Anubisgrua, would you be speaking of removing the barrel of the RCA plug? the outer cylinder? that's an old Mapleshade free tweak, one of the few I've not tried. i think it goes in-line with why Eichmann makes the Bullett plugs, to get the metal away from the signal. If so, it goes right in-line with using a TVC...stripping the fat from the music while still leaving lots of juicy meat.
Pretty much since Day 1 i've been on board that this TVC, or its chassis, are incredibly sensitive to footers and all sorts of other changes which involve vibrations inherently, or vibe control. My rigid turntable is the only other component i've owned that is this picky. tame the internal vibes by taping the source switch mount, removing all the other chassis screws & replacing the long metal rod on the Source switch (if your TVC has one). Then let all the vibrations escape the chassis via proper coupling footers and jettison them into a suspended tonewood vibration sink.
One crucial element to this recipe that i'm only now understanding is that it might be one of the the better sounding type of mounts available (for sane $), but its not the best performing mount by any means. An example would be with my TT: It sounds incredible now however, if i tap hard on the shelf it sits on that 'thud' will be audible through the speakers. The TT sounds better than it has a right to 'cuz of the mounting, but it doesn't keep other vibrations from entering the TT. isoblocks sounds fantastic, they're not the greatest isolators though. If you read Mapleshade's catalog re: these mounts, they never mention anything but sonic performance.
Even though many this in this hobby are subjective, controlling vibes properly may not be. there really might only be a few ways to do this that cover all the hyperbole adjectives (bass increases, air, force, clarity, 3-D, blah, blah) - problem is finding that key w/o breaking the bank! Setting anything under this TVC will change the sound a little bit though, assuming your system is revealing.
With my Imod on the way battery power has been on my mind a lot too. I would definitely consider a battery powered amp by Red Wine audio if the Imod is everything its cracked up to be....my thiels are pretty power hungry though so a speaker switch would be in order. Bob Brines designs would be my 1st pick in that direction, for sure.
a fellow AC member let me borrow his Audioprism Noise Sniffer device recently. 30 seconds with this in your home and you'll be contemplating battery power too. its amazing that our amps & sources perform the way they do with so much noise on the AC lines. the Sniffer sounds like a baby crying when turned up only halfway, and that's when its plugged into my expensive outlets. actually, there's no discerning cheap from audio grade outlets with the sniffer. the volume turned all the way up on it is a horrible, horrible experience. Music Direct still has the Quietlines on back order so i can't report on how trying to tame this issue affects my listening experience...yet.
