It was in this exact room, exactly one year ago, that I was introduced to the wonderful grounding devices of Computer Audio Design, leading directly to my review of the CAD Ground Control GC1.1 ($2,250 each) which remains my favorite way to provide proper earthing to my hi-fi. When I visited the CAD and Audiovector and Trilogy room at Munich 2024, however, I saw that big box at the center of the system that prompted me to exclaim, “Wow, has CAD introduced a power amplifier?”
Words and Photos by Marc Phillips
No, that’s not an amp. It’s the largest model of the Ground Control line, the CAD GC-R Reference Ground Control. (You’ll also notice the GC1.1 on either side of the Audiovector speakers.) The GC-R features eight 4mm banana sockets instead of the GC 1.1’s two, which means you can centralize all of those grounding wires that comes with a Ground Control product.
The CAD and Audiovector and Trilogy systems at the Munich show are remarkable because they are an effective argument for grounding your hi-fi system–it’s difficult not to notice the quiet of these hi-fi systems. As I told CAD’s Isabel Whitley, who runs CAD with her designer husband Scott Berry, I now have difficulty in listening to any review system that hasn’t been grounded.
In addition, this is another excellent example of system-building, with the CAD products elevating the Audiovectors, as well as the Trilogy (a brand still not well-known in the US), to the kind of heights that earns Best Sound at Show awards. What CAD has hosted is an exhibit room that provides a much-needed oasis in the middle of the largest high-end audio show in the world. If I see a CAD and Audiovector and Trilogy at another show, I will make a stronger effort to go in, sit, and listen to the music until I’m ready to return to the unbridled excitement of the Munich shows.
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