What do the terminator caps do? Do they ground the outputs?

It makes sense to me that there can be less noise if an input is grounded out.

I don't understand how simply covering a digital output would matter one way or the other - although I do not doubt your experience.

For $2.00 I don't care if it is just placebo however; better sound for $2 is well worth it no matter how it works.

I'd always heard that when creating a cap for unused digital outputs that one should solder a 1 ohm resister between the signal pin and ground.

It's a slightly different topic but I've made my own "shorting RCAs" for unused inputs on my preamp. A "Shorting RCA" is of course an RCA where the signal pin and the ground are connected. Shorting RCAs should NEVER be used on ANY output. Not only did the blacks get blacker, but it removed a small amount of glare and hardness in the upper midrange. It's a nice affordable tweak that I don't mentioned anymore.

Quote:
Shorting RCAs should NEVER be used on ANY output.

Nor should a capacitor be connected directly across an output either. Unless it's in series with a resistor, and you know what you're doing to avoid blowing up the output.

--Ethan

The term digital caps can be missleading. Do you mean caps as in shorting cap, or caps as in capacitor?
In my line of RF work, unused test outputs are terminated with the correct matched load (50 ohm in my case)in order to minimize signal reflections being transfered to the main signal. Sometimes I can measure a difference, sometimes not.
Always a good idea. I am using analog RF signals, but the fast rise and fall times of a digital signal could be affected also.

I meant cap as in capacitor. Unlike RF, audio outputs don't need to be terminated. Though some toob power amps need that.