Grounding an Integrated Amplifer


I'm know very little about electrical topics, so I'm hoping someone can help.

I recently acquired an amplifier that has a ground connection on the back panel.  The manual specifically states that this unit must be grounded.

The power cord connection is a 15 amp 120 Volt three pronged power connection.  Given that it's three pronged, I thought the amplifier would be grounded (positive, negative, and ground).

What would be the purpose of the ground connection at the back of the amp?

I live in a high rise tower, so I'm not sure how to go about it.  Can I simply purchase an extension cord from Amazon....and assemble it so that only the ground wire is active....and then hook up the bare ground wire to the ground connector on the amp; this would effectively hook up the ground from an electrical outlet directly to the amp.  

Any help or perspective on how to proceed would be appreciated.

 

calgarian5355

@chayro 

Well. That seems to make total sense!  Now I feel stupid asking such a newbie question.  So here’s a follow up question:  why aren’t turntable manufacturers making their components with grounded plugs?  

@calgarian5355 - all the turntables I have owned use a separate ground wire. But Rega, and possibly others, run the ground through the interconnect, so no separate wire.  So it can be done. 

Sounds like confusion between. electrical grounding (safety) and source grounding (for noise control of weak signals from phono pickups.)

@OP As Fuzztone says above, the ground connection from the turntable grounds the TT chassis and tonearm to the chassis ground of the amplifier. It is a completely separate grounding system from the mains power supply to the turntable's motor.