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Ungrounding an Amp--Any Danger?

My integrated amp, a Creek A50i, has a bit of humming. I was about to experiment with removing the ground from my power cord when I saw the sign on the back of the amp that said "This apparatus must be earthed."

Is there any danger (to me or the amp)associated with removing a ground? I will gladly put up with a bit of hum if it means not getting shocked or frying my equipment.
socprof
stevecham
3,340 posts
 
There is DANGER!!! DON'T DO IT!!!
nsgarch's avatar
nsgarch
2,524 posts
 
Your preamp should be the only grounded component to achieve the lowest noise floor. The other components drain to ground through the interconnects, to the preamp, and then through the preamp's grounded power cord.

Danger will then be present if you either

A.) Unplug the preamp from the wall, or
B.) Remove the interconnects between a (ungrounded) component and the (grounded) preamp, or
c.) Both

If you use a cheater plug(s) on a component(s) to eliminate hum (ground loops) just make sure the component has a path to ground -- usually through the ICs and the preamp. If you need to rearrange your stuff, just turn it all off AND unplug it first (which you should do anyway!)

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paladin's avatar
paladin
227 posts
 
Try using a 3 prong adapter with the ground pin out first.
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