Quote Originally Posted by Mains Cables R Us View Post
Where do all the so called "Technics" experts come from? One says top right, another says bottom left, I don't believe for a second that putting the earth tag on either will make a jot of difference to sound quality or should I re-phrase that to perceived sound quality as in the hi-fi world there are a lot of placebos.I would make an educated guess that there are no more than 50 people in the UK with systems good enough to hear the differences moving that small wire will make, to the rest of us mere mortals it won't make a jot of difference will it, IMHO of course!
David,
I am afraid you are very wrong, which worries me.

I will state again, categorically, The focal, Zero-volt-return point for the PCB is the bottom left hand self-Tap screw point on the PCB. The other two locations have a square pad which is not connected to the common Zero Volt rail (PCB copper Track) on any of the many PCBs that I have examined. Further these two pads are surface varnished and therefore insulated.

If other people have connected the zero volt return lead of the Time Step; or any other power supply for that matter; to one of these incorrect terminals, then it is because they do not know what they are doing. or that they have been misinformed.


You will indeed get a 'working' zero volt return from the other two connection points. But as I have stated before this return connection will be via the metal of the chassis. which is not an ideal conductor. Why for goodness sake do people sell so called special cables if proper zero volt/earth connections are not recognized as being important!!! Further unless you have taken steps to remove the paint/varnish on the top of the mounting posts, then you will have an even less valid return path. Also the hardened self-tap screws are not designed for the maximum electrical conductivity!!!

It is accepted electronic engineering practice to ensure the integrety of zero-Volt return points and Earth connections in any piece of electronic equipment be it aerospace or a lowly lump of audio equipment.