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Heool!
Of the contact enhancers (not cleaners) available on the market,
which of these are likely the longest lived in terms of positive
effect before any cleaning and reapplication is necessary?
Thanks!
Follow Ups:
Flows easily, covers microscopically, and seemingly lasts forever. There are tons of applications and even data from industrial users.
In my experience, a major sonic improvement to boot.
Stabilant 22. Comes with a few very nice ultra-small application brushes. I've had the 15mL size for a few years, and still have approx. 60% remaining. My highest recommendation.
Has anyone used it for tube sockets? The specs seem to indicate that it denatures at 250 C.
Mike
I own a Fluke 87V meter that has a temperature probe option. I have measured the temperature on the surface of the glass envelope of a huge type 7241 output tube pulling about 0.5 amps of current at steady state in my OTL amplifiers. The glass reaches a little more than 100 degrees C max, which is plenty hot enough to overheat my living room after several hours with a total of 8 tubes running in twin monoblocks. Thus I wonder whether anyone should worry about what happens at 250 degrees C on a tube pin; the pin is very unlikely ever to get as hot as does the glass envelope of any tube.250 degrees C = 482 degrees F. You could broil a steak at that temp.
Edits: 06/28/16
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I don't recommend it, however.
I just love Walker Audio SST. It sounds real good after 1 hour and even better at 24 hours.
~D
Wherever you go there you are.
Was wondering why no one has yet mentioned it. I also have the Craig solutions, which I use (the cleaner) to clean tube pins before I apply Walker SST. However, I have not worked up the courage to use it on the pins of power tubes, for fear of it being baked on by heat. I do use it on small signal tube pins. I am aware that not everyone loves it, but I am a fan, especially on cartridge pins.
I love Walker SST, but it's a high priced audiophile version of the stuff I use, (Cool Amp Conducto-Lube) which also isn't cheap (and I suspect is the same stuff).
By the way, I use it on everything including power tube pins. The industrial stuff is meant to be used on super high voltage and amperage power lines...so I really doubt you have to worry.
It does have a drawback of being messy if one isn't extremely careful. The Walker and the Cool Amp both need to be used very sparingly. But if one is simply careful and goes slow, the results are dramatic. At least for me they were.
I always suspected that SST was made from the automotive product, "Never Seez" or "Anti-Seize", maybe with some silver flakes added. Those two products already contain nickel, a decent conductor, and are silvery in color. But I am not about to substitute either of those two for SST. The initial cost may be high-ish, but a small container lasts maybe literally forever. (My bottle is going strong after maybe 10 years.) Lloyd sells a tiny vial of Canola oil to refresh the SST, if it dries out, which does tend to happen. Or, you can use Canola oil.
I recalled about 10 years ago that tons of people came out on here and indicated that this stuff cannot be removed from contacts after you apply it.
I remember I was debating on whether to keep my bottle, and I think I ended up throwing it away. Now I use Caig DeOxit 5% and DeOxit Gold enhancers about once or twice a year.
FrankC
"I recalled about 10 years ago that tons of people came out on here and indicated that this stuff cannot be removed from contacts after you apply it."
If your reference pertains to Stabilant 22 / Tweak; you are correct in noting there were problems with Stabilant 22 causing contacts to get fused over time. Much of this documentation came from the automotive industry where several OEMs recommended the use to solve electrical contact problems.
Sorry I don't have any links to these studies, but they should still be out there.
And have firsthand experience with RCA jacks getting fused together in car stereo applications that were treated with full strength Tweak.
A car is a very different environment than a living room or den, which are not exposed to outdoor elements, high heat or freezing cold. My 3 cents.
I knew I felt a bad vibe about Tweek, but I could not recall what the problem was that caused many to end up disparaging it. Perhaps it was as you describe, fusing of contacts.
I don't remember that exchange, but why would anyone want to remove this highly-superior solution? It's formulated to remain and protect for many years without degradation....
Ah, yes, harkening back to the 'good old days' of audio, eh?
I haven't seen Tweek recommended so whole-heartedly in a very, very long time......
Looked it up. Sounds like a great product. Maybe when I run out of my current contact enhancer I will give this a try.
It's excellent, Manny. Not inexpensive, but a little dab will do 'ya. It covers in the micron range and goes a very long way.
A friend turned me on to it years ago, simply by saying...."hey, listen to this." He applied a thin coating to the H, N, and Ground of a power cable, plugged it back into the wall and BAM! Everything got more musical, more coherent, and seemingly more powerful. Did the same on the male pin of an RCA interconnect.
One of the areas I use it on is the bare copper wiring prior to inserting those leads into an AC connector. Since those leads won't be exposed again, it's excellent long-term protection and a sonic enhancer. Give that a try.
This is the one tweak that made me a believer in tweaks. I used to scoff at all these audiophools that preached the gospel of green marker, etc.
Then one day some guy says..."Tell you what, jerkface, I'll send you a jar of silver-bearing contact enhancer and you try it out for yourself and THEN you can say if it works or not."
So me not wanting to be a jerkface, said, "OK smartguy...send me that ridiculous paste and I'll try it." So I slathered it all over the pins on my tubes, on all the interconnects and on the speaker connections.
Well I had to eat my hat and my words. Even with "no-expectation bias" the difference, or rather, dramatic improvement in the sound could not be ignored even by this "jerkface" of a tweak skeptic.
This stuff goes on and stays on and works as well as the crazy expensive audiophile stuff. (I suspect it IS the audiophile stuff in a bigger jar) Not cheap either, but you get a lot more for the money. My jar will probably never be used up.
http://www.cool-amp.com/conducto_lube.html
My wife's thong after she has worn it a few days!
MG Super Contact Cleaner with Poly Phenyl Ether MG 801B-125G is an aerosol-delivered clear, 'fish-oil molecule' thin enhancer whose superior performance lasts virtually indefinitely. Nothing to oxidize, nothing to clean away, not expensive and performs as well if not better than anything else out there that requires messy replacement. Tested most of the alternatives three or four years ago and have since been completely satisfied. I strongly recommend it.
Edits: 06/22/16
... maybe 12 or 15 years ago.
I have still not used it all up.
I think it's worthwhile, but it's not day and night. More textural.
I use MG Chemicals 847 carbon conductive paste in the signal path and like it a lot. I don't use silver in the signal path. It has a long service life according to the company info. Sounds very good. T
I don't know but silflex impeaded so e connections on RCAs and after I rubbed it off no problem. I use Pro Gold and like it. Can't tell you about how long it last vs others and I think environment and application would affect that.
ET
...I used Pro-gold on the earbud (Shure 535s) jack on my iPod and was surprised at the improvement.
I've used on my system for years - I'd say reapply every 6 months if you have the time and patience to go through all of your contacts including AC.
Yep 2X a year was what I shot for. Sometimes is was one though.
ET
The positive effect are really a layer only a molecule deep. So wiping the stuff OFF is a big deal.
Not actually destroying the remaining layer, just to make it as thin as possible. A good wiping down with a soft paper towel (Viva) does it for me.
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