Transparency, resolution, dynamics, affordability, tweakability (when scratch-built or kit-built)

None so far

This is not your usual Grounded Grid, because I scratch-built mine from Bruce Rozenblit's schematic and parts list published in his book Audio Reality (available from Transcendent Sound). Many others have scratch built the Grid, and Bruce actually encourages people to do so (of course, he would prefer to sell you a Grid, either in kit or factory-assembled form). Bruce even maintains a forum for the exchange of information on this and other pieces of Transcendent Sound gear--it's a great place to pick up ideas (www.transcendentsound.com).

My experience with the Grid has been very positive, and basically my impressions of its sonic capabilities parallel those of the other reviewers below.

I'm particularly glad that Bruce made this circuit available to hobbyists like me--as he explains in his book, it's a circuit that has been used in radio for decades, so he didn't exactly invent it, just improved upon it. The circuit lends itself supremely well to modication--in my case, I went beyond the standard Grid configuration and added extra inputs, a balance control, a mono-stereo switch, a stepped stereo blend control, and a channel reverse switch. I understand Bruce's philosophy that "less is more", but all of these controls were important to me, and the rather basic configuration of the factory Grid would have been too limited for my system.

Another plus is that the circuit is almost foolproof--it doesn't seem to care much how you lay it out, as long as you adopt basic good layout and construction techniques. The Grid doesn't seem to be very sensitive to parts quality, either. In other words, it doesn't need ultra-expensive caps and resistors to sound good. You don't need to stuff it with expensive NOS tubes, either--I used 3 Tesla 12AU7s at about $10 apiece, and experiments with a couple of other tube types have not yielded significant improvements or changes in the overall sound.

There is one mod that everybody should consider making, scratch-built, kit-built and factory-assembled alike. The 100k feedback resistors should be changed to about 350k. This takes some of the hard edge off the stock Grid's sound, and brings it more in line with the sound of conventional tube preamps.

I realize that not many people will choose to take the route I did. But if you're inclined to scratch-build, this is the perfect design. The kit and factory-assembled versions are top-notch, too, as long as you are in agreement with Bruce Rozenblit's minimal control set-up. This is a real giant-killer of a preamp-highly recommended!

Similar Products Used:

My only piece of tube gear so far

very clear high end and mid range, strong bass, excellent soundstage and imaging

none

I finished building the Grounded Grid preamp kit a week ago, saving $300 over the cost of the assembled preamp. The kit was extremely well thought out and constructed. The instructions were well written and illustrated with color photographs. In addition, Bruce Rozenblit (the owner of Transcendent Sound) takes the trouble of packaging each group of components that go together for a particular step in the assembly process into its own plastic bag. This makes it much easier to locate all of the correct components in the right assembly order. I enjoyed the building process, and I wish everything that comes with the phrase "some assembly required" was as well designed, thought out and packaged. This positive experience has left me intrigued about the possibility of building Bruce's OTL amps some time in the future.

The preamp worked fine from first turn on. After a break in period of a day or so, I started doing some critical listening. It blows my old Apt Holman preamp away, and the Apt is still a fine preamp in my book. The high end and mid range are more detailed, but the sound is not harsh or fatigueing. In addition, there is much more bass response, and that bass is well focused and not mushy in the least. Imaging and soundstage are both improved noticeably. In short, it sounds great, giving me the strong impression that I am in the same room with the musicians. The only modifications I have made are to add a tape input and tape output and to swap out the stock LED for a blue superbrite
LED.

I congratulate Bruce Rozenblit on an excellently designed and executed product. You would have to spend three to four times as much money for another preamp to get similar performance to the Grounded Grid.

Similar Products Used:

Apt Holman preamp, Hafler 101 preamp

Bought this unit from a friend who switched to solild state.

This is one of the quietest and most dynamic sounding tube preamps I have heard. The CAT is almost as quiet and has dynamic swings as well. The Grid however seems to have more inner detail Vs the CATs more upfront brash portrayal of music.
The CAT has more gain wheras the transcendent is quoted at 12db which means you play at around 11-2 o'clock. Im told that its more linear at that setting?!


Since then, Ive Upgraded it with cardas internal cables and a Alps volume pot as recommended on their web site to the so called "signature" version coined by the last reviewer.

My equipment;
Rega Planet
Basis 2500.
Graham 1.5t
Lyra Lydian Beta,Benz Ruby
CAT Sig mk111,
acoustech PH 1
Transcendent Grid
Conrad Johnson Premier 12 MonoB
Pro Ac 3.8
Cardas neutral reference and Golden power cords.

