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Ground Cheater plug or....

Maybe this isn't a good idea, but I thought I'd ask anyway.

I have what I believe to be a persistent ground loop hum from my amplifier. It's quiet, inaudible if music playing or unless you're standing next to the speaker, but knowing it's there is annoying.

I've heard suggestions to use a cheater plug to defeat the ground, but it seems counterintuitive to stick a 35cent plastic plug between expensive cables and power supplies. My question is, couldn't you accomplish the same thing by disconnecting the ground wire in the outlet, and still exact the benefits of better cables?

I'm sure the fire marshall would disapprove, but I'd like to hear what the hi-fi nuts have to say.

Cheers!
grimace
yogiboy's avatar
yogiboy
5,773 posts
 
Just run a long extension ac cable from your amp to another outlet that you know is on a different circuit.This way you don't have to move your amp.
jea48
4,529 posts
 
The hum remains even if the ICs are disconnected from the amp.
Grimace

Grimace,

I agree with everything Al said.

I would add if the sound heard is truly a hum the problem could be a bad electrolytic cap/s in the power supply.
An oscilloscope connected to the DC output of the PS would tell you for sure.
jedinite24's avatar
jedinite24
1,503 posts
 
The only audiophile cheater plug that I know if is the Ebtech Hum X. It retails for $60-$90 depending on the retailer you go to. It lifts the ground without any of the unsafe effects. I use it in one of my systems when I got too lazy to troubleshoot the hum I was hearing from my speakers.
jedinite24's avatar
jedinite24
1,503 posts
 
There is an audiophile cheater plug (IMO) that I employed in one of my systems because I was just too lazy to do the proper troubleshooting.

Ebtech Hum X - Plug-Style AC Voltage Ground Loop Hum Eliminator

http://www.ebtechaudio.com/humxdes.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YyYb266R2-M

The same effects of the cheater plug but safe.

Prices range from $60 to $90 depending on where you shop.
atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
11,966 posts
 
Al is correct. This will not be solved by cheating the ground. Grimace, you've not mentioned your speakers; if they have an efficiency of over 100db or if your room is really really quiet this might be perfectly normal.
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