I would think that some return to ground is necessary otherwise system noise would travel from box to box. For instance noise induced in the shield has to find return to ground and it is far better to find direct path instead of currents traveling on ground wire of IC (causing voltage drops that appear as signal) to another box that is "closer" to ground even if everything is floating. Floating might also be a disaster in case of static discharge to connector ground since current will go thru all available paths (including signal path electronics) to find return, instead of quick return to local ground. I would use high voltage capacitor about 0.01uF/1kV possibly with 100k-1M resistor in parallel between signal and chassis ground possibly close to input connectors. Hard wired connection (like in IBM PC) is good when we have only one box but otherwise makes ground loops or cause large current between boxes plugged into different outlets when connected together.
Another cheater plug thread
OK. So on a couple of other threads, opinions of cheater plugs to tame system hum range from "If it works use it" to "you're going to die in a fiery inferno." In my case, I used a cheater plug between my power supply and my pre-amp to finally get rid of a year-old hum problem. the power supply is a PS Audio Ultimate Outlet with only two outlets that supplies only my amp and pre-amp. Because the PS is still grounded - I think - all I did was break the ground circuit between the two components. So the question is, do I still have any grounding on my pre-amp here, just on the basis of being plugged into a grounded power supply? I wouldn't think so, but I'm not an engineer. Also, what is the benefit of being grounded vs. ungrounded in this situation?
Ready, set, fight!
Ready, set, fight!
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- 25 posts total
- 25 posts total