A little WD-40 applied with a Q-tip works well.
Monster Cable interconnects too tight
I have some older Monster Cable RCA interconnects that grip the connectors on my gear too tightly. One time, I removed the interconnect from my Adcom amp and part of the Adcom's connector ripped off the unit with the interconnect. Another time, the connector stayed on the Adcom, but the solder broke inside the amp's housing, causing an intermittent fault. I always try to use a gentle, twisting motion to remove the interconnects.
I described this problem to a local hi-fi dealer and he said that Monster Cable interconnects are known for gripping too tightly. He suggested that I apply a tiny dab of automotive transmission fluid to the connectors with a Q-tip before inserting the Monster Cable. This seems strange to me -- it would lubricate the connection, but wouldn't it also reduce electrical conduction?
Has anyone tried using any type of lubricating fluid to deal with this problem? I just bought some new electronics, and I don't want to have any problems like I had before. I may not buy Monster Cable again for this reason, but I would like to keep using the cables I have. Thanks.
I described this problem to a local hi-fi dealer and he said that Monster Cable interconnects are known for gripping too tightly. He suggested that I apply a tiny dab of automotive transmission fluid to the connectors with a Q-tip before inserting the Monster Cable. This seems strange to me -- it would lubricate the connection, but wouldn't it also reduce electrical conduction?
Has anyone tried using any type of lubricating fluid to deal with this problem? I just bought some new electronics, and I don't want to have any problems like I had before. I may not buy Monster Cable again for this reason, but I would like to keep using the cables I have. Thanks.
20 responses Add your response
If I were going to treat it, it would be Caig Pro Gold. It would serve the same lube qualities and improve the connection. Caig home page Where you can read about the product. |
Best thing you could do is cut off the ends & solder on some new ones. Check out the following I did for a friend: http://img230.imageshack.us/img230/4153/im0016661jk.jpg |
Well Armstrod, did you follow your own advice? Did your cables install themselves automatically? If not, it was not genuine automatic transmission fluid. As for exactly the same as WD 40 or automatic transmission fluid, why do you think that, or are you joking like I am in my line (above) ? Caig Pro Gold from their web site is $10.95 for the small bottle, enough for 150 (+) connections. I know personally, several high end audio manufacturers that use Caig on AC connections, tube pins and RCA / XLR connectors. While not as good as the Walker Silver, the cost is insignificant by comparison. |
Eldartford, I own quite a few tubes with gold pins, including some by Mullard, Telefunken and Amperex and they respond well to pin cleaning as well as contact treatment. Caig and similar product prevents micro arcing which is a side benefit as well as reducing corrosion. RCA connectors do need cleaning and benefit from treatment as do gold pin tubes. I have friends in the business that prefer a brand (which is shark liver oil) some prefer Cramolin, some Caig Pro Gold or Oxguard and some prefer no treatment at all. One of the finest sounding speaker posts in existence is the unplated Cardas which turns very dark if left untreated. It sounds much better than the rhodium plated version and very much benefits from Caig and even more so from Walker silver conductive paste. Electricians commonly use Oxguard™ even though voltages of wires entering households do not exceed 125 volts per leg. Some stereo gear have contacts areas exceeding 600 volts. |
I meant to respond to your comment about tubes: However, at the rate which tube enthusiasts "roll" them there should be no concern about corrosion building up. You make it sound as if this is a ongoing thing. Once the ideal combination is found there is no need to "roll" further. Sharing results in discussions at this site are intended to provide short cuts so others may benefit. As an example, I am using the same brand (and type) tubes in my front end equipment as I did in five years ago. Granted there was a flurry of swaps early on as I learned, but that is as normal as trying brands of equipment to find what works best in your situation. |
Albertporter...What is "microarcing"? If the two parts of the connector are making any sort of electrical contact the potential between them is near zero, which rules out arcing. Maybe the stuff does something, but I don't believe the explanation. Generally it is LOW voltage (high current) connections that benefit from protective paste and the like. Your car battery is the prime example. |
Albertporter...What is "microarcing"? Type it into Google, I got over 10,000 hits. Must be a lot of others that have heard of it. There are references to low voltages and high voltages in applications from audio to radio. If after looking over some of the examples you choose not to believe it's a factor in high end audio, chalk it up to another difference in opinion between you and I. |
Albertporter, My cables did indeed install themselves, and burned themselves in to boot! :-) Actually, I was merely commenting about what I had observed, having just purchased my first bottle of DeoxIT. Since I have no way to analyze it, and it doesn't say on the bottle, I have no idea what it actually is, but the fact remains it looks, feels, and smells exactly like automatic transmission fluid. I'm sure ProGold is completely different. Just my $.02 |
Armstrod, I was teasing you, I do this all the time at Audiogon to amuse myself. I admit I have not tested automatic transmission fluid. For all I know it and WD 40 work as well as Caig Pro Gold, but my fear is applying an untested substance to any of my equipment or software. (Remember peoples CD's damaged by the Armor All treatment idea?). Anyway, Caig is cheap, $10.00 won't break anyone at Audiogon and I have had good results with it. As everyone here likes to say, "Your mileage may vary." |
Albertporter...Please note that I did not assert that your fluid has no effect...only that micro arcing seems like an unlikely explanation. The basis for my view is that unless there is a difference of electrical potential there can be no arc, and I doubt that any audio connector is so bad that it allows a measurable differential potential. Micro arcing in connectors occurs when the mechanical contact is seriously loose, for example due to differential thermal expansion of aluminum wire and copper terminals. The term is also used in other contexts, for example: to describe discharge through microscopic holes in the dielectric of capacitors. To tell the truth the best connector is no connector...in other words solder the wire at one end, like a "captive" line cord. I had a Mission CD player that had a captive output interconnect, and that too (IMHO) was a good idea. Of course this prevents trial and error experiments with different power cords and interconnects, and so is definitely non-audiophile. Oh, and by the way...we agree about line array speakers. . |
