The USB hub causing a ground loop is understandable. But wouldn't the issue with the wall wart be about it adding noise into the circuit?
Anyway ...
A friend has been chasing a midrange issue for years. Pulling out the wall warts in his music room seems to have done the trick. He says it's been great sounding for 4 or 5 days so far but he's hesitant to fully commit to admitting the fix worked ... for fear it'll come back.