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RCA Caps

Is anyone using RCA caps (plugs) on their unused audio connectors?

I'm considering going with either Telos or Cardas.

I like the idea of keeping dust out of these while benefitting from EFI/RFI rejection.
agiaccio
georgehifi's avatar
georgehifi
10,312 posts
 
if memory serves
Gave yourself an out there sunshine.

Cardas caps on unused inputs/outputs on the TV and other non-audio components like the cable box helped the sound, too.
Bollocks!!! is this more voodoo from your leader/maker David Miscavige

Cheers george
bdp24's avatar
bdp24
9,788 posts
 

What ever works. But I'll wager than if non-shorting caps are beneficial, shorting caps will be even more so. In this case, the "why" is no mystery.

Speaking of shorting caps and understanding them, here's a story Bill Johnson told at an instore appearance I attended in the 80's: ARC sent Harry Pearson their new SP-10 pre-amp for review, and shortly thereafter received a call from Pearson, who told Johnson there was something wrong with the pre. Bill, in an attempt to diagnose the problem over the phone, asked Harry some questions, and soon had his answer; Pearson had installed shorting plugs in the pre-amp's unused output RCA's. Well duh!

J. Gordon Holt evaluated the sound of components, be he also understood how they worked, having a technical electronic education. Pearson may have had a good ear, but was completely ignorant, technically. Having both is not a bad idea; it's a great b*llsh*t filter.

almarg's avatar
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almarg
9,670 posts
 
Good story, Eric (bdp24).  I took a quick look at the SP-10 schematic at arcdb.ws, and sure enough the design provides two pairs of main outputs, both of them RCAs, and on each channel the two RCA connectors are wired directly together!

Best regards,
-- Al
 
georgehifi's avatar
georgehifi
10,312 posts
 
I would wager there some not so technical, that would put shorting plugs on an output, they’d remove it fairly quickly as there’d be very little to no sound from the other output, self healing (teaching) for those, and to only try them on inputs.

Cheers George
whart's avatar
whart
3,037 posts
 
I had a long, love-hate relationship with the ARC SP-10 mk ii. I bought mine used, from somebody who had to have the new SP 11, and knowing what the SP 10 was capable of, I jumped on it. I had it sent back to ARC to have it gone over (at my cost) and have it retubed. I had a devil of a time finding quiet tubes, and I don't think it was the tubes that were causing the microphony, but how they were mounted. The unit went back and forth to ARC quite a few times; I bought new at the time gel type sockets (of a type similar to those used by Allnic) and ARC was willing to install them- they were also interested in the outcome. They didn't help. I had bags of 6dj8s that I would swap into the thing; I did have the factory at one point hot rod the unit to bypass more of the switches. It was a very good sounding preamp, with a sweet phono stage, but still of the old school ARC sound- not quite syrupy, but tending toward warm, rather than that more bleached sound of some of the later ARC stuff that sounded leaner. Once I got stopped using the Crosby Quad, which seemed to mask some of the low level noise of the preamp, and started using horn speakers of high efficiency, the preamp was simply too noisy to use. 
It was sort of my peak with ARC-- though I had several of their amps over the years (and still have my first one, a Dual 75a), I migrated away from ARC. Not due to any negative attitude on my part- I maintained a long cordial relationship with the parts department for decades.
When I got a Lamm L2 Reference line stage back in 2007 or so, I had SP-10 flashbacks- the unit was very similar in lay out, though the design and sound very far different. Classic old school preamp. 

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