Tech Square

excellent article

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This Post Has Been Edited by the Author

In Reply to: earth, chassis and audio grounding posted by commonmode@earthlink.net on November 27, 2006 at 12:41:37

Chances are, all your components will be grounded even if some of them have 2-prong plugs - the interconnect shields function as ground leads to those components with 3-prong grounding plugs.

You *can* have a ground loop, particularly with tube gear, which will give you hum - not a good thing. Putting cheater plugs on the tube amps generally solves the problem, but leaves you with a risk: if you have a high-current failure in one component, the interconnect shields may not be able to carry all that current to ground, so there is a small risk of electrocuting yourself.

This article from the Elliott Sound Products site is quite good. I haven't found the ground loop breaker circuit on their site yet, but when I do, I may try it so I can get rid of the cheater plugs on my amps.

WW

Elliott Sound Grounding article (Open in New Window)

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