Treated my interconnects with Deoxit D5 today

My experience with Deoxit Gold (100% solution) was negative; I applied a small small quantity on my gold plated connectors and the sound became cold, harsh; after some days I cleaned two times with IPA 99% and the sound returned to pre-Deoxit state. If You have gold or rhodium plated connectors please just use IPA every six months. Deoxit Gold contain a corrosion inhibitor and act like an insulator, so in no way it can improve electrical connections. If You have oxidized connectors, change connectors or clean with a toothbrush and a lot of IPA. Caig write in their pdf that quantum tunnelling is the mechanism of action of the Deoxit Gold, but they don't explain in details. 

vze2r8xz:
I found something on Amazon
D.W. Electrochemical Stabilant 22 15m kit concentrate for $108.93
The product appears to have a 15ml eyedrop container and 5 brushes
Is this the gel form of Stabilant that you recommend?

Bingo!

Pop quiz - What are the odds half the fuses are in the wrong direction?

Pop quiz, Part 2 - What are the odds all the fuses are in the wrong direction?

Fuse directionality is the best option.

Normal De-Oxit (use the 100% solution) is mainly a contact cleaner and not enhancer so it should be completely wiped off with a microfiber cloth.

For contact enhancers I'd use Stabilant 22 gel concentrate (I've bought it for around $80 off of eBay, much better than the diluted stuff, the bottle is also large and can treat your entire house multiple times over), De-Oxit Gold 100% (significantly thicker and a better enhancer than the normal solutions, about $20-25 gets you a decent sized little glass container), Furutech Nano-Liquid (doesn't last as long as the previous two, but is a more powerful enhancer, costs nearly $200 though and the bottle is the smallest of the lot), or Mad Scientist Audio's Graphene Enhancer (most potent enhancer, only just started using it in the past couple of months, so not sure about lasting effects, seems to form a shell around the contacts though, $50 gets you a 5 oz. bottle which is a lot). I've seen and heard changes for the better with all of these. I know there are other enhancers, but I have not tried them. Usually with video at least everything looks better at first then settles a bit as the days go by. Audio I can't recall to the same extent as I last tweaked my video.

At any rate, the former splendor of my system has now returned and I am hearing just what I heard before my connection-cleaning foray. Go figure. Erik was exactly right. Thanks again for the input from you wise fellows.

Thanks for the kind words. :)


This has happened to me too. Not because I cleaned the connections, but because I turned everything off.


Best,
E

As Elizabeth, I prefer the 100% solution in a small bottle with an applicator brush. Caig offers a kit (K-DG100L-2DB) that contains a 7.4mL bottle each of both the Red and Gold cleaner (along with brushes and cloths) that Markertek sells for $25.99, the best price I found.

Good to know that elizabeth, from memory we could only find spray can here.. Thanks for the info..

To the OP, I would advise cleaning all of the caig stuff off of everywhere you put it with isopropyl alcohol. Most likely you inadvertantly used too much and have created a mildly conductive path between signal and ground. Very thorough cleaning with alcohol and wipes/buds & compressed air will restore your system. Then be a good boy and don’t do it again.. ;)
I too learnt the hard way, lol..
This stuff should be supplied in small glass bottles, with a very small brush or swab, not a flippin aerosol that just blasts it everywhere. Idiots.

"D.W.E. was established in 1986. Our product originated in 1976, from Wright Electroacoustics, where it was based on the R&D work of Wm. M. D. Wright. After several years of field trials, the final product, Stabilant 22™ was introduced by Sumiko Audio, under the trade name TWEEK©."

I’ll go out on a limb and say they’re not equivalent. 

Stabilant 22 appears to the equivalent to Tweek.  It is about $60 for a vial of it which should last for years and years.  Check out their website as users of it speak in glowing praise of it, including lots of technicians.  I am just happy that my system returned to its former splendor.  There is an old adage that says, "if it ain't broke, don't fool with it."  

You were fortunate.

I bought Tweek years ago, it evaporated in like a year or two, even though it was sealed tightly

I had the same problem with D5, i.e. washed out sound. However I also use what used to be called Deoxit Gold ( the company seems to be changing the names) and that was quite the opposite, i.e a big improvement in sound quality. As I understand it the D5 is a straight cleaning fluid, the Gold is a cleaner plus a contact enhancer presumably it adds in some kind of fluid which is conductive. Possibly what we both found was that clean contacts don’t actually sound that good or the D5 leaves some kind of film. Irrespective, I just added an application of Gold and was very happy.    

