Ungrounded power cord: Will I die?


I'm always reading about the dangers of lifting ground from a power cord, especially in manufacturer manuals. Does this only apply to lifting ground from a grounded cord or just using an ungrounded cord, period? There are tons of devices in our homes that use ungrounded power cords (think wall wart). How is it possible that my house has not erupted into a ball of flames yet?

Anyway, I have a 2-prong power cord with a 3-prong IEC female end that came with my Luxman amp. I am getting the outboard power supply for my Calyx 24/192 DAC, but it requires an additional power cord. The Luxman cord sounds pretty good so I want to use that instead of spending another $500 to buy another one, which is +150% of the power supply itself!

What say ye?
eugene81
"Typical stereo electronics will (probably) not kill you if somehow a short develops to ground."

It is not short to ground but short to case, that we worry about and we (probably) don't want to be killed.

"The real exception is tubed electronics, and Color tube TVs. Both carry fatal voltages inside, and should be treated with respect.

Any 110V device carry fatal voltage inside and should be treated with respect.

"And no one does not have to be worried about items with only a two prong plug."

You have to be worried if equipment was designed to be used with three prong plug. Two prong plug devices are designed differently (plastic case or metal case separated by plastic inside). Converting device designed to work with ground prong (isolation class I) using cheater plugs is unwise and dangerous. Recommending it to others is even worse.
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Kijanki is correct on all points. Elizabeth, as usual, gives incomplete and/or bad advice.

Eugene, I really can't say how equipment designed for the Japanese market is configured, but the use of a ground connection (3rd prong) to a metal case is inherently safer than one without. I remember growing up in the 60's before 3 prong plugs and ground faults were common and we would get shocked when we touched the metal washing machine in the basement while standing barefoot on the concrete floor. My dad had an electric drill with a 2 prong cord and a metal case and you could get shocked if you touched it and something grounded like a water pipe.

That doesn't happen these days with better designs and better safety standards that involve plastic cases and/or grounded outlets. Using a cheater plug to defeat the ground can be dangerous. Note I said "can be". The problem for those who do it is they usually have no idea when that is.

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One could go technical with requirements (double insulation, clearances, leakage currents etc), but why?
Take Herman's sound advice "If it came with a three prong plug then safety standards dictate it should be there"
Logical and simple.

You can play with ICs, speaker cables etc. but this (safety) has to be done by the book.
"If it came with a three prong plug then safety standards dictate it should be there"

OK, so since my amp came with a two prong plug it should be safe to use with the amp even though the amp has a 3 prong inlet?