RCA Caps

IMO, for unused rca INPUT jacks shorting plugs are preferable to caps, although of course in many cases I would not expect either one to make any difference.

@almarg 

Is it even remotely possible that shorting plugs could cause some kind of "damage" (loosely and widely defined) to whatever audio equipment one would happen to install them on?

Hi Hal,

I can't envision a design in which a shorting plug applied to an RCA **input** would cause any problems.  Consider the fact that the essentially zero ohm impedance presented to the input by a shorting plug is not greatly different than the very low output impedances (e.g., 10 ohms or perhaps even less in some cases) of some components that might be used to drive that input.

Best regards,
-- Al
 

Al is correct, all you need is cheap $1 rca plugs that have been shorted, do get fooled into buying expensive caps that do nothing but may give you expectation bias.

Cheers George  

Thank you @almarg and @georgehifi

There is a small operation making and selling true RCA shorting plugs: Aurora Tronics in Sandy Hook, CT (phone number 203/426-9599). I bought some a couple of years ago, and they were cheap: $19.95 for 20 plugs. They also offer RCA phono cap covers (non-shorting, for outputs), at $7.95 for 20. They sent them to me with free shipping! Cardas' protective caps look nice, but do nothing, claims for providing shielding against RF and EMI notwithstanding.