I achieved similar results in the past by not connecting the grounds at the outlets. This did bring down the noise floor and reduced ground loop problems. It also set up a dangerous condition if a fault should occur within the connected equipment. I also had a dedicated grounding rod for the 'neutral' leg, although this was ultimately tied back to the main panel ground. There are many threads, both here and at Audio Asylum, that discuss dedicated grounds. While there are advantages, there are also many safety, liability, and electrical code issues that must be considered.
I recently installed a sub panel near my listening room with 8 equal length dedicated lines. All grounds are connected, although they are kept isolated at the sub panel (neutral and ground), and have a common ground at the main service panel. My goal was to add more lines and also stay within code (for safety and insurance reasons). To my surprise this installation has a much lower noise floor, and virtually no ground loop problems. Much better then floating the grounds.
I'm not an electrician or electrical engineer, so I can't explain the exact reasons why this may be. Certainly the ground potential between components has been equalized, and there is a low resistance, common grounding point. Also, many power cords drain their shields to ground. Floating the ground would disable this function.
I recently installed a sub panel near my listening room with 8 equal length dedicated lines. All grounds are connected, although they are kept isolated at the sub panel (neutral and ground), and have a common ground at the main service panel. My goal was to add more lines and also stay within code (for safety and insurance reasons). To my surprise this installation has a much lower noise floor, and virtually no ground loop problems. Much better then floating the grounds.
I'm not an electrician or electrical engineer, so I can't explain the exact reasons why this may be. Certainly the ground potential between components has been equalized, and there is a low resistance, common grounding point. Also, many power cords drain their shields to ground. Floating the ground would disable this function.