Living room doesn't have grounded outlets. What do I do?

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Comments

  • txcoastal1
    txcoastal1 Posts: 13,287
    Without out a ground to GFI it is worthless. Either go out your wall or window and put in an isolated ground, or find a truly grounded cold water pipe and ground your GFI for your stereo

    There is no way I would wire in my stereo without a ground. I had an old house in Galveston that was built in the 20's with an upgraded electrical box that was prone to kill my electronics until I ran grounds during storms and summer voltage spikes.
    2-channel: Modwright KWI-200 Integrated, Dynaudio C1-II Signatures
    Desktop rig: LSi7, Polk 110sub, Dayens Ampino amp, W4S DAC/pre, Sonos, JRiver
    Gear on standby: Melody 101 tube pre, Unison Research Simply Italy Integrated
    Gone to new homes: (Matt Polk's)Threshold Stasis SA12e monoblocks, Pass XA30.5 amp, Usher MD2 speakers, Dynaudio C4 platinum speakers, Modwright LS100 (voltz), Simaudio 780D DAC

    erat interfectorem cesar et **** dictatorem dicere a
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  • BlueFox
    BlueFox Posts: 15,251
    txcoastal1 wrote: »
    There is no way I would wire in my stereo without a ground. I had an old house in Galveston that was built in the 20's with an upgraded electrical box that was prone to kill my electronics until I ran grounds during storms and summer voltage spikes.

    Yes, I can understand that. On the other hand, my house has ungrounded wiring (built in 58), and I never had any issues. Until I added dedicated circuits, everything was on ungrounded circuits. I have read plenty of times on these audio forums where people have had their gear fried in a storm, even with grounded circuits. The solution most offered is to have whole house surge protection, and unplug your gear during a storm.
    Lumin X1 file player, Westminster Labs interconnect cable
    Sony XA-5400ES SACD; Pass XP-22 pre; X600.5 amps
    Magico S5 MKII Mcast Rose speakers; SPOD spikes

    Shunyata Triton v3/Typhon QR on source, Denali 2000 (2) on amps
    Shunyata Sigma XLR analog ICs, Sigma speaker cables
    Shunyata Sigma HC (2), Sigma Analog, Sigma Digital, Z Anaconda (3) power cables

    Mapleshade Samson V.3 four shelf solid maple rack, Micropoint brass footers
    Three 20 amp circuits.
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  • txcoastal1
    txcoastal1 Posts: 13,287
    edited August 2015
    Whole house surge protection or isolated surge protection neither work without a ground. I get surge protection as I have to deal with it daily.

    This whole coastal region of TX is prone to pop-up storms spring through fall. I am a system integrator and 2 of my my main clients stores took direct hits last week. They have $300K data center grade large UPS systems installed in these stores.

    Here are a few picks of cables that ran out to a parking lot pole for high end megapixel cameras. I lost all 4 cameras and the surge devices and 1 quadrant of the network switch because pole took a direct hit and the lights caught fire.

    The strike spider webbed to the other adjacent poles with 16 cameras but survived only because the inline surge protectors blew.
    z5jydwyiozew.jpg
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    2-channel: Modwright KWI-200 Integrated, Dynaudio C1-II Signatures
    Desktop rig: LSi7, Polk 110sub, Dayens Ampino amp, W4S DAC/pre, Sonos, JRiver
    Gear on standby: Melody 101 tube pre, Unison Research Simply Italy Integrated
    Gone to new homes: (Matt Polk's)Threshold Stasis SA12e monoblocks, Pass XA30.5 amp, Usher MD2 speakers, Dynaudio C4 platinum speakers, Modwright LS100 (voltz), Simaudio 780D DAC

    erat interfectorem cesar et **** dictatorem dicere a
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  • BlueFox
    BlueFox Posts: 15,251
    Correct, but Curt is renting an apartment. I doubt if the landlord will let him install all these grounds. At the end of the day, the odds are he will not have any stereo issues using ungrounded circuits. Just unplug everything when a Midwest thunder storm rolls in.