Ptss,
I just pulled out my tube of Stabilant and see that I have a 5 ml bottle of the "stuff" and another bigger bottle of what smells like alcohol.  Am I to put the contents of the smaller bottle into the bigger bottle and then use that?  Previously, I used the full-strength fluid on my connections.  Thanks for you insights.  Whitestix

If you feel you put it on a bit thick now is the time to wipe it off. I find Craig products v good but accept Stabilant 22 is probably best. When I run out of Caig Pro I’ll give Stabilant 22 a try; unless there’s some consensus that the Stabilant would make a difference :) 

Uber,
Thanks, friend, for the comment. Maybe I put on the Deoxit a tad to thick, but it has now settled down to its former wonderful sound.  I am hearing sweet wonderful music again!  No good deed goes unpunished, in my case.  

Glad to hear it Whitestix!
Nothing worse than having this horrible gut feeling that somehow you screwed your own system up!

Maybe as a few have said it was a simple case of if a little is good, more must be better!

Enjoy the music.

I have been using Deoxit D5 cleaner and ProGold G5 Conductivity and Conditioning Enhancer for overs 10 years without any sound degradation. For future cleaning, I would recommend following kit that has everything you need to clean the contacts,

https://www.musicdirect.com/equipment/caig-audio-video-survival-kit

I have Stabilant but have not used it in years.  I thought it kind of gummed up my connections, but I don't think I diluted it.

At any rate, the former splendor of my system has now returned and I am hearing just what I heard before my connection-cleaning foray.  Go figure.  Erik was exactly right.  Thanks again for the input from you wise fellows.  

Stabilant 22 is good. So is Cramolin. Quicksilver Gold and the new Graphene contact enhancer are better. Been there done that.

Tweek was a rip-off .the same Stabilant -22 myself and many top companies .      it is excellent tweek used to dilute the Stabilant-22 ,with a  8-1 ratio.This is a fact. 

Just buy  Stabilant-22, amazon sells it. nothing out there as good NASA uses it as well as many high tech companies for Years and protects for over 12 years if contacts not removed once cleaned with Isopropyl alcohol. From system cables to tube pins and sockets they have won more awards then all the others put together .
i have tried them  all ,not messy and  is a signal enhancer, protector 
for sure no BS .just go to their site and see just how many companies use it.

I have been saying this for awhile but Stabilant-22 which is not only a great signal enhancer but once all connectors are clean 
99% Isopropyl alcohol is purest. Once the Stabilant is applied it will protect conductors for a Minimum. Of 12 years.
my uncle is a electronics designer and turned me on to this several years ago . Very clean and easy to apply .and  many high tech 
companies have been using this for Years. Just google it it has won Many awards .made in Canada I have tried almost everything 
caig is greasy and not in the same league the Furutech nano fluid is conductive and only lasts a year or two usesshsrk oil .
stabilant -22 which has 25% Isopropyl in it, to help get into tight areas. NASA ,and a bunch of high tech,military companies use it.
I use it on AC all the time even though they don’t mention it no problems over 3 years and fantastic on Vacuum Tube pins after cleaned . I do use the Caig small and big foam applicators for the glue  don’t fall apart the tip stays intact. The small ones re perfect for tube pins and sockets. Check them out !!

Tweek sucks. It has a propensity to turn blackish green fairly quickly. Kontact is good. But they are both cleaners/conditioners, not really what we’re talking about here. Cramolin was good, too.

Anyone comment on how these contact cleaners compare to the old "Tweek" cleaner? This still available?

maybe you used too much ...

Yep, uber, I am gonna wait it out.  My system, with the recent addition of the ISO Regen and power supply to my audio stream never sounded better.... until I fooled around with it.  Thanks for chiming in, much appreciated.  

Ha,
Johnson's ear buds work the best!

If you have checked all phasing and have reversed the ic, there is not much,more you can do bar wait and see if it comes back to you.

Good luck!

Thanks for the suggestions, Geoff.  Erik, I shall do nothing for a while, other than swap the IC's.  Maybe I need to clear out my ears.  Thanks. 

Wait.

Seriously, wait 72 hours.

Best,
E

Try reversing the interconnects. You never know.

Whatever you change something or take fuses out or clean connectors always mark everything so at least you put things back the way they were. Keep a log and take photos.

I checked all the connectors and they are all correct.  I figure it will settle back down soon.  Thanks.

I use Kontack or Unity Audio Design Signal clean pro which is just as good and gives almost twice as much with applicators.It comes in a glass bottle Kontack now uses metal(aluminum) bottle as glass can not be shipped from Europe.Good luck though!!

(+/-) speaker cables out of phase?

DeKay

Honestly sounds like you may have inadvertently mixed up an interconnect or speaker cable when replacing them all.
Maybe give them all a double check and make sure all the pos and neg are correct, easy to do for sure.

Good luck

Ah, the smoking gun...

As with cables and electronics, you also need to burn in the deoxit. Just kidding. I have only had the opposite (good) result when using Caig's products on all contact surfaces.

Teeheehee.  Fuse.... direction.... chuckle.... 

When you did the fuses did you watch which direction you put them back in?