The empeg doesn't need to be specially grounded in a home audio setup.

Your questions about the Empeg's sound quality:

- It probably had nothing to do with your MP3 encoder settings.

- Make sure you have the Empeg volume set at exactly 0db when you are playing through a home system. This is important.

- Play with your equalizer and loudness settings on the home system. It may have been set up so that it was good with your previous home system, but maybe it wasn't adjusted so well for those new speakers. I find that some very subtle adjustments to the Empeg's EQ can make dramatic improvements in the sound. Remember that every sound component and speaker system have a different character, and that's why God invented equalizers.

- Make sure you don't plug the empeg into a "Phono" jack on a home stereo system. This is a bit different from a line-level jack. Instead, plug it into the CD or Tape inputs.

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Tony Fabris