Ungrounding an Amp--Any Danger?


My integrated amp, a Creek A50i, has a bit of humming. I was about to experiment with removing the ground from my power cord when I saw the sign on the back of the amp that said "This apparatus must be earthed."

Is there any danger (to me or the amp)associated with removing a ground? I will gladly put up with a bit of hum if it means not getting shocked or frying my equipment.
socprof

Showing 2 responses by skippack

Would somebody please explain to me what the Signal Ground Lift switch on the back of my amp is for? IN LAYMAN'S TERMS. I don't really understand electricity, you see. I believe the switch is currently lifted, but I've no clear idea what that did for me (again, in layman's terms). "Well, it needs to be either lifted or not," I thought to myself, and "lifted" seemed somehow the sonically appropriate term. Maybe I should have read the owners' manual..

My amp has a hum that you can only hear when your ear is right up to it; i.e. a pretty quiet amp? Is this the sort of (very subtle) hum people are complaining about? All my stuff is plugged into a power conditioner, which of course has three-prong receptacles, and the power conditioner is plugged into a (grounded) wall outlet. All of these important tasks -- so vital to turning the stereo ON, so you can, you know, LISTEN TO IT -- were accomplished on Day 1. I'd have thought that was the last thought I'd need to give to the matter of electricity, but maybe I'm just hopelessly naive.
Nsgarch: Thanks! Yes, it's a Bryston amp. I use single-ended ICs, so I guess I'll leave the switch on lift. There is no discernible difference in sound or noise-level, however (to my ears).