Products of the Year

CAD Ground Control Grounding Boxes ($1999–$4500; reviewed by Michael Fremer, July 2020, Vol.43 No.7 Review)

Finalists (in alphabetical order)
DS Audio Vinyl Ionizer-001 ($1795; reviewed by Michael Fremer, July 2020, Vol.43 No.7 Review)
Grand Prix Audio Monza Equipment Supports ($19,000 as equipped; reviewed by Jason Victor Serinus, November 2019, Vol.42 No.11 Review)
Ifi Audio Intona Nano Igalvanic3.0 USB Galvanic Isolator ($379; reviewed by Herb Reichert, August 2020, Vol.43 No.8 Review)
Stylustimer ($19.95; reviewed by Michael Fremer, September 2020, Vol.43 No.9 Review)
Wallytractor Universal Phono Cartridge Alignment Tool ($395; reviewed by Michael Fremer, September 2020, Vol.43 No.9 Review)

I first experienced the Ground Control boxes, from the company Computer Audio Design, aka CAD, at 2019's AXPONA. What made that system sound so good? Was it the Verity loudspeakers? The Trilogy amplification? The CAD digital front-end and odd-looking custom USB cable? I can't answer that question, but the sound in that room was among the best—perhaps the best—I heard at that large show. So, when Michael Fremer took an interest in the CAD Ground Control boxes—well, I was already interested.

"This passive system," Mikey wrote in his column, "is designed to greatly reduce a broad range of high-frequency noise picked up by and created by electronics, and also noise that gets into connecting cables via radiation and into components from the AC mains. In these Wi-Fi/Bluetooth days, there can be a lot of noise." As you might expect based on the name, the Ground Control boxes concern themselves with noise on the signal ground. They do that by utilizing a component's unused inputs. Figuring out how best to utilize the various types of connecting cables required some creativity and sounded like fun.

The morning after Mikey did this work, his system "sounded fundamentally different: more delicate (but the attack was still well-articulated) and against a blacker background. The strings had more luster. Lieberman's voice was smoother; the sibilants were more cleanly expressed so that it sounded more 'there' and less recorded."

Mikey decided he couldn't live without them. He bought 'em.

About the Vote
Due, I'm guessing, to Mikey's rave review in our July issue, this was another landslide. Only the WallyTractor Universal, a distant second, got more than a handful of votes.