Connecting Ground Connectors (Torus and Gryphon Diablo 300)?

@nyev

For some reason my Innuos reclocker sounds better when not plugged into the Torus

How would you describe the difference in sound, with or without the Torus?

@dpop , when the reclocker is connected to the Torus, the sound becomes less weighty with less bass, there is less dynamics, scale, and drama to the sound, and there is less air around instruments and vocals with not as deep of a soundstage.  Midrange tones and vocals are a bit louder and have a more forward presentation.

My other Innuos devices prefer to be connected to the Torus.  In fact my Zenith mk3 streamer server sounds thinner connected to the wall.

@nyev

Thanks for the additional info. I don’t think this is a ground issue. Ground issue problems are normally hums and buzzes. It’s *very possible* that the reclocker is producing more correct tonality when plugged into the Torus, but no one can really say for sure, but since you can tell the difference in sound between it being plugged into the Torus, and not being plugged into the Torus, why not just go with what is more pleasing to you (I realize it’s a stupid silly answer to a more complex question)? Unfortunately I don’t think I’m going to be able to give you any kind of scientific reason why the difference in sound is taking place.

Would the simplest approach be to just get a cable that connects the ground terminals of my Torus and Diablo? If so what type of cable do I need?

You could always give this a try if you wanted to. You’re technically not grounding the units (as they are already grounded when plugging into the wall outlet), but instead you are "bonding" them. Any 18-14 AWG wire would work for this. Believe it or not, many electrician’s many times confuse the terms bonding and grounding. Come to think of it, I rarely see the term bonding mentioned on this board.

Sorry I couldn’t help more.

Thanks @dpop. While tonality is one aspect that changes, other differences include better dynamics, and a deeper soundstage with more air. I wouldn’t think that less dynamics and and shallower soundstage would be more “correct”, but who knows.

The reason I want to solve this is that I want to replace my Innuos Zenith Mk3 streamer/server and PhoenixUSB Reclocker with Innuos’ new Pulsar which is a pure streamer that includes a reclocker. Innuos tells me this will be better than what I have now.

My “workaround” won’t be possible with a one box solution.

So, I’m trying to figure out how to connect the ground terminals of my Torus and Diablo amplifier. It may not be the solution, but at least it’s something to try. I’ve heard ground issues cause hum from the looping that can happen. But I’ve also heard from a few reliable sources that establishing common grounds can improve the sound.

I’ll give the “bonding” approach a try, just because.  Thanks!

@nyev

It’s also very possible there are some AC power reactive currents taking place when all 3 Innuos digital boxes are plugged into the Torus, and the reclocker is the one that is suffering from that. It’s just very hard to diagnose from my location. Looking at the website for the Torus RM20, I don’t see any isolation between outlets. So yes, the Torus is an isolation transformer, but components, when plugged into the Torus, are not isolated from each other with individual filtering. Is this what’s happening? It’s really hard to say.

If you wanted to spend a few bucks, I might suggest purchasing a Tripp Lite Isobar Ultra, and insert it between the reclocker, and the Torus, and see if there’s any improvement. This will provide some AC filtering and isolation from the other components plugged into the Torus. If there’s no improvement, it’s still one of the best surge protectors out there, so it’s not money down the drain.

Isobar 4-Outlet Surge Protector

Thanks @dpop.  You are absolutely right there is no isolation between devices on the Torus.  I’ve been told by industry/electrical experts that isolation between components isn’t that important, but who knows, it could very well be my issue.

Great idea on the isolating surge protector.  I actually have a few Furman PST-8’s around the house which includes electrical isolation (I am overly paranoid about polluting the rest of my houses AC with noisy routers, switches, etc).  I might as well give that a shot as well as bonding the ground between my amp and the Torus.  Will try those ideas tomorrow.  If both of those fail I guess I just have to conclude that the PhoenixUSB Reclocker simply doesn’t like the Torus, in which case the Pulsar may suffer in my system considering that my current streamer/server really, really likes the Torus.  At least Innuos is helping coordinate an in-home demo for me with the Pulsar, so I don’t need to take any risk.  Just trying to see if I can figure out the issue before the Pulsar demo arrives!

Thanks again for the ideas!