Home Tweakers' Asylum

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New Apartment, No Ground -- Thoughts / Suggestions?

I just moved into an apartment in an old building in Brooklyn, and I've made two discoveries -- one good, one bad -- as they relate to my audio system. First, the good: I discovered a 20-amp dedicated line on the wall where I had planned to locate my electronics. (This must have been installed for a window A/C unit, which I don't need.) Now, the bad: there is no ground wire available in that box (or in any other box in the apartment, for that matter) -- just black and white running in. This is despite the fact that all of the outlets in the apartment were changed at some point to 3-prong versions. :-/ As I mentioned, this is an old building ... and I guess wiring has never been replaced.

Rewiring isn't on anyone's list of priorities (including mine), and so I'm going to have to live with it. The question is, how best to do that? Are there any precautions I should take, things I need to avoid, etc.? (If it matters, my electronics are up to date in my profile.) Is there any way to reconfigure this one line to add a ground? I imagine that someone will recommend grounding to a water pipe, but I don't think that this is an option -- regardless of whether or not it's a legit idea.

I'll soon install an audio-grade outlet (Furutech or Oyaide to upgrade the Hubbell that I've been using) -- which I assume won't be any less up to code than the generic 3-prong outlet that's presently there. Oh well ... I've always wanted to experiment with floated ground; here's my chance!

Thanks for any thoughts or suggestions...



Edits: 11/05/16

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Topic - New Apartment, No Ground -- Thoughts / Suggestions? - Jim Hodgson 14:11:35 11/05/16 (7)

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