RCA Caps: More Audio Snakeoil?

j_garcia

j_garcia

Audioholic Jedi
I've seen them. I should start taking things that I know do absolutely nothing and making up idiotic claims about them for an inflated price.
 
Bucknekked

Bucknekked

Audioholic Samurai
https://www.turntablelab.com/products/audioquest-rca-noise-stopper-caps-10-pack

Wow, cover up those unused RCA inputs and increase the soundstage and improve clarity! Can't tell from the picture if these are metal or plastic. If you've got more than 10 unused RCA inputs that's a big investment! Almost $40 for a pack of 10.
I think these are the cheapo solution to unattended RCA pollution of sound.
As any audiophool knows, the proper way to address unattended RCA sound pollution is with solid maple inserts. Mapleshade.com is undertaking a study to figure out how much is too much to charge for these devices. When they figure out how much is too much, they will double that price and then it will get its own webpage with some righteous purple prose and testimonials. There's a right way and a wrong way to solve a bogus problem. Maple is the right way.
 
Speedskater

Speedskater

Audioholic General
They have been around for a long time. They didn't (and couldn't) do anything then and they don't do anything now.
 
MR.MAGOO

MR.MAGOO

Audioholic Field Marshall
and if enough people buy them, the next thing will be "cover up those unused HDMI terminals...."
 
slipperybidness

slipperybidness

Audioholic Warlord
There are some old-style coax BNC connections that MUST have termination caps in order to perform properly. I had some old lab instrumentation that ran coax back to a coax/ethernet hub, then connected to the computer via ethernet. This instrument had 8 discrete modules all daisy-chained together via coax. And, the end of the daisy-chain absolutely required the proper termination cap.

So, I suspect that these RCA caps are trying to play on that to cheat people out of there $.
 
Bucknekked

Bucknekked

Audioholic Samurai
So, I suspect that these RCA caps are trying to play on that to cheat people out of there $.
slipperybidness

"cheat people out of there $" ? really? tsk tsk tsk.
Cheating people has such a negative connotation when the actual intention of the company is to solve a genuine audiophool problem. The problem here isn't related to audio, or at least not directly. The problem is that certain audiophools have excess funds in their pockets that could burn a hole in them at any time. The company offerring these RCA caps is really doing a civic service by removing those potential fire hazards in the audiophools pockets.

I think rather than taking the glass half empty view (cheating people, indeed) we should try and be positive and charitable when we see a genuine effort to relieve genuine audiophool sufferring.
 
slipperybidness

slipperybidness

Audioholic Warlord
slipperybidness

"cheat people out of there $" ? really? tsk tsk tsk.
Cheating people has such a negative connotation when the actual intention of the company is to solve a genuine audiophool problem. The problem here isn't related to audio, or at least not directly. The problem is that certain audiophools have excess funds in their pockets that could burn a hole in them at any time. The company offerring these RCA caps is really doing a civic service by removing those potential fire hazards in the audiophools pockets.

I think rather than taking the glass half empty view (cheating people, indeed) we should try and be positive and charitable when we see a genuine effort to relieve genuine audiophool sufferring.
Hahah, I'll give you that, relieving that audiophool nervioso, scratching that phantom itch if you will.
 
Speedskater

Speedskater

Audioholic General
There are some old-style coax BNC connections that MUST have termination caps in order to perform properly. I had some old lab instrumentation that ran coax back to a coax/ethernet hub, then connected to the computer via ethernet. This instrument had 8 discrete modules all daisy-chained together via coax. And, the end of the daisy-chain absolutely required the proper termination cap.
So, I suspect that these RCA caps are trying to play on that to cheat people out of there $.
Those were high frequency transmission line circuits. The caps contained a termination resistor.

A very different ballgame than RCA unbalanced analog interconnects.
 
slipperybidness

slipperybidness

Audioholic Warlord
Those were high frequency transmission line circuits. The caps contained a termination resistor.

A very different ballgame than RCA unbalanced analog interconnects.
I have no doubt that it's completely different.

I'm just saying that I have personally seen applications that required termination caps.

I didn't know what the caps did, so thanks for the clarification, I just know that one time it fell off and I spent quite a while trying to figure out what went wrong.

Luckily, that old equipment finally bought the farm.
 
mtrycrafts

mtrycrafts

Seriously, I have no life.
A cheaper way to plug unused RCA connection is to get cheap bare RCA connectors and solder shorting wire. Eliminates any chance of noise incursion
 
slipperybidness

slipperybidness

Audioholic Warlord
A cheaper way to plug unused RCA connection is to get cheap bare RCA connectors and solder shorting wire. Eliminates any chance of noise incursion
Yeah, but that is way too practical! :rolleyes:
 
Bucknekked

Bucknekked

Audioholic Samurai
A cheaper way to plug unused RCA connection is to get cheap bare RCA connectors and solder shorting wire. Eliminates any chance of noise incursion
I believe you are on to something here. If you were to make a series of YouTube videos providing instruction on how to solve this dreaded audio situation, I think you might be able to provide a valuable audiophool service. If you applied your vast experience in dealing with audiophools, you could probably come up with at least a half dozen solutions to bogus problems that you could explain and demo in a great video. Cable stands, tin foil hats, circuits on cables : the list is endless.

One important thing : make sure you take the time to demo the improvement in sound for your potential viewers. As we all know, watching a YouTube video gives us all a way to evaluate high end audio, particularly speaker performance. Too bad AH doesn't have a community service award. You might be eligible.
 

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