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Do ground lifters alter sound?

Beyond getting rid of hum, can they degrade what a good cable is doing?
My dad and I installed new gear from Esoteric, VPI, and Audio Research along with all Audioquest cables including the mid-level power cords and we had hum so we lifted the grounds to curb the problem, we used cheap lifters found at Wallmart so I got curious of others opinions, are higher quality lifters available and if there are wich I assume is the case, do they make a diffrence in sound?
Half of me says such a small surface area in the lifter wouldnt affect sound but the other half thinks it is a bit silly to put a $0.25 lifter on a $300 power cord.
Any thoughts appreciated...............Chad
chadnliz

Showing 1 response by tbg

tbg
5,263 posts
 
Your language caused me pause. You are talking about cheater plugs, I now suspect. There really are no quality cheaters, although I have heard that Siltech used to make some. Many will strongly admonish you to not lift the ground for safety reasons.

I have had instances where I had hum problems, where lifting the ground would help. In all instances other than on the vinyl source, I have ultimately found the problem and undone the need to lift the ground.

Reversing the ground is another question. I wish I had a quality product that would easily allow me to do this.
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