    In summer of 69 I was in Navy boot camp at Great Lakes in Illinois and one night in the summer a thunder storm rolled in while I was on watch. I remember reaching out to grab one on the metal frame windows when lightning hit the barracks. The next thing I remember is being shaken by someone asking me if I was okay. I'm sure his stereo is sturdier than me. :)
    Lumin X1 file player, Westminster Labs interconnect cable
    Sony XA-5400ES SACD; Pass XP-22 pre; X600.5 amps
    Magico S5 MKII Mcast Rose speakers; SPOD spikes

    Shunyata Triton v3/Typhon QR on source, Denali 2000 (2) on amps
    Shunyata Sigma XLR analog ICs, Sigma speaker cables
    Shunyata Sigma HC (2), Sigma Analog, Sigma Digital, Z Anaconda (3) power cables

    Mapleshade Samson V.3 four shelf solid maple rack, Micropoint brass footers
    Three 20 amp circuits.
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  • Speedskater
    Speedskater Posts: 495
    It seems that 'comfortablycurt' has it correct, but other posts have a lot of mis-
    information.

    a] Yes, a GFCI receptacle can safely be used in a two wire circuit.

    b] No, a GFCI receptacle does not need a connect to the Safety Ground (or any other ground for the matter) to operate correctly.

    c] The old in house water pipe ground trick, was about connecting to the Safety Ground [EGC] (at the service entrance Neutral), it had nothing to do with the connection to Mother Earth [GEC]. I'm not sure if the trick was ever legal, but it was well tolerated by inspectors.
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  • comfortablycurt
    comfortablycurt Posts: 6,745
    Well I got the outlet installed, and everything is hooked up. Things are sounding great. I've still got some wire management and such to do, and I need to buy a TV. It's great to finally be listening to some tunes through something other than my Logitech gaming headset that I've been using all summer lol

    The nirvana inducer-
    APC H10 Power Conditioner
    Marantz UD5005 universal player
    Parasound Halo P5 preamp
    Parasound HCA-1200II power amp
    PolkAudio LSi9's/PolkAudio SDA 2A's/PolkAudio Monitor 7A's
    Audioquest Speaker Cables and IC's
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  • cnh
    cnh Posts: 13,284
    Curt! Get a decent set of cans! And have a great semester.
    Currently orbiting Bowie's Blackstar.!

    Polk Lsi-7s, Def Tech 8" sub, HK 3490, HK HD 990 (CDP/DAC), AKG Q701s
    [sig. changed on a monthly basis as I rotate in and out of my stash]
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  • comfortablycurt
    comfortablycurt Posts: 6,745
    My Logitech headset is actually quite nice sounding. I was using them over the summer because I was staying in a temporary apartment during my internship and didn't want to bother bringing my stereo. Typically I do very little listening with headphones.

    The semester is off to a great start! Thanks!
    The nirvana inducer-
    APC H10 Power Conditioner
    Marantz UD5005 universal player
    Parasound Halo P5 preamp
    Parasound HCA-1200II power amp
    PolkAudio LSi9's/PolkAudio SDA 2A's/PolkAudio Monitor 7A's
    Audioquest Speaker Cables and IC's
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  • RamZet
    RamZet Posts: 792
    I think you can swap out the outlet with a new three prong outlet and ground the new outlet to the metal box inside the wall.

    Or
    Buy a power conditioner and a groudlift adapter. Run a solid core grounding wire to your basement and ground it to a water pipe. Any power conditioner will have a grounding contact.
    B&W CM9Classé Sigma
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  • Speedskater
    Speedskater Posts: 495
    edited September 2015
    But the metal box inside the wall may or may-not be correctly connected to the AC power Safety Ground. Even if it measures good with a 3 LED tester, it just might be a bootleg ground.

    A GFCI receptacle is a better way to go. Small GFCI's are available to fit in the older boxes.
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