thx!
so the grounding cables can be ordered shorter than standard (1,25m)?
i remember i couldnt order a omega ethernet shortet than standard.
so the grounding cables can be ordered shorter than standard (1,25m)?
i remember i couldnt order a omega ethernet shortet than standard.
Puma Cat
Well-known member
Yes, IIRC, they can be ordered in 0.5M lengths.
The reason you could not order an Ethernet (or, USB) cable shorter than 1.5M is because for digital signal cables, there is a minimal length that is required minimize the impact of reflections on the cable.
Remember, the signal is an electromagnetic wave that propogates down the cable (it is not electrons flowing through the cable like water in a hose or marbles in a tube). The Vp (propogation velocity) of the signal is frequency-dependent, and an electromagnetic "signal" wave can reach the end of the cable and "reflect back", just like water in a tub or pool. This means different frequencies propogate down and reach the end of the cable at different times. And, because the Vp is different for different frequencies, there will be a number of "back reflections" occuring at...different times†.
And, particularly with respect to digital sources, our brains are very, very sensitive to the impact of timing. For digital audio, for example, we can actually hear the influence of timing errors in the picosecond range, which is why we need femtoclocks for components like DACs, streamers, network bridges, etc. This is why components like the Cybershaft master clocks, etc., have such a positive impact.
The 1.5 M minimal length for Ethernet cables and USB cables was empirically determined as the shortest length that can be used to minimize the impact of signal wave "reflections" on audio quality.
It's physics, so yeah, it's a real thing*
*–Here is a figure showing the impact of signal/timing for Iconoclast speaker cables from Galen Garies, EE and audio cable lead engineer at Belden.
†-these timing differences can be measured using a time-domain reflectometer.
u-sound
Active member
wow, absolutely great answer, helps me understanding.
at the time i was thinking about cutting the ethernet in 2 pieces...glad i didnt
at the time i was thinking about cutting the ethernet in 2 pieces...glad i didnt
Puma Cat
Well-known member
U-sound, some additional background info:
Electromagnetic (EM) waves are changing electric and magnetic fields, transporting energy and momentum through space. EM waves are solutions of Maxwell's equations, which are the fundamental equations of electrodynamics. EM waves require no medium, they can propagate through empty space. Sinusoidal plane waves are one type of electromagnetic waves. Not all EM waves are sinusoidal plane waves, but all electromagnetic waves can be viewed as a linear superposition of sinusoidal plane waves traveling in arbitrary directions. A plane EM wave traveling in the x-direction is of the form
E(x,t) = Emaxcos(kx - ωt + φ), B(x,t) = Bmaxcos(kx - ωt + φ).
E is the electric field vector, and B is the magnetic field vector of the EM wave. For electromagnetic waves E and B are always perpendicular to each other and perpendicular to the direction of propagation. The direction of propagation is the direction of E x B.
If, for a wave traveling in the x-direction E = Ej, then B = Bk and j x k = i. Electromagnetic waves are transverse waves.
The wave number is k = 2π/λ, where λ is the wavelength of the wave. The frequency f of the wave is f = ω/2π, ω is the angular frequency. The speed of any periodic wave is the product of its wavelength and frequency.
v = λf.
The speed of any electromagnetic waves in free space is the speed of light c = 3*10^8 m/s. Electromagnetic waves can have any wavelength λ, or frequency f as long as λf = c.
When electromagnetic waves travel through a medium, the speed of the waves in the medium is v = c/n(λfree), where n(λfree) is the index of refraction of the medium. The index of refraction n is a properties of the medium, and it depends on the wavelength λfree of the EM wave. If the medium absorbs some of the energy transported by the wave, then n(λfree) is a complex number. For air n is nearly equal to 1 for all wavelengths. When an EM wave travels from one medium with index of refraction n1, into another medium with a different index of refraction n2, then its frequency remains the same, but, its speed (Vp) and wavelength change. For air, n is nearly equal to 1.
We owe much of our understanding of this to two British geniuses, James Clerk Maxwell, and the (self-educated) polymath, Oliver Heaviside, who "re-worked" Maxwell's field equations, and made them usable in the real world.
Electromagnetic (EM) waves are changing electric and magnetic fields, transporting energy and momentum through space. EM waves are solutions of Maxwell's equations, which are the fundamental equations of electrodynamics. EM waves require no medium, they can propagate through empty space. Sinusoidal plane waves are one type of electromagnetic waves. Not all EM waves are sinusoidal plane waves, but all electromagnetic waves can be viewed as a linear superposition of sinusoidal plane waves traveling in arbitrary directions. A plane EM wave traveling in the x-direction is of the form
E(x,t) = Emaxcos(kx - ωt + φ), B(x,t) = Bmaxcos(kx - ωt + φ).
E is the electric field vector, and B is the magnetic field vector of the EM wave. For electromagnetic waves E and B are always perpendicular to each other and perpendicular to the direction of propagation. The direction of propagation is the direction of E x B.
If, for a wave traveling in the x-direction E = Ej, then B = Bk and j x k = i. Electromagnetic waves are transverse waves.
The wave number is k = 2π/λ, where λ is the wavelength of the wave. The frequency f of the wave is f = ω/2π, ω is the angular frequency. The speed of any periodic wave is the product of its wavelength and frequency.
v = λf.
The speed of any electromagnetic waves in free space is the speed of light c = 3*10^8 m/s. Electromagnetic waves can have any wavelength λ, or frequency f as long as λf = c.
When electromagnetic waves travel through a medium, the speed of the waves in the medium is v = c/n(λfree), where n(λfree) is the index of refraction of the medium. The index of refraction n is a properties of the medium, and it depends on the wavelength λfree of the EM wave. If the medium absorbs some of the energy transported by the wave, then n(λfree) is a complex number. For air n is nearly equal to 1 for all wavelengths. When an EM wave travels from one medium with index of refraction n1, into another medium with a different index of refraction n2, then its frequency remains the same, but, its speed (Vp) and wavelength change. For air, n is nearly equal to 1.
We owe much of our understanding of this to two British geniuses, James Clerk Maxwell, and the (self-educated) polymath, Oliver Heaviside, who "re-worked" Maxwell's field equations, and made them usable in the real world.