to ground or not to ground

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

My apartment has a circuit breaker in the breaker box but my audio is not grounded.

Dazzdax, I am going to take a guess here. The receptacle your audio system is plugged into is an old 2 wire type, no equipment safety ground. If all your equipment is plugged into this one duplex receptacle the odds of you getting hit by lightning is better than you getting shocked from your audio system.

Not sure why audio equipment manufactures just don't make all their equipment with double insulated power wiring and eliminate the need for the equipment safety ground altogether. Especially the power amp manufactures that have their signal ground and safety ground commonly connected to the chassis. Then in their owners manual tell the user to use a ground lifter if they experience a ground loop hum problem.

I would agree with Gs5556 post about the signal ground and the safety equipment ground. But in some equipment, especially power amps, the signal ground and equipment ground are connected together putting them on the same ground plane. And for some....the dreaded ground loop hum.
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