Jeff,
I thought that if your "cutting the cables to the relative wavelength" would work for coax it must make a difference for plastic optical as well. So I figured out that I needed to cut precisely 6.2mm from my optical cable conecting my CD player and my newly purchased 950. It was a bitch getting the end back on but after a little bit of time with some super-glue (not the generic stuff but the stuff actually made for glass) and some duct tape I finally got it to transmit the signal again. And what a signal it was. I popped in my favorite Michael Jackson CD (listened to Thriller as I do when I audition all my equiptment) and it sounded simply amazing. The soundstage openned up so incredibly I thought that I was in the recording studio. I heard things on this CD that I never new existed. It sounded like it wasn't just Michael singing but Michael, LaToya and Janet all singing in harmony. Thank you so much for giving me this tip.
Aaron