First Review of the PranaWire Master Grounding System

PranaWire Master Grounding System -  Impressions
Review by Philippe Perrot - PHP Audio France

I first tested one Level III Interceptor connected to the audio stand. Then I connected the second Level III Interceptor to the DAC/CD-SACD player. Lastly, I connected both to the VAULT II.
 
Test tracks included Keith Jarret, Youn Sun Nah, Henry Dutilleux and Karlheinz Stockhausen, but also many more.​

The introduction of one interceptor on the Convergence® Ultime audio stand gives a better sense of inner details. Tones are more real, more vivid. The presentation is more precise and if at first I thought there was a little less air, that was not the case. The Interceptor erases the sense of leanness and the brightness that is present on many records. All systems I heard at Munich 2023 displayed this defect.
Adding the second interceptor to the Playback Designs MPS-8 DAC / CD-SACD Transport gave the same improvement. This addition shows clearly the necessity of properly grounding a system.

I connected the DAC-Transport and the audio stand to the Vault with PranaWire silver ribbon cables. There was a huge improvement in dynamics, body and, curiously, the system opened up with more air. Bass became deeper and more solid. 
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Returning to the untreated system after one day of listening demonstrated that without the PranaWire Master Grounding System, the sound is very good but lacks immediacy, a sense of power and subtle shadings of tones that I hear only in rows 1 to 7 in a concert hall or in a recording studio. I think the next step will be to add the Interceptors and Vault to my Alsyvox full range ribbon speakers. 

"I can not imagine the demo system without them, even if each component by itself is at the pinnacle of today’s audio standards."

Keith JARRETH - CD2, track 2.
The drums in the introduction are much more real now. Instruments are better defined to a point that is surprising. Piano has more profound bass, and the upper notes have no trace of glare or brightness, just ivory tones with ultra precise contours. 
 
Youn Sun NAH - track 1.
Percussion here is a wonder, with weight, impact, fast transients and long decays but without any of the ringing I hear so often on other systems.
Youn Soun Nah’s voice becomes more organic, palpable, in a word, more real. Small inflections of words in Youn Soun Nah’s patterns are exceptional and engaging.
 
Henry DUTILLEUX- tracks 1.
The cello at the beginning is now captivating and sensual. The improved resonance of the of the strings and improved dynamic impact gives extraordinary life to this piece of contemporary music. 

Karlheinz STOCKAUSEN - track 1.
This is a very difficult track (most radical contemporary recordings are) because the composer uses piano combined with percussion instruments, both of which are in the treble spectrum. This leads to blurring and a sense of saturation.
 
For the first time, I could listen to this track without any frustration due to aggressiveness or simplification of the tones of the instruments that were absolutely without saturation even on dramatic crescendos. This is the same difference as listening on a very good (but not top level) high-end CD player verses a professional R2R master tape. The PranaWire Master Ground System is quite expensive and Vault is big and heavy. I can not imagine the demo system without them, even if each component by itself is at the pinnacle of today’s audio standards.
 
Philippe
PHPAUDIO®
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