Cheater plugs with amplifiers?

The prospective fire hazard is less than the prospective electrocution hazard. But eliminating the ground loop problem by using cheater plugs is an accepted audiophile risk.

I have always assumed that let's say an ungrounded power amp (at the power cord) would be grounded by the IC's running to a grouded preamp and or something else that "is" grounded down the line.. Is this faulty thinking?

Yes, Dekay. Different grounding paths and systems. One if for the electrical current feeding the the device and the other is for the line-level signal connecting the components. I have used cheater plugs for years with no problems. The second ground is extra insurance, but that does not mean that the first ground does not work. I live in New Orleans and uptown there are a lot of older house that use 2 prong outlets. Other than inconvience, I do not know of anyone who has had a problem. Most people are talking theory but in everyday use, I seriouly doubt anyone will report that they had an actual problem because of the lack of the second ground.

Thanks, I get it. One for power and one for signal. I also have never had the chassis of any gear become "hot" and have used some pretty ancient, though well maintained (by professionals) tube gear in the past. Though, I did have a close call with a Hafler 500 power amp that I purchased used and owned for a short period of time. When I was checking out the internals after purchase I discovered a cracked connection on the integral power cord that could have shorted from tension on the cord in time, and since it was being used as a PA amp and being moved around a lot, Murphy's law probably would have prevailed. Fortunately it just required re-soldering.

Jab, reverseing the plug will not help this gentleman with his problem. The problem has to do with ground loops. Ground in this case has a little extra resistance through which some parasitic currents are flowing which is inducing a voltage. Floating the unit gets rid of the noise but at some safety risk.

Instead of cheater plugs, which may degrade the sound, I have, in the past, disconnected the grounds in each of my dedicated outlets. I realize the potential hazard of doing this, but this did eliminate hum in a previous system. Today I ground my amps, but have the ground lifted on the outlets that the preamp and source components are plugged into. All neutral and safty grounds are star grounded to a dedicated grounding rod which is also connected to the house's main ground. This set up is quiet, and while I can't be absolutely certain, I believe that I am protected as well.