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GROUND ZERO is an affordable totally passive star grounding system that equalizes the ground impedance path of every component in your audio or video system regardless of the condition of your house wiring and regardless of how many different gauges of power cords you are using.
GROUND ZERO does all this totally in the ground plane without any connection to your music signal path and it doesn't plug into the wall outlet. GROUND ZERO is a complete kit that comes with 6 special low impedance cables that connect the chassis of every component in your system to the GROUND ZERO chassis.
GROUND ZERO and it's low-impedance 32 amp silver switches does the rest. Installation is done in minutes with only a phillips screwdriver. Lowers system noise floor. Replaces dangerous cheater plugs. No need to rewire your house. Great alternative for renters. Take it with you when you move. Star grounding has been around for decades, but GROUND ZERO does more than that. It divides your system into 3 subgroups and allows you to actually balance the impedance between the groups with 27 switch settings to get the absolute optimum lowest noise floor and maximum ground loop elimination in the world's first portable novice-friendly kit that will fit in any system.
Why you need a GROUND ZERO:
Before you can set up and use GROUND ZERO to eliminate your ground loop problems and improve your system's performance with a lower noise floor, it is helpful to have some basic understanding of how GROUND ZERO works.
Ground loop problems generally begin when there is a difference in the ground potentials of the various components in a system. The ground potential of one component may be higher or lower than that of another connected component and the component's ground path to earth ground, or ground impedance, may be higher or lower than that of the other connected component. The result of a ground loop is audible hum, usually 60 cycle, that sounds like a low bass rumble. The noise can be extremely objectionable if it can be heard over the music or during quiet passages. Since the noise is low frequency, it also robs your system of available dynamic power because the amps are wasting their resources by amplifying this audible signal. An audible ground loop robs system power.
These unbalanced components share a common ground bond between them via the shields of their interconnect cables, or via the ground wire of their AC power cords. The ground bond created by the interconnect shields is problematic because of the small gauge of the wires, dirty contact surfaces, and the sometimes low mechanical integrity of the outer grounding ring of cheaper RCA plugs. If your RCA plugs have a lose fit, you have a potential grounding problem.
The ground bond via the AC power cords can be problematic because the cords may be different gauges, have different contact mechanical integrity at the outlet, and have different distances to travel back to earth ground. All these variables can create differences in the ground impedance of each component and opens the door for ground loops and system noise.
How GROUND ZERO works:
Click here to go to GROUND ZERO Page 2 for more technical details and pricing.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
1. Do I have to lift the grounds on my existing components?
No. You do not need to make any changes to your existing system when installing the Ground Zero kit.
2. I'm using cheater plugs now. What do I do with them?
Remove them because you will no longer need these unsafe devices.
3. Ground Zero has 8 sockets but I have 12 components?
The Ground Zero kit is expandable. Buy 2 or more Ground Zero kits and the extra kits come with a special low-impedance jumper cable to connect all the Ground Zero chassis and increase the number of available sockets to handle any size system.
4. I have 3 source components and Ground Zero has only 2 sockets marked "Source"?
Any component can be connected to any Ground Zero socket. For example, source components can be connected in sockets marked "POWER AMP". So, if you need 2 sockets for your power amps and 3 sockets for your sources; then use the "SOURCE" sockets for your power amps and use the "POWER AMP" sockets for your source gear. All of the sockets are the same. They are labeled and color coded so you can have 3 groups. This is just a starting point. For example, you may end up with 1 amp and 1 CD player in the "SOURCE" sockets; and 1 amp and 1 tuner in the "POWER AMP" sockets. A ground is a ground, and Ground Zero only operates in the ground plane. So, any gear can be connected to any socket or combined in any group of sockets.
5. Do I connect the GROUND ZERO to my power line conditioner?
Yes, GROUND ZERO is designed to connect to every chassis in your system.
6. Do I have to connect GROUND ZERO to every component?
No, not necessarily. You do need to connect every component that is contributing to your ground loop problem. To find the guilty components will require some trial & error, if you don't plan to connect every component to the GROUND ZERO system. You can connect some components and leave others not connected. Then turn the system on and experiment with the GROUND ZERO switch settings to see if your ground loop is gone. If you still have your ground loop with only some of your components connected to the GROUND ZERO, then you will have to connect more components or a different combination of components. This procedure is really quite simple and easy because the GROUND ZERO cables are designed to connect & disconnect so easily from your gear.
7. I have a PS Audio P300 and P600 with a special green binding post on the back marked "Ground". What do I do?
Connect one of the GROUND ZERO cables to this ground binding post.
8. How do I keep track of all the different switch positions and their results?
We have a special GROUND ZERO worksheet just for this purpose. Download the worksheet in Adobe PDF format, print it out on your printer, and follow the simple instructions. Make extra copies for when you move, change your system, or buy new components. Make GROUND ZERO a permanent part of your quality system.
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