Similar Products Used:

Sonic Frontiers SFP2, Ayre K3, CAT signature mk111.

Crystal clear sound, excellent dynamics and depth.

Features may be too spartan for some.

The Grounded Grid back! It is now offered as a kit or assembled.

This preamp is a real eye opener. I have had what I thought were good preamps but this is the most realistic sounding preamp I have ever heard in my system. The dynamics are there and on good recordings there is an almost holographic sound stage. Vocals are great and natural with no undue sibilance. Cymbals and piano are very natural. This is one great preamp! I don't think you will find a better sounding preamp for under $3000 and perhaps not even for more.

What more can I say that the other people on this review page haven't said.

Please, before you invest in an expensive "audiophile" preamp, investigate this preamp. The web page is: http://www.transcendentsound.com/preamp.htm

Similar Products Used:

Audio Research LS7, Curcio Daniel

Audio Research LS7, Cucio Daniel, Conrad Johnson PV10

extremely quiet for tube design and posseses ability to throw out quick transients with authority

lack of features, No mono, 3 inputs only

Let me first say that I only bought this Preamp unheard as a
whim after reading reviews on soundstage and going to Transcendents Home Page.
It is an extremely versatile product as Bruce also just gives out the Grid design for DIY'ers.

On the Forum, they recommended several upgrades which improved the sound somewhat. Change to better volume Pot, Different coupling caps, faster diodes etc. My review was done after an initial
run in of the stock product of 3 wks and unit is currently under the knife,

The Grounded Grid is a revelation. Layout of the off the shelf unit is well thought out and RCA jacks are gold plated vampires that are chassis mounted. Utilises three 12 au7s and three individual transformers for different stages.

When I first put it in my system which consists of a Pass Labs 5 and Modulus 3a, the initial observation was that of speed. It was not as warm as the Audible illusions which gave a lush but rather leisurely presentation. It excelled in staging, was more extended and better controlled in the bass, and capable of greater detail resolution. Both these units did very well at the re-creation of space with the Modulus 3a offering more an old world charm.

One annoying thing on the #3a which has irked me for these 2 years was transformer hum. On the Grid, It was so quiet that there was almost no tube hiss even when I placed my ear close up to my Avalons.

Subsequently I brought the Grid to several systems to a/b. Its charcter can be described by two key words :Neutral and detailed.

One aspect that might be of concern is that because it tends not to be so euphonic and laid back, vocals can be slightly foward.Playing with NOS tubes altered the presentation , similarly with Interconnects and power cords.

Have just put in a couple of REL Caps and high speed diodes and am planning to changing out the volume Pot to an Alps black or even a sealed Noble.

Update in a while.

Similar Products Used:

Modulus 3a, Blue Circle BC 3, Melos SHA Gold

Beautiful, simple design, reliability, price, sound

needs a few more imputs which can be easily added.

I was intrigued by many of the claims on this page, including the one that said that it took him five(5) hours to assemble, so I purchased the kit, sight unseen. I unpacked it and build it. I have to say there wasn't absolute truth in some of the claims. It took me six(6) hours to build it, but I didn't hurry, took my sweet time.

When I turned it on, lo and behold, it worked, which, in and of itself, is something special, but I have to say the design of this kit is extraordinary. The boards are beuatifully laid out, the printing on the boards is so simple and clear, that a well-traned chimpanzee could do this kit justice.

Which brings me to the sound. I had to find a simple way way to describe the Transcendent experience and I came up with one word: Zen. Transcedent has expressed the Zen of music in his equipment. If you don't understand Zen, then the best example that I could come up with is the way Lee Trevino plays golf. By all rights, with his swing, he should be a second-stringer, but when he's on the course, he transforms himself, he is part of the course. You just have to watch his first win in the US Open to understand part of Zen. He couldn't have won it with his drives. The movie, 'The Legend of Bagger Vance', is really mostly about Zen and captures fairly well the basis for Zen in golf.

How does this pre-amp capture Zen? The simplicity of design. The carboard box has no markings. The label is hand-wrriten. The humbleness of the packaging. Even the instructions are packaged in an unmarked, white envelope. The instructions are sparse. It takes only about 500 words to describe the assembly of the pre-amp. The pictures are lovely and a great asset. None of these are indicative of the music which is to come forth.

The sound: lovely, sweet, with a wide and deep soundstage. It's almost too detailed; you can hear background whispering on many, 'live' recordings. The only negative that I could find was a slight, forwardness in the treble when the musical attack was noticeable. However, this may be due to my using Kimber silver wire in all the signal paths.

