HUM - you can catch fish in a dingy too.

You can go buy a six-figure bass boat to catch fish, but you can catch the same fish out of a $200 rowboat.

So, I had - HAD - a hum problem in my system that was driving me nuts for about a year. It started out that it was the amplifier making the speakers hum even when the source or pre-amo was disconnected. Then I got a new preamp and the amp was quiet but the hum returned as soon as I took the preamp off mute - basically the hum jumped components, which left me drooling in rage and confusion. I switched sources, switched cables, switched ICs and speaker cables, added a power supply then plugged everything directly into the wall.... Arrrggghh!!!

Finally, in desperation I did something that I don't like for a number of reasons: I stuck a 35 cent cheater plug between the pre-amp and the power supply (which is itself still grounded) and the hum FINALLY went away. $15,000 worth of audio jewelry and it took a 35 cent piece of plastic to make it work right. Sometimes we are too smart for our own good. Just thought I'd share.