Yes, you should cover unused digital inputs including AES/EBU and BNC -- cheaper shorting plugs are available from electronics suppliers but if you want bling the Telos products are great (but cost an arm and a leg)
RCA Shorting Plugs
I am coming to the conclusion that success in home audio reproduction is largely about lowering the noise floor. There are so many different types of “noise”, from so many different sources, that we only really “hear” by their absence.
I have had caps on the unused RCA inputs of my ASL passive autoformer preamp, ever since a friend suggested them way back. I recently got some actual shorting plugs (with resistors), from Hifi Collective in the UK, to replace them. I was surprised by how much difference they made. Transparency, resolution and musical flow all increased, along with the “realness” of instruments and voices. There is also more sense of the space around them.
I know some preamps short the unselected inputs, but, if yours doesn't, these shorting plugs are inexpensive, and definitely worth trying.
I have had caps on the unused RCA inputs of my ASL passive autoformer preamp, ever since a friend suggested them way back. I recently got some actual shorting plugs (with resistors), from Hifi Collective in the UK, to replace them. I was surprised by how much difference they made. Transparency, resolution and musical flow all increased, along with the “realness” of instruments and voices. There is also more sense of the space around them.
I know some preamps short the unselected inputs, but, if yours doesn't, these shorting plugs are inexpensive, and definitely worth trying.
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I used RCA caps previously. While they did make a difference, there was definitely a noticeable improvement going from caps to actual shorting plugs, like these: https://www.hificollective.co.uk/accessories/rca-shorting-plugs.html Adding a GutWire Ultimate Ground Cable to one of the RCAs took things even further, but that's another thread 😉 |
According to my calculations it’s unlikely that Cardas non shorting caps operate by preventing rf from entering the tiny diameter outlet/inlet. Maybe I’m not using the right dimension for the rf wave. I’m not claiming they don’t work, I believe they DO work. Ditto the unused wall outlets. Are they too small to worry about rf? RF wavelength at 800 Megahertz is about a foot. And at 10 GHz it’s more than an inch. |
There are at least two types of RCA shorting plugs I’ve seen. One appears to directly connect the positive and negative sides, these are all over eBay and can be had cheap. Just a metal stamping with a plastic overmolding. The other type has an actual resistor built into them and are more expensive. Whats’s the difference, and are they interchangeable? I just bought a bunch of the cheap eBay ones but am not sure they can be safely or effectively used after seeing the ones with the resistor. |
- 44 posts total