Shorting plugs....


Do these really work well? And if they do does one need to worry about unused Balanced inputs?
chadnliz

Showing 6 responses by jimjoyce25

You'll actually improve the sound of your system if you unplug all components from your preamp other than the one you are using at any one time (even if the other components are not turned on). This eliminates rf from the unused components.
More than a thought. More even than a feeling. I do this in my system, because the improvement is material.
Interesting responses. Given the lengths to which audiophiles routinely go to try to improve their systems, it's odd to hear the epithet "impractical," which suggests an unwillingness even to try it and see how it works. Of course there is no guarantee that it will work in your system, but anecdotally it has worked in a number of systems.

The idea is not to turn anything off, but rather to unplug from the preamp the interconnects running from those source components that are not currently in use. Ie, at any one time, there would be only one source component with an interconnect plugged into the preamp, though the other source components could/would be plugged into the electricity and turned on.

So, if you are playing a cd, the interconnects from your other components would be unplugged from the preamp.

In fact, my preamp has only one source input, making the issue of shorting plugs irrelevant.
Bar81: No avoidance of the question. I misunderstood what you are getting at, thinking that you had misunderstood what I was getting at. "Turning off the equipment" means having the power button on the component in the off position, not pulling its electrical plug from the wall. I think this is the standard meaning of "turning a component off."

Chadnliz: The preamp was designed with only one input precisely to take advantage of this finding (based on experience with preamps that had a normal complement of inputs). Sorry to have misled your belief.
I would also note that the point of removing all other inputs from the preamp is to reduce/eliminate rf in the system as a source of distortion. Ie, there is some theory underlying the practice.

Other elements in my system include (i) power cables designed to eliminate rf, (ii) rechargeable dc battery power supplies to the preamp, phono stage and the analog side of the cd player that are unplugged from the wall during operation, and (iii) additional design elements in the cd player to reduce/eliminate rf.

Merely unplugging all other source inputs from the preamp resulted in a clearly noticeable improvement in my system. Adding the other rf-reducers multiplied this effect.
Bicycle Man: My EE friend says that anything that acts like an antenna (even a power cable that is plugged into a component but unplugged from the wall) can pick up rf.