SWL Posted November 22, 2015 Share Posted November 22, 2015 (edited) I've never even heard of these before. Anyone have experience with these or something similar? Are they a joke or are they actually effective? I'm totally skeptical of this kind of stuff. However, I have three different kinds of interconnects in the house (here we go!) and they all sound different from each other. Why, I don't know but they do.....there's no doubt about that. Thanks, -Scott http://www.amazon.com/AudioQuest-RCA-Noise-Stopper-Caps-pack/dp/B00447ZOCE Edited November 22, 2015 by SWL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SWL Posted November 22, 2015 Author Share Posted November 22, 2015 Seems that if nothing else, they'll keep crap out of the RCA connection.......but so would tape, etc......but these at least look nicer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarryC Posted November 22, 2015 Share Posted November 22, 2015 I tried them when I was having RFI noise issues. They didn't help, and I had to attack RFI problems by other means. But, you never know about RFI, so I wouldn't dismiss possible benefits out of hand. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cut-Throat Posted November 22, 2015 Share Posted November 22, 2015 I've never even heard of these before. Anyone have experience with these or something similar? Are they a joke or are they actually effective? They certainly are 'effective' for the people selling them. The higher the price, the more 'effective' they are. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jason str Posted November 22, 2015 Share Posted November 22, 2015 Pass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minermark Posted November 22, 2015 Share Posted November 22, 2015 (edited) Caps and plugs are great for keeping the contacts "Cleaner" but that is it. I bought a bag of 50 on the Bay (China) years ago for 10 bucks free shipping. Edited November 22, 2015 by minermark 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schu Posted November 22, 2015 Share Posted November 22, 2015 noise stoppers? what will they think of next! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minermark Posted November 22, 2015 Share Posted November 22, 2015 I prefer the little plastic/rubber dust caps, of course there is gold for those that "Hear" the difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jason str Posted November 22, 2015 Share Posted November 22, 2015 Caps and plugs are great for keeping the contacts "Cleaner" but that is it. I bought a bag of 50 on the Bay (China) years ago for 10 bucks free shipping. Dust caps, great idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xxJPMxx Posted November 22, 2015 Share Posted November 22, 2015 (edited) The metal ones will shunt the input directly to ground eliminating noise only when that specific input is selected. Say you have a McIntosh C2200 and only have two things plugged in, a CD player and a record player, if you had shorting plugs in all the other inputs there would be no noise coming through your equipment if you accidentally choose a source that has nothing plugged into it. For instance you choose DVD on accident the plugs will have that input shunted to ground so it is dead quiet. Or you might not even hear anything and the no connection could start a high frequency oscillation that burns out your tweeters. That and they keep the dust and moisture out of the connector. Edited November 22, 2015 by xxJPMxx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minermark Posted November 22, 2015 Share Posted November 22, 2015 The metal ones will shunt the input directly to ground eliminating noise only when that specific input is selected. Say you have a McIntosh C2200 and only have two things plugged in, a CD player and a record player, if you had shorting plugs in all the other inputs there would be no noise coming through your equipment if you accidentally choose a source that has nothing plugged into it. For instance you choose DVD on accident the plugs will have that input shunted to ground so it is dead quiet. Or you might not even hear anything and the no connection could start a high frequency oscillation that burns out your tweeters. That and they keep the dust and moisture out of the connector. The shorted one's i did not post for the same reason, dust caps is what i use. Shorted pin rca's are a whole nuance themselfs, and i would recommend anyone condemplating using a shorted pin rca, dam sure you know what you are doing, because you will NOT get a second guess. Stick with plastic/rubber, effective and harmless. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SWL Posted November 22, 2015 Author Share Posted November 22, 2015 I prefer the little plastic/rubber dust caps The last DAC I bought came with them. Where did you buy yours from? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minermark Posted November 22, 2015 Share Posted November 22, 2015 I prefer the little plastic/rubber dust caps The last DAC I bought came with them. Where did you buy yours from? Look on the Bay, best deals free shipping , China. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WMcD Posted November 22, 2015 Share Posted November 22, 2015 I have a dim recall of some publication from the '70s or earlier. Assuming there are unused inputs there was a technique of using an RCA plug which had the center pin shorted to ground. But the preferred set up was to have a 1000 ohm resistor or so wired there instead of a short. Maybe phono inputs were susceptible to noise and a.c. pick up. With a line level input it seems far fetched. What is being sold seems to have no connection to the center connection. If you have a problem, maybe any of these would help. If you don't, I fall back on my bromide: You can't make things better by solving a problem which does not exist. Smile. WMcD 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
babadono Posted November 22, 2015 Share Posted November 22, 2015 If worried about noise just short your unused inputs to ground. If worried about dirt, I like minermarks rubber caps. Or you might not even hear anything and the no connection could start a high frequency oscillation that burns out your tweeters. If shorting an unused input to ground causes this your amp/preamp/receiver is not stable and you have larger fish to fry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WMcD Posted November 22, 2015 Share Posted November 22, 2015 If the short causes problems, maybe that is why The Ancients were using a resistor. WMcD 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarryC Posted November 22, 2015 Share Posted November 22, 2015 (edited) What is being sold seems to have no connection to the center connection. If you have a problem, maybe any of these would help. Aluminum is supposed to block RFI, so I wonder if the idea was for the aluminum cap to stop RFI from entering through an open female jack. Never worked for me ... Edited November 22, 2015 by LarryC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garyrc Posted November 22, 2015 Share Posted November 22, 2015 If the short causes problems, maybe that is why The Ancients were using a resistor. Speaking as one of The Ancients, I think my old McIntosh C28 preamp (c.1974) came with metal RCA caps, already installed, on all inputs. I think they were the shorting type, but can't be sure. They always made me vaguely nervous. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Richard Posted November 22, 2015 Share Posted November 22, 2015 If the shorting types are the ones you use make certain that you are not plugging them into any output jack - tape outs, pre outs, etc. Well designed equipment that is in good working order should not have any issues, but the best stuff still ages and fails. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xxJPMxx Posted November 22, 2015 Share Posted November 22, 2015 If shorting an unused input to ground causes this your amp/preamp/receiver is not stable and you have larger fish to fry. In my example I was referring to an unused input being selected on accident, trust me it happens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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