Does it improve any system that it's placed in? Emphatically, yes. I used it in my travelling system which is a Monarchy SM-70 with MIT-T2 cables and Edge speakers. The fullness of the sound was impressive. Those Edge have never sounded like this before. In my HT system which uses ATI 1503 amps, Madisound Odin and Eton speakers and Kimber TC-8 spearker wire, the sound was more expressive, the detail better and the soundstage wider than the previous pre-amp, which, I have to say, was pretty close in performance.

Is it better than $3000 pre-amp? Who are you kidding? This pre-amp may not be the 'best', but who needs best when you already understand the Zen of music....

Try it for 30 days... Don't take my work for it.

Similar Products Used:

Audible Illusions mod 3A, Sonic Frontiers SFL-2, Aronov Audio LS-960

absolute quiet, wide dynamic range, very detailed presentation, will expose other component weaknesses

audiowise none, some people may require more features, only three imputs

The grounged grid preamp is a gem. I have never experienced a finer preamp. No artifacts are added to the sound, and I find no detractive enements either. This is the first component I've added to any system that has my non-audiophile friends commenting about how much better my system sounds. High praise indeed! For a very low price, you can buy this preamp, and have money left over for music, or perhaps more equiptment. I've auditioned preamps that are priced ten or more times what the grounded grid costs. Soundwise none was better, and few came close. The only disadvantage is that your system will lose snob appeal. An absolute winner. I wish I could give it six stars.

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many, both tube and transistor

clarity, speed, detail, honesty

no tape loop, no mono, no soft start

I have now been living with my kit-built GG preamp for 9 months and have no complaints about it whatsoever. I wanted to add my confirmation of the other opinions here. I am still unable to describe the sound of this preamp except in negative terms (not bright, not soft, not dull, ...) and that's the highest praise I can give.

Some components initially impress because they do one thing very well (imaging/soundstage, etc.) but over time reveal weaknesses or limitations in other areas. This is not be the case with this unit.

I should also note that any of the 'weaknesses' noted above can be corrected by a home constructor, a Transcendent associate (a hobbyist or pro who will construct the unit to spec) or (I understand) Mr. Rozenblit himself. So if you want more inputs or a tape loop, you can have them.

Buy it, you can't lose.

Similar Products Used:

Hafler 101, Dynaco PAS3, Citation I, Hafler IRIS, passive homebrew

Too many to list.

Only 3 inputs

I first heard about this pre/amp on the E-Bay auction site, so I decided to check out Transcendant's website and the reviews on Audioreview. I was the only bidder and got a used one for $400.00. (I figured I could always re-sell it if I didn't like it) It was built from a kit and the build quality was first rate. I put it in my system that evening to drive the new Odyssey Stratos monoblocks that I just got two days earlier (look for my upcoming review). Although the amps were not fully broken in, I was impressed with this pre/amp from the start. This is one sweet sounding unit. Excellent bass, silky smooth mids, extended highs, big soundstage with plenty of depth. This pre/amp also has plenty of gain to drive my amps. As the amps are almost broken in now, the sound is even more spectacular. This is now the best sound I have experienced in my system! This replaced my AudioNote M-Zero which is a great pre/amp for $700.00. I have had many pre/amps in the past ( Cary, EAR, Audible, etc.) Don't let the low price fool you, this may be one of the best on the market for under $3,000. My current system consists of the following:

Odyssey monoblocks
Grounded Grid pre/amp
Cary CD303 CD player
Rotel 900 T/T with Origin live modified Rega arm
Dynavector 20X cart.
Lehmann Black Cube
Magneplanar 1.6QR speakers
Vandersteen 2WQ subs (2)
Richard Grey Power Co.

All cables are Goertz silver
Powercords (2) Essence A/V Pro
(3) Omega Mikro Planar red (wave treated)
(2) Mapleshade Double Helix cords

Highly recommended!

Similar Products Used:

AudioNote, EAR, Cary, Audible Illusions 3A

Everything!

None.

Whoever is looking for a preamp should try Grounded Grid!
GG probably is the best pre-amp for it's price tag.
Please do not misunderstand what I just said, it doesn't
sound like a $500 pre-amp. It can even compete with any
pre-amp at any price range. If you compare GG with any
high-end pre-amp, you probably will notice how much extra $$
you have to pay in order to gain some improvement. $499 well
spent!

My system:
Digital front end: Sony SCD-1
Pre-amp: Transcendent Sound Grounded Grid
Power amp: McIntosh MC-275 II, Krell KST-100
Speakers: Quad 989
Cables: Cardas Cross (IC), FMS Microwave II (SC)

Similar Products Used:

ARC LS-1, LS-2; Audible Illusion M-3A.