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Floating ground: Any danger? Alternatives?

I have noticed that in my system even with power conditioning and aftermarket pc, floating the ground on my cdp still helps to smooth out the sound and reduce some digititis. I'm concerned as to how dangerous this is considering I've heard stories about fire, shock, insurance issues that come with doing this. Does anyone know what real risks I'm taking by doing this and whether there are alternatives that will yield the same benefits.

My guess is I would prefer to not float anything, but look for alternatives that will provide the same results without incurring some of these risks.
I have installed Hubbel outlets, clean the ground connections, a couple of Bc MkII, two Purist Venustas pc connecting to and from an AM mini digital with a Mapleshade powestrip all solely on the cdp, on a separate line from the rest of the system. Since digital is my only source, I try to clean it up as much as I can and floating the ground at the outlet still helps with all this stuff in between. I would welcome any suggestions, eventhough I've been contemplating getting into analog. My thanks in advance.
Mhu
mhu
bulldogger
277 posts
 
From what I've read, you're OK if you are just floating one ground but it's dangerous to float them all.
czbbcl's avatar
czbbcl
1,752 posts
 
You are fine if all you need to do is float the ground on the CD player.
jmcgrogan2's avatar
jmcgrogan2
6,346 posts
 
One alternative is to run all your components through one dedicated outlet. There is no chance of differential in ground then. Of course you'll need to make sure the one line has enough power, possibly a 30A line.
I originally had two 20A dedicated outlets installed, after I tired of chasing ground loop hums and placing cheaters on expensive power cords, I had one outlet re-wired for 30A, no more cheater plugs or buzzing.
swklein
136 posts
 
My dealer suggested to leave My Hydra and my preamp grounded, and float the ground on all of the other equipment. Apparently having one ground to the wall and one to a processor in a system all linked together is sufficient.
alrau1's avatar
alrau1
56 posts
 
It's completely safe, UNTIL YOU DISCONNECT YOUR INTERCONNECTS. The floating component may then kill you, if everything goes wrong a la Murphy's Law.

The ideal is for every component to have a ground-lift switch, which keeps the case grounded while allowing the circuitry to float. This is much easier to do when the component is being designed, rather than after the fact.
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