I first came across these years ago with what look like RCA jack covers, intended for unused inputs, from Cardas, I think. My friend was a pretty strong advocate for them but I couldn't hear any change. As he put it, I must be deaf.
Anyways, I'd forgotten about these but seeing the post I looked it up. There are a lot of sites offering to lighten you of the burden of cash for these including at least one site for diyers who can buy and modify RCA plugs and now resistors from them.
Plus the admonishing buyers that these are for inputs only, and not for outputs.
Fortunately, I was proven deaf to this sort of thing years and years ago, and will use the savings for anything else.
That's right!
About the ONLY time I'd need to actually "short out" inputs is under testing conditions.
The Snake Oil garden is growing like weeds!
But the gullible, paranoid, and uneducated, are their best customers.
PMA reported Sensitivity of opamps to air coupled EM fields, especially of the LM4562/LME497X0 family are worse than others, measured on shorted input @ gain of -1. Perhaps shorting plugs can help on similar cases.
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A few months ago I went hair shirt in my system. A MC cartridge with a nice sounding SUT matching it to a MM preamp, a passive source switchers, a passive stepped attenuator volume control, a single small amplifier, and high efficiency open backed full rangers with a helper tweeter and no crossovers any more, active or passive.
Oh,and no resistor shorting plugs on the amp inputs or switching inputs. Works fine.
I'm 100% with you guys on this, but looking at discussions on various forums opinion is split completely between those who've used it and those who haven't. Everyone who has claimed to have actually used it says it's amazing and does exactly what it's claimed to do, and are saying that it's not expensive if you take into account the fact it's making £1k audio sound like £10k audio.
I've never used it and bar unexpectedly coming into a few million pounds never will, but I have to admit that cleaning terminals on my set up with deoxidiser certainly improves sound, so who knows?
What's striking and maybe a bit suspicious, is everyone who's claimed to use it are saying the same thing, a lot of them even making the point that the inventor/vendor has always delivered in the past.
Personally I feel that if the stuff is as good as being claimed, (and they're all saying that initially they just used it on one or two cables, and there was such a difference they used it on the whole system), that they would offer a £10 - 20 sample amount. That's what I'd do.
Whether these users claims are genuine or plants is difficult to know.
I have not had a problem with excessive noise on unused inputs since the tube days.
It depends (partially) on input impedance and type of resistors used in the input circuit. It's worth noting that virtually all sources will shunt the input to around 100 ohms (it varies).
For testing, I short the inputs with shorted RCA plugs, or if testing a board out of the device I'll use alligator clip jumpers.
You could easily make quality input shorting plugs for a few dollars. Solder a 100 ohm resistor inside a couple of RCA plugs and you're done!
It depends (partially) on input impedance and type of resistors used in the input circuit. It's worth noting that virtually all sources will shunt the input to around 100 ohms (it varies).
For testing, I short the inputs with shorted RCA plugs, or if testing a board out of the device I'll use alligator clip jumpers.
You could easily make quality input shorting plugs for a few dollars. Solder a 100 ohm resistor inside a couple of RCA plugs and you're done!
It sounds like your "preamp" is mostly passive (save for phono preamp). In this case, shunting inputs serves no purpose at all. There's no input stage to make noise, no amplifying of RF noise, no "rectifier" to detect radio waves, etc. And the volume control shunts the input of the amplifier.
The bottom line here is......... the internet, and its social and structural anonymity.
Anything can be posted and praised to the high heavens, or even put down in shame for that matter.
And as I previously mentioned, individuals prone to being gullible are the most likely suckers.
Reviews mean nothing to me, because I don't know the reviewer personally, why should I trust their opinion?
Even in person this is true, moreso over the darned internet.
I agree about the bottom line being the internet.
Thing is, I'm not talking about reviews, I'm talking about threads in respectable forums like Audioasylum and Audionirvana. I don't know if the people praising the product are regular posters as I don't use the sites regularly.
What I'm wondering is have the paid positive review thing now got as far as people paying for positive feedback in a forum?
Thing is, I'm not talking about reviews, I'm talking about threads in respectable forums like Audioasylum and Audionirvana. I don't know if the people praising the product are regular posters as I don't use the sites regularly.
What I'm wondering is have the paid positive review thing now got as far as people paying for positive feedback in a forum?
Sure, for me shorting plugs only cost a few cents to make. My only point is that a shorting plug should not be dismissed outright, there are situations where it may actually help.
My preamp isn't passive, or it wouldn't amplify the small signal from my turntable prior to entering the volume attenuator. I tend to use the term interchangeably with phono preamp locker. Most people don't use turntablesz and don't need one. They use what I call a linestage, which I also don't use.
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Phono preamp stage. I don't know why auto incorrect needed to change stage to locker. It just had to be overridden again .
Anything is possible, and the internet proves that.
Posts on those forums can be misleading, and opinions are to be taken lightly.
Just because Mr X praises a product, doesn't suggest that it's good for Mr J.
Because Mr X's opinion is his alone.
People have different tastes, different hearing abilities.
Also, bias is part of the mix, and it's easier when you're compen$ated.
I think here is your main problem. You are assuming something that may not be true.
I don't have a problem. I'm only saying respectable in the context that they are forums like this one where members have discussions, as opposed to review sites. I'm assuming nothing.
What I'm getting at is whether people are using forums such as this and the ones I've previously mentioned to endorse their own products.
What I'm getting at is whether people are using forums such as this and the ones I've previously mentioned to endorse their own products.
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