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product to clean plugs/terminations?

post #1 of 17
10/10/06 at 6:38pm
Thread Starter 
Was wondering if it's a "good" or "bad" idea to just use isopropyl alcohol, or if there's something better.

figure my speaker amp could use it, these plugs are pretty old

thanks!

cheers,
DK
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post #2 of 17
10/10/06 at 7:46pm
You want some Caig DeOxit.

Generally available at electronics or music stores (Guitar Center, etc), and regarded by most as the best. Can buy from many on line sources as well.
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post #3 of 17
10/11/06 at 11:30am
agile_one - got it right.

this is excellant stuff. I use it on all valve/tube pins and all connectors - it will last you years.

Stuart
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post #4 of 17
10/11/06 at 12:48pm
I agree, you can spend a lot more, but you really can't do much better than the Caig products. They also make other products such as pro-gold that you can use to inhibit oxidation from reforming after you have cleaned the connections with the Deoxit.
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post #5 of 17
10/15/06 at 2:46am
another recommendation towards Caig products....a very worthwhile purchase
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post #6 of 17
10/15/06 at 12:13pm
Caig makes good stuff--really does wonders on tube pins.
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post #7 of 17
10/18/06 at 12:42am
Isopropyl alcohol is filled with additives and will leave a residue after it evaporates.
IMO, the best thing to use for cleaning is Everclear Grain Alcohol (190 proof/ ~94% pure ethanol). I use it for electronics, vinyl, as a stylus cleaner -- it's great for everything except drinking. It's the cleanest, purest source of ethanol available to the general public.
A lot of vinyl fans use it because dust, film and residue from soaps/cleaners affect LP playback. A lot of these guys also use triple-distilled, lab grade water...
The only problem is that it can be hard to get. I'm in Commie-fornia and it's illegal here...
You should be able to find it in most 'free' states.
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post #8 of 17
10/18/06 at 1:34am
I heard you on the Commifornia. I can't believe what people put up with there.

This summer in the lab we used 100% ethanol every day to clean stuff because it doesn't leave a residue and doesn't smell bad. I knew then it was hard to get a hold of. I felt kind of special carrying a gallon jug of it across campus.
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post #9 of 17
10/18/06 at 3:04am
I also use Caig's Deoxit and ProGold, but I am still confused about the difference in applications.
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post #10 of 17
10/18/06 at 3:09am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Saint_1
Isopropyl alcohol is filled with additives and will leave a residue after it evaporates..
See, that's why I was asking. Good to know. thanks
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post #11 of 17
10/18/06 at 3:14am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ferbose
I also use Caig's Deoxit and ProGold, but I am still confused about the difference in applications.
I generally use DeoxIT to clean oxidation from connectors. I use ProGold mostly as a conditioner, leaving a very light coat on prior to reconnecting the connectors.

A little aside: I have two Peak LED Solutions flashlights, each running on one AAA battery. One was brighter than the other. I removed the battery from the dimmer flashlight, and cleaned the top and bottom of it with DeoxIT, applying just a very light coat of ProGold to it afterwards. Then I did the same to the battery contact at the base of the flashlight's head. I kid you not, the light that was dimmer than the other one prior to the cleaning was significantly brighter than the other one after the cleaning. I now perform this cleaning routine every time I change the batteries in my flashlights.

Moral of the story: Clean your contacts.
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post #12 of 17
10/18/06 at 3:26am
Thread Starter 
Interesting story, Jude. It's fun to learn that the sometimes-over the top things we Audiophiles do can actually apply to other daily tasks

So i'm looking into getting some of the deoxit/progold... not sure which is the better application though. There's swabs, a "pen", little wipes... anybody have opinions on which one is better? Will mostly be using on my IC and the connectors on my amp/CDP. I know i'm sounding like a helpless child at this point. lol

Thanks.
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post #13 of 17
10/18/06 at 5:13am
I am often amazed at how many audiophiles use fancy cables without doing basic contact maintainance. I knew about expensive cables way before I realized the importance of contact maintainance. This is especially bad because many hi-end cables have death-grip connectors and cause scratches left and right. And the thin gold plating gets scratched away so easily. In pro-audio most connectors are nickel plated and much more resistant to scratching, I think.
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post #14 of 17
12/2/10 at 10:44pm

This is a very interesting thread that I have stumbled upon by accident. I have a pair of 

CX 300-II earbuds but I have noticed lately that everything is sounding louder/centred on the left side. I'm not certain but it seem like the HF content is quieter rather than all freq. 

 

Could this just be down to the contacts being dirty? I had thought the phones were just failing but there is no crackling or loose connections so seems odd that one earphone would just go quieter. 

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post #15 of 17
12/2/10 at 11:00pm

Caig is the only way to go... think you'd like to try new cables? Try cleaning your contacts first. 

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