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I lifted my grounds, reached new heights of "Audio Nirvana" and then.........

I had an annoying hum yet not audible when music was playing from ground loops. I bi-amp so there's two different ground paths there and have an AC regenerator for a third. A PS Audio forum post said go ahead and lift it. Wow, not only did the hum go way down (still some from the amps) but it made a great improvement to the sound. Next I lifted the LF amp ground and again things really made a marked improvement. At this point I am really happily stunned at how much better things are. Image, separation, dynamics, clarity and detail have all improved. I reterminated an AC cable I had for the HF amp with a Wattgate 320i and did not connect the ground. I now am ground free and wondering if this last "lift" will make a difference. It helped the HF so much I couldn't believe it! What a huge improvement at each "lift". It sounded like a different amp!
So I am in the process of relistening to favorite recordings, all of which are putting a smile on my face. Hearing details not heard before with an improved soundstage and clarity this system has never delivered. No more than an hour or so into this new level of greatness a cap in my CJ 2500A LF amp, right channel, starts leaking! Doh! This is the third time for leaking cap noise in that channel. The first time they replaced a cap and since I upgraded it from a 2500 to a 2500A at the same time they charged no labor for the repair, just for the part-nice. The second time they kept it for two weeks saying it never made a peep of crackling in the right channel. I don't know what to think here, it was really noisy and actually blew a fuse from a loud crack! I think they did something and didn't tell me-who knows. And now less than a year later the crackle is back for a third time. Oh well...... Something had to spoil the party I guess. Woe is me! What a pain to have to disconnect it, lug it to them and be without it again and now fear the problem will only return again in the future. Does anyone think I deserve something or some consideration for this third failure? And no it's not a speaker problem, DCR is identical on both channels, no shorted speaker wire etc. I never come close to fully driving the amp and its about a 6 ohm load, no problem for this amp. It never even gets very warm to the touch much less hot. Goll dern, witch butt, schmuu ticker........... I just made up schmuu ticker.

ET


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Topic - I lifted my grounds, reached new heights of "Audio Nirvana" and then......... - Awe-d-o-file 00:28:17 08/23/08 (66)

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