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Old 4th August 2009   #492
Virtalahde
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Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: Kuhmoinen, Finland
Posts: 639

HCL's products look great, and I have no doubt that they sound great, too. I use some of those components myself in my own equipment.

However, I can see that there is a ground lift switch near the IEC (power) connector in some of the products. At least in the Distortion Box I can see it disconnects the safety ground from the chassis (or whereever that red cable goes from the switch).


(bigger picture)

This is not legal in most countries, and it is extremely unsafe. If all the ground lift switches are in and a live mains AC voltage comes in connection with the chassis, the chassis will conduct the mains voltage to your fingertips.

The safety ground from the IEC connector is supposed to go straight to the chassis. The signal ground can be lifted safely.
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