to ground or not to ground

Why do you say your equipment is not grounded? Have you defeated the ground phase prong on your plugs or used cheater plugs etc.

FWIW, in my experience, defeating the ground, only makes the system sound better if it eliminates a ground loop. I'm anal - I like a dead quiet system all plugged in as the designer provided, but unlike some anal electrical engineers :-)

I have no hesitation to use cheaters on well made audio equipment which just sits stationary on shelves. But I have made myself a promise not to stand in a puddle of water and fiddle with my components.

FWIW

Grounds are for safety dont defeat them if there is a ground problem like from the cable tv line or sub hooked into another circuit get a Jensen transformer device. They work great

There are two types of grounding: one is the signal zero voltage path which is required for all signals to pass thru the equipment, and the other is the earth safety bonding which is the third prong on the plug/receptacle. Both serve two different functions.

The signal path ground is the zero reference voltage for the signal. It has nothing to do with the ground pin and grounding of the electrical system feeding the unit. This ground is bonded to the chassis at one point or it's a conductor that follows the signal. So it has a big effect on performance.

The earth bond consists of the ground pin of the plug and the safety of the equipment. This ground is bonded to the chassis and has nothing to do with the signal ground. So whether or not the chassis is bonded, floated or grounded will not affect the signal in any way. (I should say "should not affect the signal" to lend me cover.)

Not all audio gear have earth bonding. Some tube amps, for example, have no ground pins - just the old-time two prong cord. The reason is the same as why toasters are not grounded. The live parts are exposed to the outside world and if you should come in contact with them or if damaged, there's less of a chance you'll be electrocuted. If you touch the live filament of a toaster, broken light bulb or tube amp, nothing will happen if you're not grounded. But if a toaster were grounded in this case, then coming into contact with the chassis will prove fatal.

Enclosed equipment, on the other hand, have all live parts enclosed by a metal chassis. A fault will touch the chassis and the earth ground drains the energy away. That's why they have to have the third pin on the plug. Again, it's separate from the signal ground.

I only ground one component in the system, usually the preamp, for best sound. I'm not suggesting that anyone does this. I won't come to your funeral when you fry yourself. YMMV, consult a lisenced electrician, yada yada, etc.

Thank you for your responses. But are those people who claim that ungrounded audio equipment sound better = crazy?

Chris